IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i13p7993-d852531.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Circular Composites by Design: Testing a Design Method in Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Jelle Joustra

    (Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CE Delft, The Netherlands)

  • Conny Bakker

    (Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CE Delft, The Netherlands)

  • Riel Bessai

    (Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CE Delft, The Netherlands)

  • Ruud Balkenende

    (Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CE Delft, The Netherlands)

Abstract

The design of composite products for a circular economy is challenging. Materials such as glass-fibre-reinforced plastics have long product lifetimes but are hard to recycle. For the effective reuse and recycling of products, parts, and materials, recovery strategies must be selected and implemented in the product design stage. This extends the scope and complexity of the design process and requires additional skills from the designers. We developed a novel circular composites design method for products containing composite materials to support designers and improve product circularity. This method, which is the first of its kind to address the circular design of composite products, helps designers explore recovery pathways and generate design solutions. In this study, we evaluated the method’s effectiveness, accessibility, and usability in design practice. We tested the method with five design case studies in the construction, furniture, and automotive industries. The method was used to generate, evaluate, communicate, and detail product designs. We found that two of the five cases used the method to develop circular product concepts. In the other three cases, recycling rather than product-level recovery strategies was the result, with a focus on improving the material formulations instead of the overall product design. Although the designers considered the method accessible and usable, its effectiveness was restricted by the existing business, logistics, reprocessing technology, and policy contexts. These factors are intertwined and partly dictate the boundary conditions of the design, which means that to successfully implement the proposed method, the transition to a circular economy requires a holistic approach to adjust the design process, organisations, and value chains.

Suggested Citation

  • Jelle Joustra & Conny Bakker & Riel Bessai & Ruud Balkenende, 2022. "Circular Composites by Design: Testing a Design Method in Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-17, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:13:p:7993-:d:852531
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/13/7993/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/13/7993/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Phil Brown & Nancy Bocken & Ruud Balkenende, 2019. "Why Do Companies Pursue Collaborative Circular Oriented Innovation?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-23, January.
    2. Kirchherr, Julian & Reike, Denise & Hekkert, Marko, 2017. "Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 221-232.
    3. Deborah Sumter & Jotte de Koning & Conny Bakker & Ruud Balkenende, 2020. "Circular Economy Competencies for Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-16, February.
    4. Jelle Joustra & Bas Flipsen & Ruud Balkenende, 2021. "Circular Design of Composite Products: A Framework Based on Insights from Literature and Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-23, June.
    5. Korhonen, Jouni & Honkasalo, Antero & Seppälä, Jyri, 2018. "Circular Economy: The Concept and its Limitations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 37-46.
    6. Wang, Jason X. & Burke, Haydn & Zhang, Abraham, 2022. "Overcoming barriers to circular product design," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    7. Mariale Moreno & Carolina De los Rios & Zoe Rowe & Fiona Charnley, 2016. "A Conceptual Framework for Circular Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-15, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Naglaa Fathy, 2023. "Interfacial Microstructure and Shear Strength Improvements of Babbitt–Steel Bimetal Composites Using Sn–Bi Interlayer via Liquid–Solid Casting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Deborah Sumter & Jotte de Koning & Conny Bakker & Ruud Balkenende, 2021. "Key Competencies for Design in a Circular Economy: Exploring Gaps in Design Knowledge and Skills for a Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Aurelija Burinskienė & Olga Lingaitienė & Artūras Jakubavičius, 2022. "Core Elements Affecting the Circularity of Materials," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-21, July.
    3. Laura Montag, 2023. "Circular Economy and Supply Chains: Definitions, Conceptualizations, and Research Agenda of the Circular Supply Chain Framework," Circular Economy and Sustainability,, Springer.
    4. Fazal Ur Rehman & Basheer M. Al-Ghazali & Mohamed Riyazi M. Farook, 2022. "Interplay in Circular Economy Innovation, Business Model Innovation, SDGs, and Government Incentives: A Comparative Analysis of Pakistani, Malaysian, and Chinese SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-31, November.
    5. Maryam Hina & Chetna Chauhan & Rajat Sharma & Amandeep Dhir, 2023. "Circular economy business models as pillars of sustainability: Where are we now, and where are we heading?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 6182-6209, December.
    6. Anja Eisenreich & Johann Füller & Martin Stuchtey, 2021. "Open Circular Innovation: How Companies Can Develop Circular Innovations in Collaboration with Stakeholders," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-23, December.
    7. Maria Cristina Zaccone & Cristina Santhià & Martina Bosone, 2022. "How Hybrid Organizations Adopt Circular Economy Models to Foster Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, February.
    8. Chedrak Chembessi & Christophe Beaurain & Geneviève Cloutier, 2022. "Analyzing Technical and Organizational Changes in Circular Economy (CE) Implementation with a TOE Framework: Insights from a CE Project of Kamouraska (Quebec)," Circular Economy and Sustainability,, Springer.
    9. Stuart Danvers & Jonathan Robertson & Ambika Zutshi, 2023. "Conceptualizing How Collaboration Advances Circularity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-23, March.
    10. Johan Arekrans & Sofia Ritzén & Rafael Laurenti, 2023. "The role of radical innovation in circular strategy deployment," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 1085-1105, March.
    11. Davide Bruno & Marinella Ferrara & Felice D’Alessandro & Alberto Mandelli, 2022. "The Role of Design in the CE Transition of the Furniture Industry—The Case of the Italian Company Cassina," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-20, July.
    12. Jaroslaw Golebiewski & Josu Takala & Oskar Juszczyk & Nina Drejerska, 2019. "Local contribution to circular economy. A case study of a Polish rural municipality," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 21(3), pages 771-791.
    13. Amir Latif & Martha Fani Cahyandito & Gemilang Lara Utama, 2023. "Circular Economy Concept at the Micro-Level: A Case Study of Taruna Mukti Farmer Group, Bandung Regency, West Java, Indonesia," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-14, February.
    14. Ahmad, Farhan & Bask, Anu & Laari, Sini & Robinson, Craig V., 2023. "Business management perspectives on the circular economy: Present state and future directions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    15. Ivan Deviatkin & Sanna Rousu & Malahat Ghoreishi & Mohammad Naji Nassajfar & Mika Horttanainen & Ville Leminen, 2022. "Implementation of Circular Economy Strategies within the Electronics Sector: Insights from Finnish Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-11, March.
    16. Ángela Triguero & María C. Cuerva & Francisco J. Sáez‐Martínez, 2022. "Closing the loop through eco‐innovation by European firms: Circular economy for sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2337-2350, July.
    17. Concepción Garcés-Ayerbe & Pilar Rivera-Torres & Inés Suárez-Perales & Dante I. Leyva-de la Hiz, 2019. "Is It Possible to Change from a Linear to a Circular Economy? An Overview of Opportunities and Barriers for European Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Companies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-15, March.
    18. Castro-Lopez, Adrian & Iglesias, Victor & Santos-Vijande, María Leticia, 2023. "Organizational capabilities and institutional pressures in the adoption of circular economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    19. Chembessi Chedrak & Gohoungodji Paulin & Juste Rajaonson, 2023. "“A fine wine, better with age”: Circular economy historical roots and influential publications: A bibliometric analysis using Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS)," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(6), pages 1593-1612, December.
    20. Camila Kolling & José Luis Duarte Ribeiro & Donato Morea & Gianpaolo Iazzolino, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility and circular economy from the perspective of consumers: A cross‐cultural analysis in the cosmetic industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1226-1243, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:13:p:7993-:d:852531. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.