Mallinda Inc. has announced the commercial launch of its Vitrimax versatile hot melt (VHM) resin. Designed to innovate the recyclability of high-performance composites, the technology combines thermosets' mechanical properties with thermoplastics' processing flexibility. The innovation aims to improve sustainable manufacturing and enable high-performance composites' economic recyclability and reuse.
Mallinda
Mallinda's Vitrimax VHM resin.
By launching Vitrimax, the advanced polymer technology provider hopes to promote 100% recyclability and reuse of production scrap as well as end-of-life circularity programs. With its molecular-level design for circularity, the solution can “always be profitably recycled at a lower cost” compared to virgin inputs.
“Vitrimax VHM represents a paradigm shift in composite materials,” said Philip Taynton, CEO at Mallinda. “We've successfully bridged the gap between performance and sustainability, offering manufacturers unprecedented flexibility in scalable manufacturing and processing while maintaining the structural integrity demanded by modern applications.”
The commercial-scale production validation of the technology has already been successful, with a batch consistency at 200L reactor scale and qualification for 2.1 tons per batch manufacturing. One day’s batch can produce 10,000 square meters of composite materials.
Key features of the Vitrimax VHM resin:
- Combines thermoset performance with thermoplastic processibility.
- Allows for circular manufacturing with complete component material recovery.
- Enables post-cure processing with tunable glass transition temperature.
- Components can be repaired and reshaped even in the field.
- Improves sustainability by enabling economically viable separation, recycling of resins, composite fabric, and integrated components.
- Enhanced durability with stress-relief capabilities.
“The industry has long sought a solution that doesn't compromise between performance and sustainability,” said Eduardo Torres, CEO of MTorres America, “Vitrimax VHM delivers on both fronts, offering a truly circular solution for composite manufacturing.”
Common industry challenges like manufacturing efficiency, waste management, and environmental sustainability can be addressed with this innovation. Users can reprocess scrap materials and rejected parts, lowering their carbon footprint while ensuring standards are being met. Vitrimax resin can be utilised in UAV, sporting goods, automotive, marine, and aerospace applications, with the technology expected to have an “outsize impact” on hydrogen pressure vessels, urban air mobility, and wind energy.
Professor Steven Nutt, Director of M.C. Gill Composites Center at the University of Southern California, concluded, “The performance and recyclability of Mallinda's Vitrimer chemistry have been validated in multiple academic studies. Circularity in composites is challenging, but the Vitrimax chemistry is likely one of the best places from which to start.”