Feasibility of Energy Efficient Processing Technology for Wool Natural Fibre Composites to Create a Sustainable Modular Construction Panel (EEWC-Modular)

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A study involving 16,000 employees showed that when allowed to work from home, employees **increased their productivity by 22%**. Reduced commuting of employees reduces the travel associated carbon footprint per employee. Approximately 1 in 14 people in the UK's workforce commute twice a day, 250 times a year, translating to about 795Kgs of CO2 per person every year.EEWC-Modular has a solution for clients who: have space limitations in their current place of operation, looking to capitalize on the benefits of teleworking, offering convenient work and meeting spaces in back gardens and/or public environments. We are exploring the possibility of large employers offering company EEWC-Modular home offices rather than company cars.EEWC-Modular proposes to research 1) the technical and commercial feasibility of a wool-based composite 2) a rapid and cost effective Open Cavity Press (OCP) composite processing technology 3) suitability of the resultant technology as a sustainable construction material. The ultimate aim is to produce a fire retardant, woven wool, based composite part within a sub 10 minute cycle time without using prepreg, an autoclave or expensive tooling. EEWC-Modular proposes to provide a significant reduction in processing energy and capital cost to enable wool-based composites to be cost effectively commercialised in lightweight modular construction applications (home office pods, classrooms, food outlet, agricultural etc.) and other low-medium volume applications.The current UK £4.39bn composite product market (2019 Lucintel report for Innovate UK) has the opportunity to grow to £12bn by 2030 (Ref: UK Composites Market Study). The highest growth sectors are aerospace 25% CAGR, oil & gas 55% CARG and construction 11% CARG (Ref: National Composites Centre). To meet this growing market the proposed EEWC-Modular project will provide a flexible and cost effective manufacturing process for a range of composite modular construction products.The EEWC-Modular OCP process is extremely flexible to enable greater customisation and rapid entry to new markets. The processing station will consist of a high pressure and high temperature flexible EPDM diaphragm tool to force and cure low viscosity bio-resin into a dry textile in an open cavity tool.The innovative EEWC-Modular OCP process aims to achieve a void content of less than 2%, with extremely fast cycle times, and at significantly lower energy costs (at least 50% less without the use of an automated production cell) than many alternative autoclave production systems.