The economic and mechanical potential of closed loop material usage and recycling of fibre-reinforced composite materials

Hagnell, Mathilda Karlsson; Åkermo, Malin

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.156

Cited by 86 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Recently, in order to close the loop of GFRPs life-cycle, the complete recycling of GFRPs comprising of the recycling process of both fibres and polymer matrix has been at the centre of attention [13,14]. In contrast to thermoplastics, the recycling of FRPs fabricated by thermosetting resins is always more challenging because of highly cross-linked networks through irreversible chemical reactions, which make them insoluble and infusible in common solvents [9,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Sustainable Approach to the Low-Cost Recycling of Waste Glass Fibres Composites towards Circular Economy

et al. 2020

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For practical applications, both environmental and economic aspects are highly required to consider in the development of recycling of fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) encountering their end-of-life. Here, a sustainable, low cost, and efficient approach for the recycling of the glass fibre (GF) from GF reinforced epoxy polymer (GFRP) waste is introduced, based on a microwave-assisted chemical oxidation method. It was found that in a one-step process using microwave irradiation, a mixture of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as a green oxidiser and tartaric acid (TA) as a natural organic acid could be used to decompose the epoxy matrix of a waste GFRP up to 90% yield. The recycled GFs with ~92.7% tensile strength, ~99.0% Young’s modulus, and ~96.2% strain-to-failure retentions were obtained when compared to virgin GFs (VGFs). This short microwave irradiation time using these green and sustainable recycling solvents makes this a significantly low energy consumption approach for the recycling of end-of-life GFRPs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Sustainable Approach to the Low-Cost Recycling of Waste Glass Fibres Composites towards Circular Economy

et al. 2020

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“…Solvolysis is the most suitable method to recycle carbon fibers because it consumes less energy, and it contributes to the development of high-quality recycled carbon fibers [119,123]. Unfortunately, the Recycling by Super Critical Fluid Solvolysis (SCFS) is not the most environmentally friendly recycling process [124] compared to mechanical recycling or pyrolysis.…”

Section: Properties Of Recycled Carbon Fibers (Cf)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Composite Material Recycling Technology – State-of-the-Art and Sustainable Development for the 2020s.

Krauklis¹,

Karl²,

Gagani³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Recently, significant events took place that added immensely to the sociotechnical pressure for developing sustainable composite recycling solutions, namely (1) a ban on composite landfilling in Germany in 2009, (2) the first major wave of composite wind turbines reaching their End-of-Life (EoL) and being decommissioned in 2019-2020, (3) the acceleration of aircraft decommissioning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and (4) the increase of composites in mass production cars, thanks to the development of high volume technologies based on thermoplastic composites. Such sociotechnical pressure will only grow in the upcoming decade of 2020s as other countries are to follow Germany by limiting and banning landfill options, and by the ever-growing number of expired composites EoL waste. The recycling of composite materials will therefore play an important role in the future, in particular for the wind energy, but also for aerospace, automotive, construction and marine sectors to reduce environmental impacts and to meet the demand. The scope of this manuscript is a clear and condensed yet full state-of-the-art overview of the available composite recycling technologies of both low and high Technology Readiness Levels (TRL). TRL is a framework that has been used in many variations across industries to provide a measurement of technology maturity from idea generation (basic principles) to commercialization. In other words, this work should be treated as a technology review providing guidelines for the sustainable development of the industry that will benefit the society. The authors propose that one of the key aspects for the development of sustainable recycling technology is to identify the optimal recycling methods for different types of composites. Why is that the case can be answered with a simple price comparison of E-glass fibers (~2 $/kg) versus a typical carbon fiber on the market (~20 $/kg) – which of the two is more valuable to recover? However, the answer is more complicated than that – the glass fiber constitutes about 90% of the modern reinforcement market, and it is clear that different technologies are needed. Therefore, this work aims to provide clear guidelines for economically and environmentally sustainable End-of-Life (EoL) solutions and development of the composite material recycling.

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“…Secondly, though the carbon fibers offer high performance, the cost of virgin carbon fibers is relatively expensive. This creates an increased market demand for recycled fiber products, particularly in the automotive market, as rCFs are comparatively cheaper (Hagnell and Åkermo 2019). Though a detailed literature on cost or life cycle analysis of recycling carbon fibers within automotive industries are not yet available in literature, commercial recyclers point out that RCF offers a 20-40% cost savings in comparison with virgin fibers (Gardiner 2014).…”

Section: Driving Forces For Re-entry Of Carbon Fibers To Close the Lomentioning

confidence: 99%

Recycled Carbon Fibers (rCF) in Automobiles: Towards Circular Economy

2020

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Carbon fiber is now in focus center for manufacturing various commercial and technical products in global industry. Especially, in automobiles, the use of carbon fiber has led empowerment of more fuel proficient transportation. On the downsides, at their end-of-life stage, huge amounts end up in landfills causing serious waste management and environmental issues. Meanwhile, expanded collaborations among the industrialists and researchers have aided recuperating and reusing of the carbon fibers, putting them back into the track of circular economy. This work presents a comprehensive review on the driving forces and challenges faced by the stakeholders in using recycled carbon fibers (rCF) for development of new automotive parts, in order to close the loop of carbon fibers in automobile industry. The insights of current carbon fiber recycling technologies are summarized. It is seen that though several recycling processes are reaching a mature stage with implementations at commercial scales in operation, pyrolysis is the most desired recycling technology to date. Further, a short market review discussed in this work highlights that irrespective of a number of challenges faced in adoption of circularity of carbon fibers, key automobile manufacturers have launched many cars and trucks with few of its components manufactured using rCF. Additionally, this work also identifies that more advancements in research and technologies, more tax benefits and funding allocation, need for collaborative business models, boosting, and establishing a more matured market for recovered rCF composites are still necessary for achieving efficient circularity of carbon fibers. Keywords Circularity of carbon fibers. Carbon fiber recycling technologies. rCF automobile applications. Challenges and recommendations

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The economic and mechanical potential of closed loop material usage and recycling of fibre-reinforced composite materials

Cited by 86 publications

References 51 publications

A Sustainable Approach to the Low-Cost Recycling of Waste Glass Fibres Composites towards Circular Economy

A Sustainable Approach to the Low-Cost Recycling of Waste Glass Fibres Composites towards Circular Economy

Composite Material Recycling Technology – State-of-the-Art and Sustainable Development for the 2020s.

Recycled Carbon Fibers (rCF) in Automobiles: Towards Circular Economy

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