Young engineer wins award for lower-carbon carpets

Alexandra Joyce Roe is among four inaugural Young Engineers Awards for Innovation and Sustainability winners.

Her winning project was the development of technology to reduce the carbon footprint of carpets, which she worked on with Milliken carpet manufacturers.

Alexandra spent a replacement year at Milliken Carpets as a component of her bachelor's degree. Then, as part of her master's degree, she decided to focus on sustainability, and the carpet manufacturer agreed that she could return to work on a project to research how to reduce the carbon footprint of carpets.

Biochar is an organic material which is heat treated without oxygen to form a material which is 80% carbon. Alexandra tested various biochar formulations before finding the optimum recipe. In pilot trials of producing carpet tiles with added biochar, she reduced the tiles' carbon footprint by 36%.

Biochar is already used in carpet manufacturing to bind CO2, but Alexandra's research could make more efficient use of biochar materials. She has now left the project and plans to work in Europe on sustainability projects.

The 2024 Young Engineers Awards for Innovation and Sustainability was a pilot program, but there are plans to make it an annual awards event.

Biochar is one of many technologies that make carpet tiles more sustainable. Flooring services in Chester supply wool carpets made with natural eco-friendly sheep's wool. Adhesives to fix carpet tiles are available that contain natural products rather than harsh chemicals. Materials can be extracted from worn carpet tiles which are used to make new products.