What shall we do with
the End-of-Life vessel ?
John Summerscales
Advanced Composites Manufacturing Centre
University of Plymouth
... with input from Miggy Singh (UoP SMSE),
Ken Wittamore (Triskel Consultants Limited), and
Sue Halliwell (NetComposites)
Political drivers
The European Community aims to be the most “sustainable”
federation of countries in the world:
• Waste Framework Directive (WFD)
• Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC)
also pressure from the environmental lobby
• End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) for cars
• Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive
• ?? End-of-Life Vessel ??
Commercial drivers
• Waste minimisation is a basic management philosophy
to achieve a more profitable business
– cost savings thro’ improved resource efficiency
– compliance reduces litigation costs
– risk reduction improves investor confidence
– eco-friendly is good for customer relations
End-of-life (EoL) vessel
Annette Roux (2007)
President of FIN
(French boatbuilding federation) and
President of Groupe Beneteau, said:
industry has worked hard on
techniques to destroy old fibreglass hulls,
instead of owners abandoning them,
“but so far we are having difficulty finding any:
they are in good condition
and sailors continue to use them”
EuCIA: European Composites
Industry Association
• Competitive Composites:
Sustainability and Recycling Challenges,
Brussels, 04 May 2011
– debate report:
http://www.eucia.org/files/
EuCIA%20Debate%20Report%2004052011.pdf
Size of problem
• 95% of boats > cars, so need cutting before crushing
• some common issues with civil engineering
• reduce size for cost-effective transport to process site
• inherently tough, so high energy consumption
Recycling hierarchy
• waste reduction > reuse > recovery > disposal
– manufacture: lean materials usage
– reuse: vessel – components – materials
– recover: fibres – pyrolysis etc for feedstock
– disposal: scuttle – incinerate – compost if bio-based
– landfill as a last resort
• beware: toxic compounds in
• bilges, engines, lubricants, etc and
• anti-fouling coatings
Waste reduction in manufacture
• Why buy it, then throw it out ?
– analyse what leaves the plant in skips and drains
• Why not recycle waste ?
– small volumes
– only small specialist markets
e.g. carbon fibre prepreg > jewellery
– no clear economic benefits
• Italy: ENA eco-design & LCA criteria
ELB FRP waste to secondary raw material
Waste reduction
by re-use
• Second-hand market, e.g.
• HMS Wilton now Essex Yacht Club HQ
• HMS Bicester to Greek Navy HS Europa
• Every naval architect has his own design
– could multiple designs use standard hatch cover
– then a strong second hand market might develop
Image from Essex Yacht Club homepage
Waste reduction by re-use
(repair or component replacement)
• Team Phillips and US SSN 711 "San Francisco"
Images from
http://www.nmmc.co.uk/index.php?page=News_Centre&newsid=18 (left)
and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1026891.stm (centre and right)
http://navysite.de/ssn/ssn711_6.jpg (left),
http://www.subcommittee.com/cgi-
bin/ikonboard.cgi?s=0584a1450d8de1bca4f7443b07a0f89f;act=ST;f=27;t=115;st=20 (centre)
and http://www.subcommittee.com/cgi-
bin/ikonboard.cgi?s=49d5aa6747d28724559df35b205650a3;act=ST;f=27;t=115;st=10 (right)
Waste reduction
by material recovery
Four classes:
• primary: to materials of equivalent performance
• secondary: to materials of inferior performance
• tertiary: to chemicals and fuel
• quaternary: to energy
Waste reduction
by material recovery
• Ground GFRP can replace ~15% SMC or BMC
• Finland* (state-driven initiative with recycling company)
– ~1000 small open craft recycled to date
• France* (six competing companies)
– ~250 dinghies landfill
• Germany
– Zajons Logistik and Holcim AG
– 60kt Turbine blades shredded then to cement kilns (~15GJ/tonne)
– ash and slag incorporated into cement
• Norway
– mechanical recycling
– energy recovery in cement kilns
– pyrolysis
– chemical recycling via solvolysis (GjenKomp project)
Waste disposal (incineration)
• thermoset resins char rather than burn ?
• tales of boatyard blazes with fuel still in GRP tanks
• GRP in incineration needs to
be well-mixed with other waste
• charge for GRP ~£120-150/t
vs £30/t for ordinary wastes
Up Helly Aa (not FRP)
If all else fails, then scuttle ?
>35 m (100 ft) not disturbed by storms
>75 m (250 ft) remain in place & inhabited by fish for 30-40 years
may be appropriate for
use in coastal defences against sea-level rise
recreational diving (e.g. RN frigate HMS Scylla in Whitesand Bay)
requires:
• cleaning bilges, anti-fouling
• attention to anchoring
• LCA to justify post-use management
• convince stakeholders of positive benefit
• beware of scour HMS Scylla
Image from:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news_features
/images/scylla/scylla_bang180.jpg
Effects of scour
• abrasion by pebbles and/or sand leads to
polymer micro-particles
– particles accumulate toxins from seawater
– high toxin levels on particle surfaces
– particles ingested by marine animals
– microparticles can enter circulatory system of
e.g. mussels
If everything else fails,
then landfill
• UK Waste Classification Scheme
– hazardous, non-hazardous or inert
– composites classified as non-hazardous, under
“biodegradable wastes and other non-special waste”
• Costs of landfill rising each year
Life Cycle Assessment
To quantify environmental impacts need analysis of
Environmental Impact Classification Factors (EICF):
Azapagic et al ISO/TR 14047:2003(E) European Environment Agency
Acidification Potential (AP) Acidification Acidification
Aquatic Toxicity Potential (ATP) Ecotoxicity Ecotoxicity
Eutrophication Potential (EP) Eutrophication/Nitrification Eutrophication
Global Warming Potential (GWP) Climate change Climate change and global warming
Human Toxicity Potential (HTP) Human toxicity Human toxicity
Non-Renewable/Abiotic Resource Depletion (NRADP) Depletion of abiotic/biotic resources
Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) Stratospheric ozone depletion Stratospheric ozone depletion
Photochemical Oxidants Creation Potential (POCP) Photo-oxidant formation Photochemical ozone formation (summer smog)
BS8905 adds “Land Use”
also consider general nuisance of ... dust, noise and odour ?
Conclusions
we need to
• develop an effective method for reducing
end-of-life components to manageable size
• consider vessel end-of-life considerations
before political solutions are imposed
• undertake life cycle assessments to support
any claims made for environmental benefit
if more depth required ...