Automotive
Aerospace
Renewable energy
Naval
Sport equipment
Catalyst-assisted mild solvolysis for advanced recycling of fiber-reinforced composites
Politecnico di Milano
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Development of a catalyst-assisted, mild, flexible and sustainable solvolysis process, suitable for recycling the majority of current end-of-life fiber-reinforced composites.
The process operates at atmospheric pressure, moderate temperature (≤ 200 °C), and mild pH (4 – 5), thanks to the presence of a suitably modified catalyst and of a biobased and biodegradable reaction solvent.
The process was firstly designed for epoxy-amine thermoset systems given their known recalcitrance to solvolysis. It was then further validated on real end-of-life components, coming from the aerospace, the wind energy, the naval and the sport equipment sectors.
A complete fiber liberation can be achieved in all cases, recovering clean, intact fibers, with excellent retention of their mechanical properties. Moreover, the selective cleavage of the polymeric matrix allows to obtain an oligomeric fraction with residual chemical functionalities, which can be reused in the formulation of second-generation polymeric components.
This process represents an economically feasible, safe and scalable approach to efficiently recycle fiber-reinforced composites, with full reusability of the recovered materials (both fibers and organic fraction) and minimization of any secondary waste generation.
- Mild operating conditions: atmospheric pressure, moderate temperatures, mild pH (4 – 5).
- Process flexibility: recycling of end-of-life components from various market sectors (e.g., wind energy, aerospace, sport, and naval).
- Sustainability: recovery and reuse of reaction solvent and catalyst.
- Recovery of long, clean, and intact reinforcing fibers (e.g., glass and carbon).
- Recovery of reusable oligomeric fractions, rich of chemical functionalities.
Challenges
- Traditional recycling processes allow the recovery of
poor-quality materials. - Chemical recycling technologies typically need autoclave reactors and harsh operating conditions.
- Prior-knowledge of the chemical nature of the polymeric matrix is required for effective recycling.
Solution
- Recovery of fully reusable materials, both fibers and organic fractions.
- Mild and sustainable process conditions, operating at atmospheric pressure.
- Flexible recycling process, able to solvolyze composites in a universal fashion.
Contacts
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