Fibre Structure Preservation during Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Recycling – Characterisation and Parameter Prediction Model of the Recycling Process
type: CreativeWork
description: In 2021, 24,000 tonnes of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) waste worth USD 630 million was either landfilled or incinerated globally. The amount of CFRP waste is estimated to increase as a result of the ever-rising market demand. The CFRP market demand is due to the remarkable properties of high specific strength and stiffness, which can provide considerable weight savings compared to steel and aluminium, largely contributing to reducing fuel usage and gas emissions. However, CFRP is an expensive material primarily due to the energy-intensive production process, making it a high-valued material. Yet, if CFRP becomes a waste at any time during the material’s life cycle, its value is instantaneously diminished. Thus it makes sense to recycle the valuable material, except that carbon fibre recovery is a sophisticated process. Thermal recycling of CFRP waste has emerged as a technologically mature process to recirculate carbon fibre into the supply chain. In addition to the lack of sizing, the thermally recovered carbon fibres lose their material value for two other reasons: (a) short, discontinuous recovered carbon fibres in a fluffy form and (b) resin residue on the fibre surface and fibre degradation during thermal recycling. This study addressed the two problems by demonstrating the effectiveness of fibre structure preservation during recycling, using the optimised furnace process parameters predicted by a novel mathematical model. The recovered fibre structure after thermal recycling has the fibre orientation, alignment, and length, well preserved and intact, ready for remanufacturing. The process of recycling and remanufacturing was repeated multiple times, and the mechanical tests on the remanufactured parts suggest that fibre maintains most of its mechanical properties during thermal recycling except for the impact of sizing removal. The strength and stiffness of the remanufactured composites from preserved fibre structure were at par – if not better – wit…
abstract: In 2021, 24,000 tonnes of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) waste worth USD 630 million was either landfilled or incinerated globally. The amount of CFRP waste is estimated to increase as a result of the ever-rising market demand. The CFRP market demand is due to the remarkable properties of high specific strength and stiffness, which can provide considerable weight savings compared to steel and aluminium, largely contributing to reducing fuel usage and gas emissions. However, CFRP is an expensive material primarily due to the energy-intensive production process, making it a high-valued material. Yet, if CFRP becomes a waste at any time during the material’s life cycle, its value is instantaneously diminished. Thus it makes sense to recycle the valuable material, except that carbon fibre recovery is a sophisticated process. Thermal recycling of CFRP waste has emerged as a technologically mature process to recirculate carbon fibre into the supply chain. In addition to the lack of sizing, the thermally recovered carbon fibres lose their material value for two other reasons: (a) short, discontinuous recovered carbon fibres in a fluffy form and (b) resin residue on the fibre surface and fibre degradation during thermal recycling. This study addressed the two problems by demonstrating the effectiveness of fibre structure preservation during recycling, using the optimised furnace process parameters predicted by a novel mathematical model. The recovered fibre structure after thermal recycling has the fibre orientation, alignment, and length, well preserved and intact, ready for remanufacturing. The process of recycling and remanufacturing was repeated multiple times, and the mechanical tests on the remanufactured parts suggest that fibre maintains most of its mechanical properties during thermal recycling except for the impact of sizing removal. The strength and stiffness of the remanufactured composites from preserved fibre structure were at par – if not better – wit…
author: Qazi, Hamza
license: https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm
date published: 2022
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:06:10Z
provider: University of Auckland
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: ResearchSpace@Auckland

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/2292/61953