KAIRLIN®: A NEW RECYCLABLE & COMPOSTABLE MATERIAL

KAIROS, (France)

Partner(s) : Ecotechnilin, France - University of South Brittany, France - University Of Portsmouth, UK

Key Benefits:

• Mirror surface finish for printing

• Low environmental impact

• Lightweight & high mechanical properties

• Recyclability & composting end-of-life

• Local & circular economy

Kairlin® is a recyclable and compostable biomaterial, allowing point-of-sale and signage displays to be produced and recycled with low environmental impact, in line with the circular economy approach.

The Kairlin® is a Flax Poly-(lactid)(PLA) reinforced composite panel, developed in monolithic and sandwich structures. These bio-panels present a light weight, easy machining, controlled thickness and surface finish. At each stage of its life cycle, from the flax cultivation which compose it to its end of life, the Kairlin® has been designed and validated at an industrial scale to have a high degree of sustainability in its composition and process.

Kairlin® is produced within a very short supply chain, from the flax cultivated and transformed in Normandy (France) to the Kairlin® itself which is manufactured and also recycled in Normandy. The Kairlin® is processed in one shot compression molding step with a very short processing time allowing a high product performance at low cost.

To make sure the Kairlin® recycling targets are met, one of the major advantages of the innovation compared to existing solutions is the recycling of its entire production falls in the same manufacturing process. Kaïros Environnement collects all the production falls, grind them and incorporate them at 70% as a raw material to produce new Kairlin® recycled panels.

The recycling process saves 98% of the mechanical and dimensional proprieties of the Kairlin® panels. Its patent is also the result of strict specifications: large, sustainable, stiff and thermoformable panels with controlled thickness, surface roughness and tension allowing high quality printing and serigraphy as well as easy machining.