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Sustainable development is considered one of the most important global challenges facing the world today and is an important aspect of transport development. Rail has a central role to play in decarbonising transport as the backbone of the future sustainable transport system. Various developments have been undertaken by railway stakeholders: decarbonisation of diesel trains, noise and vibration reduction, circular economy initiatives, improving the attractiveness of passenger trains, transferring goods to freight trains, etc., i.e. different methods to further improve the energy intensity consumption (kJ/km) of rail transport. One way of reducing energy consumption is to reduce the weight of the train, and Talgo has been working intensively in this area since the beginning, pioneering the use of aluminium structures in the early 1950s and, in recent years, the use of composite materials in primary structures. There is a lack of clear guidelines on recycling and the circular economy, or official information is outdated. This lack of clarity is an obstacle to the design of robust policies for recycling and circular economy in composites and could be an obstacle to the wider uptake of these types of materials. In this article, we will shed light on the uptake of composites from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective, discussing recyclability, circular economy opportunities and whole-life impacts from a cradle-to-cradle perspective. The study is divided into two phases, starting with an LCA of the new prototypes, including the production, assembly, transport and use phases. This is followed by an LCA of conventional structures and a comparison between them. The second phase concludes with a comparison of the environmental impact of replacing conventional structures with these innovative composite structures at the end of their useful life (EoL). The figures obtained suggest that at EoL, composites will be more economically and environmentally attractive than current materials. In addition, new developments in composite materials and recycling processes will lead to significant improvements in the circularity of these components, increasing the recyclability rate.

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Environmental Assessment of Components for Trains Based on the Use of Fiber Reinforced Plastic

  • 会议论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2025年

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  • E. de la Guerra,
  • M. Cerdeira,
  • M. Pérez

摘要

Sustainable development is considered one of the most important global challenges facing the world today and is an important aspect of transport development. Rail has a central role to play in decarbonising transport as the backbone of the future sustainable transport system. Various developments have been undertaken by railway stakeholders: decarbonisation of diesel trains, noise and vibration reduction, circular economy initiatives, improving the attractiveness of passenger trains, transferring goods to freight trains, etc., i.e. different methods to further improve the energy intensity consumption (kJ/km) of rail transport. One way of reducing energy consumption is to reduce the weight of the train, and Talgo has been working intensively in this area since the beginning, pioneering the use of aluminium structures in the early 1950s and, in recent years, the use of composite materials in primary structures. There is a lack of clear guidelines on recycling and the circular economy, or official information is outdated. This lack of clarity is an obstacle to the design of robust policies for recycling and circular economy in composites and could be an obstacle to the wider uptake of these types of materials. In this article, we will shed light on the uptake of composites from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective, discussing recyclability, circular economy opportunities and whole-life impacts from a cradle-to-cradle perspective. The study is divided into two phases, starting with an LCA of the new prototypes, including the production, assembly, transport and use phases. This is followed by an LCA of conventional structures and a comparison between them. The second phase concludes with a comparison of the environmental impact of replacing conventional structures with these innovative composite structures at the end of their useful life (EoL). The figures obtained suggest that at EoL, composites will be more economically and environmentally attractive than current materials. In addition, new developments in composite materials and recycling processes will lead to significant improvements in the circularity of these components, increasing the recyclability rate.