The European Tarpaulife project aims to demonstrate the possibility of manufacturing large-area polyolefin-coated fabrics using polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which can compete in terms of cost with PVC-coated fabrics while maintaining their properties of strength, flexibility, and impermeability, in addition to lowering the environmental impact. These new materials will be used to manufacture massive bags for transporting fresh water by sea, although this innovative, more sustainable, and recyclable fabric can also be applied to other products, such as tarpaulins commonly used for trucks and coverings
The main outcome of the project will be a facility for three-meter-wide polyolefin-coated fabrics with a production capacity of 250,000 m2/year upon completion of the project, which started in May 2024 and will last for a total of two years. The main application selected was water bags, which represent an innovative way of transporting large amounts of fresh water by sea, as opposed to the customary mode of transport in tankers.
Solving water-supply problems sustainably
This technology was developed mainly to transport water from areas with high rainfall and water resources that are relatively close to areas with supply problems caused by episodes of drought, seasonal increases in demand due to tourism, and even to respond to emergency situations.
This initiative has already resulted in the REFRESH and XXL-REFRESH projects, financed by the European Commission and with the participation of Aimplas, Rina, and Ziplast, which successfully tested a floating water bag with a modular design and zip connection. The aim of the Tarpaulife project is to go one step further with the coating material of these polyester bags and replace PVC with polyolefins so they are more sustainable and easier to recycle
Water Bag Demonstrators
Two 2,500-m3 capacity water bags will be made as demonstrators for the project for testing in two locations in Europe. Demonstration of the water bag will provide a backup freshwater reservoir in the North Sea off the coast of Iceland and in the Mediterranean
Thanks to this new production plant for polyolefin-coated fabrics, which will be located at the Ziplast facility in Milan, it is anticipated that more than 100 water bags will be produced three years after the project’s end, and more than two million cubic meters of water will be stored at three freshwater storage sites. The proposed solution will help avoid incineration of more than 2,000 tonnes of PVC and prevent more than 13 tonnes of CO2 from being released into the environment.
The project also includes replication of the results in other sectors, namely the production of eco-friendly truck tarps and glacier tarpaulins, and a demonstration of the sustainability of the new polyolefin fabric coating solution by quantifying the environmental and life-cycle benefits compared to the use of PVC-coated fabrics for all intended applications.
source: plasticstoday
6