Recycling of Waste Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Composites: A Patent-Based Analysis

Abstract

Fiber-reinforced plastic composite materials are increasingly used in many industrial applications, leading to an increase in the amount of waste that must be treated to avoid environmental problems. Currently, the scientific literature classifies existing recycling technologies into three macro-categories: mechanical, thermal, and chemical; however, none are identified as superior to the others. Therefore, scholars and companies struggle to understand where to focus their efforts. Patent analysis, by relying on quantitative data as a precursor to new technological developments, can contribute to fully grasping current applications of each recycling technology and provide insights about their future development perspectives. Based on these premises, this paper performs a patent technology roadmap to enhance knowledge about prior, current, and future use of the main recycling technologies. The results show that recycling macro-categories have different technology maturity levels and growth potentials. Specifically, mechanical recycling is the most mature, with the lowest growth potential, while thermal and chemical recycling are in their growth stage and present remarkable future opportunities. Moreover, the analysis depicts several perspectives for future development on recycling technologies applications within different industries and underline inter- and intra-category dependencies, thus providing valuable information for practitioners and both academic and non-academic backgrounds researchers interested in the topic.

Recycling technologies for fibre-reinforced plastic composite materials: A bibliometric analysis using a systematic approach

“…Overall, the fact that most of the studies belong to the category of Experimental studies seems to denote that research into the analysed topic is still in its growth stage. 77 Indeed, studies mainly focus on the analysis of the mechanical properties of the retrieved fibres by means of a distinctive recycling technology in order to assess their goodness.

Figure 5.Type of research concerning FRP composite materials recycling technology.

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Experimental Study of the Thermophysical Properties of the Red Earth Composite Stabilized with Cement Containing Waste Glass Powder

“…However, the reduction in flue gas, soot, and dust by energy conservation contributes directly to the protection of the environment. In the building sector, a solution is to increase the use of local materials and industrial waste in order to decrease the use of energy-intensive materials such as steel, concrete, and cement [1][2][3][4][5].…”

Analysis of Mechanical Properties Related to Fiber Length of Closed-Loop-Recycled Offcuts of a Thermoplastic Fiber Composites (Organo Sheets)

“…Solvolysis is a chemical decomposition process, in which the polymer matrix is dissolved resp. depolymerized by chemicals [ 11 , 14 ]. Pyrolysis, on the other hand, removes the polymer matrix by combustion, microwave-assisted heating or fluidized bed extraction [ 11 , 13 , 14 , 15 ].…”

“…depolymerized by chemicals [ 11 , 14 ]. Pyrolysis, on the other hand, removes the polymer matrix by combustion, microwave-assisted heating or fluidized bed extraction [ 11 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. In both processes, the end products can be further processed.…”

“…In material recycling, the waste is first shredded, cut or ground. The recovered material can then be reused [ 2 , 11 , 13 , 14 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. To demonstrate the mechanical recyclability of composites with thermoplastics, Otheguy et al 2009 recycled the hull of a boat made from PP-GF laminate with a balsa wood core [ 21 ].…”