Andreia Araújo

Andreia Araújo

Personal Information

  1. Name: Andreia Araújo
  2. Position/Title: Advanced Materials Coordinator
  3. Department: Composite Materials and Structures Unit at INEGI

Professional Background

  1. Briefly describe your professional background and area of expertise:

    I would describe my background as multidisciplinary (biology, chemistry and polymer engineering). I started working on the modification and characterization of bio-based or bio-inspired thermoplastic matrices for applications such as sustainable packaging, water remediation and wound healing. Then I moved to the development of modified thermoset matrices and fiber reinforced composites. In the past years my work was more focused on the development of advanced and multifunctional composite materials, circularity and sustainability.

  2. What inspired you to pursue a career in this related field, e.g., composite materials recycling?:

    Polymers and composites are part of our daily lives, so I always wanted to contribute to the development of new materials and solutions. In the past years, with the rising concerns over waste management, end of live pathways, pollution and global warming, it was natural to shift my focus towards circularity and sustainability.

Polymers and composites are everywhere, so contributing to new materials and solutions naturally led me to focus on circularity and sustainability

Role in EURECOMP

  1. What is your role in the EURECOMP project?:

    Technical Leader

  2. Can you describe your main responsibilities and tasks?

    I am responsible to coordinate the technical team in the design and production of a large-scale repurpose demonstrator, along with the development of advanced composite materials based of the recycled fibers provided by other project partners.

  3. How does your work contribute to the overall goals of the EURECOMP project?:

    At INEGI, we contribute to EURECOMP with the production of a demonstrator and we develop and supply intermediate materials for others.

So far, we managed to obtain a composite laminate using recycled continuous carbon fibers that retained around 90% of the virgin fibers’ tensile properties

Project Insights

  1. What do you find most exciting about working on the EURECOMP project?:

    The fact that we tackle a large number of R strategies, contributing to the creation of circular loops instead of just looking into recycling, for instance. The development of new and advanced materials to be integrated in demonstrators is also very exciting.

  2. What has been the most challenging aspect of your work on this project?

    The development of new materials with high performance using recovered/recycled fibers brings a lot of challenges. The same applies to the repurposing work of large EoL parts.

  3. Can you share a significant milestone or achievement your team has reached so far?

    So far we managed to obtain a composite laminate using recycled continuous carbon fibers that retained around 90 % of the virgin fibers tensile properties.

Personal Experience

  1. What have you learned during your time working on EURECOMP?:

    This project has contributed to deepen my knowledge not only on different sustainable approaches for composite materials, but also on several aspects and considerations of product development.

  2. How has this project influenced your professional development?:

    Working and interacting with a bigger team with different backgrounds and responsibilities has strongly contributed to my professional development.

Fun Facts

  1. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

    I love to spend quality time with my family and friends, knitting and reading.

  2. Share a fun fact about yourself that your colleagues might not know:

    I learned how to knit around 2 years ago by myself watching YouTube videos and now I am able to test knit patterns for Designers around the world.

   Alone we can do interesting things, but when collaborating with others, the achievements can be colossal.

Closing Thoughts

  1. Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience with the EURECOMP project?:

    Alone we can do interesting things, but when collaborating with others, the achievements can be colossal.