A new Plooto-related academic publication was accepted at the APMS Conference, entitled “Optimizing the Reuse of Requalified CFRP in Drone Manufacturing”. The publication was authored by Kyriakos Bitsis, Konstantinos Kaparis, Georgios Zois and was presented In the APMS 2025 Conference held on 27.8.2025.
Abstract: This work is focused on optimizing the reuse of requalified Carbon-Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) materials (expired rolls and production scraps) as a substitute for virgin materials in drone manufacturing to address the growing waste management challenge in the CFRP industry. The study introduces a novel Mixed-Integer Non-Linear Program (MINLP) model to simulate the flow of virgin and secondary raw materials within a closed-loop value network. The model considers various cost factors and policy incentives. A comprehensive sensitivity analysis evaluates the impact of processing costs on the optimal production plan, demonstrating the model’s ability to identify cost-minimizing strategies while maximizing the use of requalified prepregs. The findings highlight the robustness of the proposed solution against moderate cost fluctuations and identify thresholds where virgin materials become more economically viable. This research contributes to a more sustainable and circular approach to material management in the composites industry
The paper can be found at: Optimizing the Reuse of Requalified CFRP in Drone Manufacturing