krafton® glass fibre-reinforced plastic has a low environmental impact

The use of composites in construction has many advantages: they are light, quickly installed, require little maintenance and are very durable. GRP is much more environmentally friendly than people generally realise. In addition, this material is extremely cost-effective. A material’s environmental impact relates to the entire value chain: From extracting the raw materials and the strain these activities put on the environment to transport, production, further transport and assembly and erection of the final product.

Glass fibre-reinforced plastic profiles from krafton® are the solution: the material of the future!

• Glass fibre production requires 75% less energy than steel production.
  • The curing process is exothermic (gives off heat), meaning that the energy consumption per unit produced is extremely low.
• Glass fibre structures are 75% lighter than steel.
  • As a result, 50% less energy is required for transport and assembly.
• GRP’s CO2 equivalent is less than half that of a concrete bridge and approximately a third of the CO2 equivalent for a steel bridge. As a result, GRP’s carbon footprint is also very favourable.
• Hardly any harmful by-products are created during production.
  • Pultrusion takes place in a fully closed process that minimises the evaporation of volatile compounds.
• The production of basic resins and fibre rovings does not have the same negative environmental impact as that of metals such as steel or aluminium.
• The resin used to make GRP is derived from a by-product of refined crude oil.
• Due in part to the high quality resins that are used, many GRP products have a service life of more than 50 years and even more than 100 years in some cases.
• No environmentally harmful finishing operations, such as hot-dip galvanising or painting in the case of steel, or other preservation methods such as those used for wood, are required in order to guarantee the service life of a GRP product.
• GRP is 100% recyclable and can be reused in many different applications. (Source: www.compositesuk.co.uk)
  • All kinds of GRP products can be professionally recycled to produce high-quality substitute fuels and reclaimed fibres.
  • Furthermore, processed GRP waste is a high-grade alternative for the cement industry where it is used both as a fuel and as a mineral raw material (SiO2).

Do you also want to contribute to conserving the environment? Use glass fibre-reinforced plastic as a building material!
For more information about the comparative studies carried out by BECO and others, click  here and here.
More information?

krafton’s guaranteed return policy

In order to promote the cradle-to-cradle concept, krafton® guarantees that it will take back all the GRP profiles it produces. As a result, we can arrange for the profiles to be reused or have them recycled in an environmentally responsible manner.
Click here for more information about our CSR activities and guaranteed return policy.

Glass fibre-reinforced plastic is an extremely sustainable product with an excellent life cycle analysis.
GRP is the material of the future. View our range.