CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology 58 (2009) 9–12

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CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology

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Environmental impact analysis of composite use in car manufacturing

J.R. Duflou (2)a,*, J. De Moor a, I. Verpoest b, W. Dewulf c
a
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centre for Industrial Management, Celestijnenlaan 300A, bus 2422, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
b
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Belgium
c
Group T, International University College Leuven, K.U. Leuven Association, Belgium

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Taking the restrictions imposed by the EU ELV directive into account, the use of non-recyclable composite
Life cycle
components in car manufacturing is not obvious. However, from a life cycle engineering perspective the
Analysis
introduction of composites in car design is not necessarily negative in terms of additional environmental
Composite
impact. An extensive life cycle analysis for a reference car design was conducted to study the effects of
replacement of conventional steel structures by lightweight composite alternatives. The obtained results
reveal the need for a nuanced attitude towards more intensive use of composites in car design. The
sensitivity of the analysis results for the used carbon fibre production method is documented, indicating
significant improvement potential based on emerging, less energy consuming production methods.
ß 2009 CIRP.

1. Introduction terms of energy savings and possible emission reduction during

Historically high oil prices have in recent years increased the
demand for automotive solutions characterized by low fuel
consumption. The recent vote by the European parliament (17/
12/2008) on the EU Commission directive proposal concerning
reduction of CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles [1] confirms the
overall awareness that fuel consumption in passenger cars and the
resulting emissions should be further reduced. Besides attention for
innovative propulsion systems and conversion to alternative fuel
types, as explicitly targeted by the EU commission proposal, weight
reduction is known to be an efficient way of reducing the energy
demand of vehicles and the corresponding emissions [2]. Indeed,
acceleration forces, rolling resistance and gravitational force
components are all proportional to the vehicle mass, leaving only
the aerodynamic drag as a mass independent factor [3].
In an effort to achieve a major weight reduction, the use of
composites is currently intensively explored, with carbon fibre
reinforced polymers (CFRPs) perceived as a promising alternative
for steel and non-ferro structures. In a number of recent research
projects, technological aspects of the use of CFRPs for structural car
body construction have been studied [4–6]. These projects have
demonstrated that, compared to conventional steel structures,
CFRP body-in-white (BIW) solutions can provide a superior
solution in terms of damping and impact energy absorption
characteristics at a significantly lower weight (Table 1) [5].
Major concern for the systematic application of composites in
series production is the end-of-life treatment of CFRP components.
Since the EU ELV directive [7] specifies a minimum reusable or
recyclable weight fraction of 85% by 2015, an end-of-life treatment
scenario in which CFRP components are incinerated, is not an
acceptable option. Economically feasible alternatives are however
hard to identify. The question can be posed whether advantages in
* Corresponding author.
the functional lifetime of vehicles could outweigh the impact
caused by alternative CFRP components in the production and end-
of-life phases. The environmental impact of a CFRP car body
structure, measured over its entire life cycle, has, however, not
been fully quantified. Earlier impact evaluations (e.g. [8–10]) have
been limited to order of magnitude estimates or were based on
crude energy consumption data for the CFRP production stage.
Since the production processes prove to be dominant in the all over
impact assessment, target of the study underlying this article was
to provide a more refined life cycle analysis for the substitution of a
conventional body-in-white car structure by a CFRP alternative.
For this purpose the remainder of this article is organised
according to the conventional structure of a LCA study.
2. Objectives and scope definition
Main target of the study is to obtain insight into the residual
effect at a life cycle level of the replacement of structural car
components by a CFRP lightweight composite alternative.
In support of this comparative life cycle impact study, a VW
Lupo (model 1.4 A00) was selected as reference car, since this car
model was used as object for an extensive case study in the TECABS
project [4,5], and detailed inventory data were in consequence
available. The commercial Lupo model was compared to a
redesigned variant in which the BIW was replaced by a CFRP
structure. The weight reductions as achieved in the TECABS project
are summarized in Table 1.
Since a comparative analysis was targeted, the LCA study was
limited to the differences between the production and end-of-life
treatment phases for both BIW structures, as well as the effect on
the energy consumption during the use phase. A total functional
life span corresponding to 200,000 km (MVEG standard urban
drive cycle) was simulated. As functional load an average use by 1.2
passengers [11] at 71.2 kg/person [12], a luggage load of 7 kg/
person [13] and a 55% filled fuel tank were assumed.

0007-8506/$ – see front matter ß 2009 CIRP.

doi:10.1016/j.cirp.2009.03.077
10 J.R. Duflou et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology 58 (2009) 9–12

Table 1 reduction ratio between PAN fibres and CF in this production step
Targets and achieved results reported by the TECAB project consortium for the VW
was calculated using the carbon losses in the known emitted gas
Lupo reference car [5].
fractions. A weight ratio of 1.695 between the required PAN input
Steel BIW Target Composite and obtained CF was thus obtained.
BIW
A dry plasma process was included as surface treatment step.
Weight 203 kg 50% = 102 kg 79 kg Finally, to determine the effective CF content in the reinforcement
Number of parts 200 30% = 60 64 fraction, a 1.2 weight% epoxy sizing was taken into account.
Static stiffness (max. rot. deform.) 22.9 min 22.9 min 15.2 min
Dyn. tors. stiffn. (lowest eigenfreq.) 40 Hz 100% 71 Hz
Dyn. bend stiffn. (lowest eigenfreq.) 43 Hz 100% 61 Hz
3.2.2. Non-crimp fabric and braiding production
The mechanical treatment to convert CFs into non-crimp fabric
and braiding preforms requires only limited energy input, which
Excluded from the study were possible differences in main-
was included in the analysis. Given their long functional lifetime,
tenance and functional life time that might be caused by the BIW
the stitching and braiding facilities were ignored in this study.
replacement by a CFRP structure. The aerodynamic profile of the car
and the driving style were assumed not to be affected by the redesign.
3.2.3. Epoxy matrix
In the TECABS project EPIKOTE LY828 LV, a diglycidyl ester of
3. Life cycle inventory
bisfenol A (DGEBA), was used as resin (87 weight%), and EPIKURE
DX6514 (isophorone diamine, IPD) as curing agent (13 weight%).
In this section a summary of the inventory data collection effort
DGEBA is well documented in the EcoInvent LCI database. For the IPD
is provided. Full details are included in [14] and can be obtained
curing agent the chemical production process had to be evaluated
from the authors on request.
starting from acetone as entry product. After a condensation reaction
and dehydration, mesityloxide is formed. Additional reaction with
3.1. Materials inventory
acetone provides hexagonal isophorone. Reactions with consecu-
tively HCN, H2 and NH3 finally provide IPD (C10H22N2) [16].
Since the LCA study focuses on the design differences between the
reference car and the CFRP based variant, only the deviations in
3.2.4. Steel body-in-white production
material content were taken into account. In the TECABS project a
The inventory of the conventional body-in-white design
total weight reduction of the body-in-white structure of 124 kg was
contains 200 kg of low alloyed steel and 3 kg of zinc coating.
realised by eliminating 203 kg of partially zinc-coated steel, and
Important production processes, such as sheet rolling and arc
replacing this by a CFRP structure with a total weight of 79 kg. The
welding, were included in the analysis.
structural weight reduction by 124 kg allows to equip the redesigned
car with a lighter drive system. For this study an iterative procedure
3.2.5. Drive system and peripherals
was developed to determine the appropriate engine system capable
The secondary weight reduction in the drive system and the
of assuring a similar dynamic behaviour as the reference car. A
supporting peripherals (31 kg) was assumed to consist of equal
1.2 dm3 engine stroke volume proved to be sufficient for this
weight fractions of high alloy steel, aluminium and cast iron.
purpose. A total secondary mass reduction of 31 kg was obtained.

3.2. Production phase 3.2.6. Transport

CF production in Japan was assumed, since a significant fraction
The CFRP used in the TECABS project is composed of 55% (weight) of the installed production capacity is located there. Long distance
carbon fibre (CF) in an epoxy matrix. Resin transfer moulding (RTM) transport by sea freight is consequently covered. For all other
was used to shape the CFRP body-in-white structure. supplies local transport by truck to a production facility in Europe
was included in the analysis.
3.2.1. Carbon fibre production
For this study standard high tenacity fibres (1600 g/km) were 3.2.7. Tooling
used. The most commonly used industrial production method, based The production equipment for both the steel structure in the
on the carbonization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibre, was analysed. reference car and the CFRP body-in-white alternative was ignored.
PAN pre-fabrication, stabilizing, carbonization, surface treatment
and sizing are the essential process steps in this production proce- 3.3. Use phase
dure. The production of acrylonitrile (AN) by means of ammoxida-
tion of propylene (Sohio process) is documented in the EcoInvent The only considered difference between the reference car and
database. PAN fibres are obtained by polymerisation of AN using the redesigned CFRP based variant during this life cycle phase
dimethylformamide (DMF) as solvent (0.61 kg per kg of CF) of which
99% can be reused [15]. DMF is obtained as the result of a catalisation
reaction between dimethylamine (DMA, reaction product of
ammonia and methanol) and carbon monoxide. The different types
of energy flows into this production (heavy fuel, electricity and
steam) were quantified. Spinning, including stretching and washing
of the fibres, is followed by sizing, during which typically 10%
(weight) of protective silicone (mainly polydimethylsiloxaan,
PDMS) is applied to complete the PAN fibre production [15].
Stabilizing consists of long-term heat input at temperatures up
to 330 8C with H2O emission.
During subsequent carbonization of the stabilized fibres in a
nitrogen atmosphere at temperatures between 1000 and 1700 8C,
hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen atoms are removed from the fibre
and are emitted as NH3, H2O, H2, CO, CO2, HCN and CH4. A
significant weight fraction of the PAN fibres is thus sacrificed.
Energy is supplied through combustion of natural gas and
electricity. Controlled combustion of the emitted gases results in Fig. 1. Fuel consumption as a function of car weight and engine size for gasoline
emission of residual traces of HCN, NH3, CH4 and CO. The weight driven cars (MVEG cycle) [17].
 J.R. Duflou et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology 58 (2009) 9–12 11

Fig. 2. Life cycle analysis network overview for the composite design variant (only flows representing at least 2% of the total impact are displayed).

consists of the reduced fuel consumption. Given the importance of
this factor for the all over objective of the study, a sufficiently
refined fuel consumption model was required.
A regression model, as obtained based on analysis of 156
gasoline driven cars [17], was used in order to quantify the fuel
consumption for the redesigned car. A linear relation in function of
car weight and engine size, as illustrated in Fig. 1, provides a
coefficient of determination R2 = 86%.
Applied to the reference car and calibrated by means of the
known fuel consumption (MVEG cycle) for the 1.4 car model (mass
m = 912 kg under standard load conditions according to [13], total
engine displacement V = 1.399 dm3), the regression formula for the
gasoline consumption (GC) can be written as:
GC ¼ 3:359m þ 1:186V þ 1:190 (1)
3
for GC in l/100 km, m in ton, V in dm
As an accuracy verification, this formula was used to estimate
the fuel consumption for the Lupo 1.0 (m = 856 kg, V = 0.999 dm3)
which resulted in an error of less than 1% compared to the
consumption published by the constructor (5.6 l/100 km).

Fig. 3. Environmental impact of the production of 1 kg of carbon fibre according to the Eco-Indicator 99 (E) method.
12 J.R. Duflou et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology 58 (2009) 9–12
Applying Formula (1) to both the reference car and the
redesigned CFRP variant, a reduction in gasoline consumption of
0.76 l/100 km was obtained.
3.4. End-of-life treatment phase
For the composite fraction different recycling oriented scenarios,
based on technologies such as mechanical secondary recycling,
pyrolis and hydrolis, were studied. Incineration with energy
recycling was chosen as the most probable end-of-life (EOL) scenario,
thus complying with the scenario most typically recommended in
literature (e.g. [18]). Incineration after shredding is assumed at a
nominal oven temperature of 800 8C. At this temperature the CF and
epoxy matrix are expected to be completely converted to CO2, H2O
and NO2. To estimate the thermal energy (TE) released in this process,
use was made of the modified Dulong formula [19]:
TE ¼ 337C þ 1419ðH1=8 OÞ þ 93S þ 23N
with TE expressed in kJ/kg and C, H, O, S and N the respective
weight fractions in %.
For C, H, O and N representing, respectively, 87%, 4%, 6% and 3%
of mass in the CFRP, this formula provides an energy output
estimate of 34 MJ/kg.
Since the composites used in this study contain no sulphur,
phosphor, halogens or heavy metals, toxic emissions were not
expected to become a major concern.
For the original steel based BIW, shredding and recycling is the
common practice that was adopted in the analysis. Materials were
assumed to be 100% recycled and standard EcoInvent data were
used for these processes.
4. Impact assessment
The Eco-Indicator 99 quantification method was used and the
Egalitarian weighting scheme was applied for aggregation purposes.
The Simapro 7 LCA software was used to conduct the analysis.
Fig. 2 contains a summary of the impact analysis for the
composite BIW alternative. A total aggregated impact of 172 Pt was
obtained. With 2.89 ecopoints (Pt) per kg, the production of carbon
fibres dominates the impact caused by this design variant. A more
detailed breakdown of the CF production stages and their respective
impact is offered in Fig. 3. The importance of the initial PAN
production and the energy supply in the consecutive production
steps can be observed. Dominant impact categories are fossil fuel
depletion, respiratory inorganics emission and contributions to
climate change. The impact assessment demonstrates that the
environmental effects caused by the EOL treatment of CFRPs through
incineration with heat recycling (20.7 Pt for the full BIW) are an order
of magnitude smaller than the production impact (151 Pt).
Similarly the production, use and EOL treatment of the BIW
structure as used in the reference car was simulated, resulting in a
total impact score of 239 Pt. In this calculation the fuel consumption
due to the additional weight of 155 kg represents 196 Pt.
Comparison of both scores allows to conclude that, measured
over the entire product life cycle (200,000 km functional use), the
effect of BIW redesign using CFRP can be expected to result in an
impact reduction corresponding to 67 Pt. While the impact caused
by the production and EOL treatment of the used materials was
found to be four times higher for the CFRP variant (172 compared
to 43 Pt), significant fuel savings result in a break even point
between both design solutions after 132,000 km of use.
5. Sensitivity analysis
The importance of the second order mass reductions for the
achieved impact reduction was analysed. The corresponding
materials related impact reduction of 8.81 Pt is of secondary
importance compared to the influence on the fuel consumption:
where full exploitation of the mass reduction by BIW redesign
results in a reduced gasoline consumption of 0.76 l/100 km,
ignoring the opportunity for second order weight reductions
would limit this improvement to 0.42 l/100 km only. Over the
200,000 km functional life span this would correspond to a missed
fuel reduction opportunity of 681 l.
The carbon fibre production has a dominant influence on the
total LCA score obtained, mainly in consequence of the high energy
input required for the consecutive production steps. While over the
past decade a significant energy efficiency improvement has
already been achieved, some authors anticipate a further reduction
to about 50% of the level taken into account for this study [20].
Assuming such a technological progress, the impact score of the
CFRP BIW design variant would be reduced with approximately 45
Pt. The corresponding break even point between the two design
variants would then be located around 86,000 km.
6. Conclusions
(2)
Although the EU ELV directive [7] is effectively blocking the
introduction of CFRPs in automotive design, for the chosen
incineration scenario the EOL phase is not really dominating the
environmental footprint in this comparative LCA. From a life cycle
perspective CFRPs are providing a possible alternative for
conventional steel structures if a sufficiently long functional life
time (expressed in km) can be assured. For the analysed case a
break even point was found at 132,000 km.
The impact reduction caused by fuel savings due to the
redesigned, CFRP based body-in-white structure is however to a
large extend offset by the energy intensive nature of the carbon
fibre production process. In this respect process innovation in the
production stage of the CFRP base materials, and particularly
carbon fibres, is of the highest importance if CFRPs are to become a
dominant technology.
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