As this is a recycling technology, all the sectors that use composite materials, targeting both End-of-Life products and industrial waste.
Electrofragmentation
Politecnico di Milano
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Electrofragmentation is a selective comminution technology that uses high-voltage pulsed electric discharges to break composite waste along its weakest interfaces.
The part to be treated is immersed in a water-filled chamber between two electrodes. Fast, intense pulses generate plasma channels with related shockwaves, and the electric field concentrates at material boundaries, promoting interlaminar and fiber–matrix debonding rather than random bulk crushing. For composite recycling pathways this means cleaner liberation.
Part of the fibers can be recovered with less shortening and fewer fines, while particles composed both by fibers and resin are obtained with a narrower distribution with respect to traditional mechanical recycling. In addition, electrofragmentation can reduce contamination (less embedded metal, coatings, or fillers in the recovered fraction) and improve downstream sorting and reprocessing, obtaining a material with high properties.
The process is typically controlled through several parameters allowing tuning of fragmentation intensity to the composite architecture and thickness. It is especially attractive as a pre-treatment step to maximize material quality in purely mechanical recycling routes, obtaining a material immediately usable for compounding.
- Selective cracking at fiber–matrix interfaces.
- Lower contamination of other materials.
- Narrower distribution of particles with less shortening and fewer fine ones than milling.
- Tunable parameters for process control.
- Improved downstream sorting and compounding in recycling routes.
Challenges
- Traditional recycling processes shortens fibers and contaminated materials.
- Strong fiber–matrix bonding and multilayer laminates hinder clean separation and efficient sorting.
Solution
- High-voltage pulsed electrofragmentation selectively cracks along interfaces.
- Produces cleaner fiber-rich fractions with better integrity, enabling high-added value reuse.
Electrofragmentation process
Analysis of the obtained material
Electrofragmentation machine
Contacts
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