Life cycle energy consumption of pultruded flax fiber composites

With increasing environmental awareness, the use of natural fibers are growing rapidly in light of market demands for "green" products. One such example is a pultruded natural fiber composite. In this study, the energy consumption of an innovative new pultruded composite integrating flax fibers with a resin having recycled content was compared to a regular glass fiber composite by using a life cycle perspective. This study begins to identify hotspots within the life cycle of green fiber composites to enable further improvements.