Fast recovery process of carbon fibers from waste carbon fibers-reinforced thermoset plastics

Jin-Soo Jeong; Kwan-Woo Kim; Kay-Hyeok An; Byung-Joo Kim

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.07.002

Fast recovery process of carbon fibers from waste carbon fibers-reinforced thermoset plastics

J Environ Manage. 2019 Oct 1:247:816-821. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.07.002. Epub 2019 Jul 9.

Authors

Jin-Soo Jeong¹, Kwan-Woo Kim², Kay-Hyeok An³, Byung-Joo Kim⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Carbon and Nano Materials Engineering, Jeonju University, Jeonju, 55069, Republic of Korea; Department of Organic Materials & Fiber Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 54896, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Organic Materials & Fiber Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 54896, Republic of Korea; Research Center for Carbon Convergence Materials, Korea Institute of Carbon Convergence Technology, Jeonju, 54853, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Carbon and Nano Materials Engineering, Jeonju University, Jeonju, 55069, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Research Center for Carbon Convergence Materials, Korea Institute of Carbon Convergence Technology, Jeonju, 54853, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: kimbj2015@gmail.com.

PMID: 31299557
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.07.002

Abstract

In this work, we report a fast recycling process for carbon fiber-reinforced thermosetting resin matrix composites, to obtain recycled carbon fibers. Steam (H₂O) was selected as an oxidant to decompose the resin of the composites. The recycling reaction temperature and time were set in the range of 600-800 °C and 60 min, respectively. The recovery yield, surface morphologies, and mechanical properties including tensile strength and modulus of the recovered fibers were measured to evaluate the recycling efficiency. Microstructural properties of the recycled fiber were observed by X-ray studies, and the correlation of mechanical properties of the fibers with crystallite size and distribution was also evaluated. In conclusion, the carbon fibers were successfully recycled, while retaining 65% and 100% of the fibers' original tensile strength and modulus, respectively. 100% recovery yield was achieved in 60 min of decomposition time and 140 min of total process time.

Keywords: CFRP; Carbon fiber; Etching; Mechanical strength; Microstructure.

MeSH terms

Carbon Fiber*
Carbon*
Recycling
Temperature
Tensile Strength

Substances

Carbon Fiber
Carbon