A review on composite materials based on recycled thermoplastics and glass fibres

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to review recent work on composite materials based on recycled thermoplastics and glass fibres (GFs). The high collection and separation cost of plastics waste, and the legislative push to increase recycling rates, require the inclusion of increasing proportions of low-quality plastic waste into recycled products. A robust method for upgrading mixed plastics recyclates is the incorporation of fillers and reinforcements. In particular, addition of chopped GF can lead to material systems with more favourable and consistent sets of mechanical properties. Provided a good interfacial adhesion is achieved, the key structural properties of the composite (stiffness and strength) are mainly dictated by the reinforcement. Therefore, a wide range of polymers, including blends, are accessible for recycling into semistructural products. Glass fibres are one of the most cost-effective ways of reinforcing recycled polymers, as testified by several patents and commercial products which appeared in the last decade.

Reprocessing of Styrene Acrylonitrile and the Influence of the Particle Size on Tensile Properties

“…Transparent and highly stressed materials cannot be mixed, because of high demands. [Scelsi 2011], [Navratil 2014] Mechanical recycling consists in recovering waste material by means of thermos-physical processes. This recycling of plastics presents several technical, economical and marketing challenges.…”

Influence of Mixing Recycled Polycarbonate to Charpy Impact Properties at Increased Temperature

“…In most cases, an emphasis is placed on identifying potential recycling before the production of new products. [1][2][3][4] The material used here falls into the group of midrange engineering plastics. Polycarbonate is used in a very wide range of applications.…”

Low Velocity Impact Damage in Composite Laminates Based on Waste Polyolefins

“…However, these drawbacks are satisfactorily overcome simplifying reprocessing steps and transforming low-cost and abundantly available wastes into valuable new composite materials by use of cheap glass reinforcements [9] but, increasingly, also by natural fibres or fabrics [10][11][12][13].…”