Thermoset based composites are used increasingly in industry for light weight applications, mainly for aircraft, windmills and for automobiles. Fiber reinforced thermoset polymers show a number of advantages over conv...Thermoset based composites are used increasingly in industry for light weight applications, mainly for aircraft, windmills and for automobiles. Fiber reinforced thermoset polymers show a number of advantages over conventional materials, like metals, especially their better performance regarding their strength-to-weight ratio. However, composite recycling is a big issue, as there are almost no established recycling methods. The authors investigate the recyclability of polycyanurate homo- and copolymers with different recycling agents under different conditions. Also the influence of the recycling process on the most important reinforcement fibers, i.e. carbon-, glass-, aramid-, and natural-fiber is investigated. The authors find that: the recycling speed is not only dependent on the temperature, but also is significantly influenced by the particular recycling agents and the polycyanurate formulation. Hence, the stability against the recycling media can be adjusted over a broad range by adjusting the polymer composition. Furthermore, the authors find that the inorganic reinforcement fibers (carbon and glass) are almost unaffected by neither recycling agent at either temperature. Aramid-fibers degrade, depending on the particular recycling agent, from slightly up to extremely strong. This leaves one with the possibility to find a combination of matrix resin and recycling agent, which does not affect the aramid-fiber significantly. In the case of natural fibers, the dependence on the particular recycling media is very strong: some media do not affect the fiber significantly;others reduce the mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation at break) significantly, and still others even improve both mechanical properties strongly. From the Recyclate, the authors synthesize and subsequently characterize a number of new polyurethane thermosets (foamed and solid samples) with different contents of recyclate, exhibiting Tg in the range of 60°C to 128°C.展开更多
Ten of thousands of aircraft are expected to retire in the next 20 years.Aircraft manufacturers are gearing up for a new wave of recycling challenges as these aircrafts contain significant higher amount of carbon fibr...Ten of thousands of aircraft are expected to retire in the next 20 years.Aircraft manufacturers are gearing up for a new wave of recycling challenges as these aircrafts contain significant higher amount of carbon fibre reinforced polymer composite,which cannot be recycled by the conventional processes designed for metallic alloys.Aircraft manufacturers have been working with the recycling industry to limit unsustainable dismantling that is harmful to the environment and the potential liability risk of re-entry of un-certified salvaged parts back to the aviation market.An organised recycling network and procedures have already been set up for the conventional metallic alloys and will soon be required to include the composite waste.This paper reports the existing aircraft recycling practice and reviews the key recycling technologies for thermoset composites.Energy consumptions of these technologies are sought from the literature and are reported in this paper.Progress in development of reuse options for the recycled fibre is also included with discussion of their advantages and drawbacks.The challenge of working with the fluffy fibre is considered and the benefit of fibre alignment is highlighted for encouraging a widespread use of the fibre.展开更多
The environmentally sustainable disposal and recycling of ever increasing volumes of electronic waste has become a global waste management issue. The addition of up to 25% polymeric waste PCBs （printed circuit boards...The environmentally sustainable disposal and recycling of ever increasing volumes of electronic waste has become a global waste management issue. The addition of up to 25% polymeric waste PCBs （printed circuit boards） as fillers in polypropylene （PP） composites was partially successful： while the tensile modulus, flexural strength and tlexural modulus of composites were enhanced, the tenstle and impact strengths were found to decrease. As a lowering of impact strength can significantly limit the application of PP based composites, it is necessary to incorporate impact modifying polymers such as rubbery particles in the mix. We report on a novel investigation on the simultaneous utilization of electronic and automotive rubber waste as fillers in PP composites. These composites were prepared by using 25 wt.% polymeric PCB powder, up to 9% of ethylene propylene rubber （EPR）, and PP： balance. The influence of EPR on the structural, thermal, mechanical and rheological properties of PP/PCB/ EPR composites was investigated. While the addition of EPR caused the nucleation of the I~ crystalline phase of PP, the onset temperature for thermal degradation was found to decrease by 8%. The tensile modulus and strength decreased by 1 b% and 19%, respectively; and the elongataon at break increased by -71%. The impact strength showed a maximum increase of-18% at 7 wt.%-9 wt.% EPR content. Various rheological properties were found to be well within the range of processing limits. This novel eco-friendly approach could help utilize significant amounts of polymeric electronic and automotive waste for fabricating valuable polymer composites.展开更多
文摘Thermoset based composites are used increasingly in industry for light weight applications, mainly for aircraft, windmills and for automobiles. Fiber reinforced thermoset polymers show a number of advantages over conventional materials, like metals, especially their better performance regarding their strength-to-weight ratio. However, composite recycling is a big issue, as there are almost no established recycling methods. The authors investigate the recyclability of polycyanurate homo- and copolymers with different recycling agents under different conditions. Also the influence of the recycling process on the most important reinforcement fibers, i.e. carbon-, glass-, aramid-, and natural-fiber is investigated. The authors find that: the recycling speed is not only dependent on the temperature, but also is significantly influenced by the particular recycling agents and the polycyanurate formulation. Hence, the stability against the recycling media can be adjusted over a broad range by adjusting the polymer composition. Furthermore, the authors find that the inorganic reinforcement fibers (carbon and glass) are almost unaffected by neither recycling agent at either temperature. Aramid-fibers degrade, depending on the particular recycling agent, from slightly up to extremely strong. This leaves one with the possibility to find a combination of matrix resin and recycling agent, which does not affect the aramid-fiber significantly. In the case of natural fibers, the dependence on the particular recycling media is very strong: some media do not affect the fiber significantly;others reduce the mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation at break) significantly, and still others even improve both mechanical properties strongly. From the Recyclate, the authors synthesize and subsequently characterize a number of new polyurethane thermosets (foamed and solid samples) with different contents of recyclate, exhibiting Tg in the range of 60°C to 128°C.
文摘Ten of thousands of aircraft are expected to retire in the next 20 years.Aircraft manufacturers are gearing up for a new wave of recycling challenges as these aircrafts contain significant higher amount of carbon fibre reinforced polymer composite,which cannot be recycled by the conventional processes designed for metallic alloys.Aircraft manufacturers have been working with the recycling industry to limit unsustainable dismantling that is harmful to the environment and the potential liability risk of re-entry of un-certified salvaged parts back to the aviation market.An organised recycling network and procedures have already been set up for the conventional metallic alloys and will soon be required to include the composite waste.This paper reports the existing aircraft recycling practice and reviews the key recycling technologies for thermoset composites.Energy consumptions of these technologies are sought from the literature and are reported in this paper.Progress in development of reuse options for the recycled fibre is also included with discussion of their advantages and drawbacks.The challenge of working with the fluffy fibre is considered and the benefit of fibre alignment is highlighted for encouraging a widespread use of the fibre.
文摘The environmentally sustainable disposal and recycling of ever increasing volumes of electronic waste has become a global waste management issue. The addition of up to 25% polymeric waste PCBs （printed circuit boards） as fillers in polypropylene （PP） composites was partially successful： while the tensile modulus, flexural strength and tlexural modulus of composites were enhanced, the tenstle and impact strengths were found to decrease. As a lowering of impact strength can significantly limit the application of PP based composites, it is necessary to incorporate impact modifying polymers such as rubbery particles in the mix. We report on a novel investigation on the simultaneous utilization of electronic and automotive rubber waste as fillers in PP composites. These composites were prepared by using 25 wt.% polymeric PCB powder, up to 9% of ethylene propylene rubber （EPR）, and PP： balance. The influence of EPR on the structural, thermal, mechanical and rheological properties of PP/PCB/ EPR composites was investigated. While the addition of EPR caused the nucleation of the I~ crystalline phase of PP, the onset temperature for thermal degradation was found to decrease by 8%. The tensile modulus and strength decreased by 1 b% and 19%, respectively; and the elongataon at break increased by -71%. The impact strength showed a maximum increase of-18% at 7 wt.%-9 wt.% EPR content. Various rheological properties were found to be well within the range of processing limits. This novel eco-friendly approach could help utilize significant amounts of polymeric electronic and automotive waste for fabricating valuable polymer composites.
