Researchers with the BOTTLE consortium (Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment) have developed a scalable process, described in Nature, that uses hot acetic acid to recycle carbon fiber composites (CFCs). The method dissolves the crosslinked epoxy-amine resins that normally make CFCs hard to recycle, breaking them into reusable chemical building blocks while preserving the strength of the recovered carbon fiber (rCF).
In trials, composites made from the reclaimed fiber achieved more than double the strength-to-weight ratio of steel. The team estimates rCF could eventually cost as little as $1.50 per kilogram, well below virgin fiber, and says the approach could extend to glass fiber composites used in wind turbines and vehicles.
A NREL postdoctoral researcher and co-author suggested that, if scaled, the process could allow structural panels in cars or trains to be made from rCF composites instead of steel or aluminum. The work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the University of Delaware's Center for Composite Materials.
Source: www.nrel.gov
