Studies on Recycling Silane Controllable Recovered Carbon Fiber from Waste CFRP

Kai-Yen Chin, Angus Shiue, Yi-Jing Wu, Shu-Mei Chang, Yeou-Fong Li, Ming-Yuan Shen and Graham Leggett
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Kai-Yen Chin: Department of Molecular Science and Engineering, Research and Development Center for Smart Textile Technology, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Angus Shiue: Department of Molecular Science and Engineering, Research and Development Center for Smart Textile Technology, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Yi-Jing Wu: Department of Molecular Science and Engineering, Research and Development Center for Smart Textile Technology, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Shu-Mei Chang: Department of Molecular Science and Engineering, Research and Development Center for Smart Textile Technology, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Yeou-Fong Li: Department of Civil Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Ming-Yuan Shen: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung 411, Taiwan
Graham Leggett: LI-COR Biosciences, Cambridge CB4 OWS, UK

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: During the production process of commercial carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs), a silane coupling agent is added to the carbon fiber at the sizing step as a binder to enhance the product’s physical properties. While improving strength, the silane coupling agent results in a silane residue on recovered carbon fibers (rCF) after recycling, which is a disadvantage when using recovered carbon fibers in the manufacture of new materials. In this study, the rCF is recovered from waste carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) from the bicycle industry by a microwave pyrolysis method, applying a short reaction time and in an air atmosphere. Moreover, the rCF are investigated for their surface morphologies and the elements present on the surface. The silicon element content changes with pyrolysis temperature were 0.4, 0.9, and 0.2%, respectively, at 450, 550, and 650 °C. Additionally, at 950 °C, silicon content can be reduced to 0.1 ± 0.05%. The uniformity of microwave pyrolysis recycle treatment was compared with traditional furnace techniques used for bulk waste treatment by applying the same temperature regime. This work provides evidence that microwave pyrolysis can be used as an alternative method for the production of rCFs for reuse applications.

Keywords: carbon fiber-reinforced polymer; recycled carbon fiber; microwave-assisted pyrolysis; silane coupling agents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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