Recycling and reuse strategies for carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite waste for the development of high-performance materials

• Grant number: 24/11092-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal Investigator: Fabio Roberto Passador
• Grantee: Fabio Roberto Passador
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia (ICT). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São José dos Campos. São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Jandro Abot ; Larissa Stieven Montagna ; Michelle Leali Costa ; Mirabel Cerqueira Rezende ; Thaís Larissa do Amaral Montanheiro

Abstract

High-performance carbon fiber (CF) reinforced thermoplastic composites are widely used in the aerospace, automotive, and energy sectors, where excellent mechanical properties associated with light weight are application requirements. With the increase in consumption of these materials, a problem arises related to the generation of waste. This project proposes the use of mechanical and thermal recycling techniques for CF/PA6 (polyamide 6) and CF/PEEK (polyetheretherketone) composites to recover CF and reuse waste for the development of new high-performance composites. Three strategies for obtaining high-performance materials are proposed. Firstly, the composite residues will be ground using a knife mill, followed by particle size separation. The first strategy involves the development of PA6/ground waste (CF)/graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) hybrid composites for electromagnetic shielding applications. The second strategy involves the development of phenolic resin/CFcomposites for mechanical applications at high temperatures and the third strategy consists of the development of acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA)/CFr copolymer filaments recovered from the thermal recycling process (CFr), for the additive manufacturing of aeronautical components. These strategies will be systematically studied using ground composite waste and CFr obtained by mechanical recycling or recovered by thermal recycling via microwave pyrolysis. The methods and means of obtaining different composites will be studied using processing techniques appropriate for the intended class of material and characterizations will be carried out seeking to meet the specifications of the proposed applications. The development of this project is expected to disseminate the importance of recycling CF-reinforced composites and contribute to responsible production to achieve the goals of sustainable development and high technology. (AU)