Nonwoven application development from retired mooring ropes

Offentlig prosjektsammendrag

Wilhelmsen Maritime Services is a leading company supplying support services to the global shipping industry. With increasing focus on sustainability, Wilhelmsen would like to find nonwoven applications for retired mooring ropes. The ropes are typically comprised of high tensile strength textile fibres such as nylon, polypropylene, high tenacity polyester and UHMWPE (Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene), with global volume estimated to be upwards of 100,000 tonnes. Whilst some of these ropes could be downgraded at end of life and re-used in applications requiring lower tenacity, the ability to do this is currently limited, so it is preferable to find alternative applications for the fibre. Nonwoven processes offer the opportunity to recycle fibres into high-grade products in many consumer and industrial applications and are produced in high volumes. This project proposal aims to match the technical specification of fibre from retired ropes to the needs of the nonwoven industry to identify target applications.