Environmental assessment of an automated impregnation process of carbon fiber tows

Abstract The aim of the present study is to assess the environmental loads of an automated impregnation process of carbon fiber tows with a thermoset epoxy resin. A streamlined Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), in the "gate-to-gate" form, has been carried out, following the ISO 14040/44 methodology. This study has been focused on the following environmental impact categories: global warming potential (GWP), cumulative energy demand (CED) and water consumption. A single linear meter of manufactured towpreg has been chosen as functional unit. Simapro v. 8.5 and Ecoinvent v. 3.5 have been used respectively as LCA software and Life Cycle Inventory database