The biobased materials of the year (slide show): Third place

EcoTechnilin Ltd. (Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire, UK) took third place in the Bio-based Material of the Year awards program for its FibriRock 100% biosourced composite material. FibriRock is a lightweight, fast-curing composite with excellent fire smoke toxicity performance. Certified for use in an airline galley cart, FibriRock combines a Nomex-type core with skins formed from flax, basalt and a sugar-based bioresin. There are three reasons why FibriRock is so special in the field of aerospace composites:

• the skins, which represent 87% of the material, are 100% biosourced;
• the fast processing times (150 seconds) are exceptional in the field of aircraft composites, where most sandwich-type materials take between 40 and 70 minutes to cure;
• the low heat-release rate (15 kWmin/m2) is three times lower than competitive materials, enabling clients to use much cheaper films and decorative finishes.