Vincent, J D; Dissanayake, N (2023) Review of Recycling and Traceability Methods for Carbon Fibres. NPL Report. MAT 123

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Abstract

The drive to manufacture lightweight structures has contributed to the use of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites in multiple sectors. Unfortunately, this rapid development also creates a problem with waste management as these structures approach their end of life. This creates a necessity to develop recycling methods for carbon fibre recovery and reformatting. This report provides an overview of different recycling methods available for recovering carbon fibres from CFRP materials, as well as an overview of existing methods for establishing the traceability of recycled fibres. Fibre recovery methods are based on thermal or chemical techniques to decompose the matrix from CFRP to liberate the fibres. These recycling methods can have a significant impact on the mechanical properties of the recovered fibre. Thus, testing and validating the quality of the recovered fibres become important processes to undertake to assess the suitability of fibres for reformatting. Test methods such as single fibre tensile tests have been widely used in the existing literature to quantify the tensile properties of recovered fibres. From this study, it has been identified that there are no specific test standards for evaluating the quality of the recycled fibres. As the properties of recycled fibres are heavily influenced by the reformatting techniques, this report aims to highlight the need for suitable reformatting techniques to gain the full potential of recycled fibres. This report provides an overview of existing fibre recovery and reformatting/remanufacturing methods for recycling carbon fibre to establish a circular economy. From review of the literature, it has been identified that existing traceability methods are very limited and require further development. The implementation of material tracking systems and standards to characterise recycled fibres will help to improve the quality of recycled carbon fibres thus encouraging the use of recycled carbon fibres instead of virgin carbon fibres.

Item Type:	Report/Guide (NPL Report)
NPL Report No.:	MAT 123
Subjects:	Advanced Materials > Composites
Divisions:	Materials and Mechanical Metrology
Identification number/DOI:	10.47120/npl.MAT123
Last Modified:	30 Aug 2023 08:30
URI:	https://eprintspublications.npl.co.uk/id/eprint/9799