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Recyclability and Embodied Energy of Advanced Polymer Matrix Composites
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This paper examines the recyclability and embodied energy of advanced polymer matrix composites used in aerospace and automotive applications. Improving recycling of carbon fiber composites prevents these materials from becoming persistent microplastic debris when components reach end of life.
Recycling of advanced composites made from carbon fibers in epoxy resins is essential for two primary reasons. First, the energy necessary to produce carbon fibers is very high and therefore reusing these fibers could greatly reduce the lifecycle energy of components which use them. Second, if the material is allowed to break down in the environment, it will contribute to the growing presence of microplastics and other synthetic pollutants.Recyclability and Embodied Energy of Advanced Polymer Matrix Composites discusses current recycling and disposal methods—which typically do not aim for full circularity, but rather successive downcycling—and addresses the major challenge of aligning fibers into unidirectional tows of real value in high-performance composites.Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio.
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