Remanufacturing of Woven Carbon Fibre Fabric Production Waste into High Performance Aligned Discontinuous Fibre Composites

Aravindan, P.; Becagli, Federico; Longana, Marco L.; Blok, Lourens G.; Pozegic, Thomas; Huntley, Samantha J; Rendall, Thomas; Hamerton, Ian

doi:10.3390/jcs4020068

Cited by 23 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(57 reference statements)

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“…The HiPerDiF technology has been used to remanufacture carbon fibres reclaimed both with pyrolytic and solvolytic processes [26,28], as well as manufacturing waste [32], into high performance recycled composites. Moreover, it was used to intermingle rCF and natural fibres to obtain functionalised materials with potential vibration damping applications [27].…”

Section: Background 21 the Hiperdif Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The potential value of the HiPerDiF technology in remanufacturing rCFs [26][27][28] aiding the recycling of both thermoset [29] and thermoplastic [30,31] matrix composites, and manufacturing waste [32] within a circular economy framework [29][30][31] has been widely demonstrated, and, if deployed in the right applications, could be a key component to deliver the UK Government's legal commitment for net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 [33]. For industry to achieve this, reliable environmental impact (EI) information based on scientific data must be clearly communicated to customers, government, and wider stakeholders.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Life Cycle Assessment of the High Performance Discontinuous Fibre (HiPerDiF) Technology and Its Operation in Various Countries

et al. 2022

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Composite waste is a growing issue due to the increased global demand for products manufactured from these advanced engineering materials. Current reclamation methods produce short length fibres that, if not realigned during remanufacture, result in low-value additives for non-structural applications. Consequently, to maximise the economic and functional potential, fibre realignment must occur. The High Performance Discontinuous Fibre (HiPerDiF) technology is a novel process that produces highly aligned discontinuous fibre-reinforced composites, which largely meet the structural performance of virgin fibres, but to date, the environmental performance of the machine is yet to be quantified. This study assessed the environmental impacts of the operation of the machine using life cycle assessment methodology. Electrical energy consumption accounts for the majority of the greenhouse gas emissions, with water consumption as the main contributor to ecosystem quality damage. Suggestions have been made to reduce energy demand and reuse the water in order to reduce the overall environmental impact. The hypothetical operation of the machine across different European countries was also examined to understand the impacts associated with bulk material transport and electricity from different energy sources. It was observed that the environmental impact showed an inverse correlation with the increased use of renewable sources for electricity generation due to a reduction in air pollutants from fossil fuel combustion. The analysis also revealed that significant reductions in environmental damage from material transport between the reclamation facility to the remanufacturing site should also be accounted for, and concluded that transportation routes predominantly via shipping have a lower environmental impact than road and rail haulage. This study is one of the first attempts to evaluate the environmental impact of this new technology at early conceptual development and to assess how it would operate in a European scenario.

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Section: Background 21 the Hiperdif Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Assessment of the High Performance Discontinuous Fibre (HiPerDiF) Technology and Its Operation in Various Countries

et al. 2022

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“…Several authors have produced composites by infusing these preforms using manufacturing techniques such as autoclave resin film infusion [34][35][36] and powder or resin film compression molding [37][38][39]. In most studies, fiber length was 3 mm, though fibers of up to 6 mm in length were shown to produce preforms made into composites with adequate mechanical properties [36]. Fiber alignment was high, with 65-67% of fibers aligned within ±3 • of the loading axis.…”

Section: Highly Aligned Preformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is clear that the fiber dispersion is imperfect, as resin-rich regions exist that strongly influence the strength of the recycled fiber composites. Recently, Aravindan et al [36] used the HiPerDiF method to convert staple MR60H carbon fibers of 3 mm, 4.5 mm, and 6 mm length into highly aligned epoxy composites using autoclave curing. Composites with 41% fiber volume fraction showed good mechanical properties.…”

Section: Highly Aligned Preformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Recent Developments in Composites Made of Recycled Carbon Fiber Textiles

Barnett

Ghossein

2021

Textiles

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Carbon fiber recycling has garnered significant attention in recent years due to the large volume of manufacturing waste and upcoming end-of-life products that will enter the waste stream as the current generation of aircraft is retired from service. Recycled carbon fibers have been shown to retain most of their virgin mechanical properties, but their length is generally reduced such that continuous fiber laminates cannot be remade. As such, these fibers are typically used in low-performance applications including injection molding, extrusion/compression molding, and 3D printing that further degrade the fiber length and resulting composite properties. However, recent advances in the processing of long discontinuous fiber textiles have led to medium- to high-performance composites using recycled carbon fibers. This review paper describes the recent advances in recycled carbon fiber textile processing that have made these improvements possible. The techniques used to manufacture high-value polymer composites reinforced with discontinuous recycled carbon fiber are described. The resulting mechanical and multifunctional properties are also discussed to illustrate the advantages of these new textile-based recycled fiber composites over the prior art.

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“…The HiPerDiF method can also address the sustainability of composite materials in terms of manufacturing and recycling. For example, the production of high performance recycled carbon fibre FRP has been demonstrated by remanufacturing reclaimed fibres with the HiPerDiF method [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Lower environmental impact FRP production can be achieved since the method operates with water as the alignment medium, unlike traditional glycerol methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural Fibres as a Sustainable Reinforcement Constituent in Aligned Discontinuous Polymer Composites Produced by the HiPerDiF Method

et al. 2021

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Sustainable fibre reinforced polymer composites have drawn significant attention in many industrial sectors as a means for overcoming issues with end-of-life regulations and other environmental concerns. Plant based natural fibres are considered to be the most suitable reinforcement for sustainable composites since they are typically from renewable resources, are cheap, and are biodegradable. In this study, a number of plant based natural fibres-curaua, flax, and jute fibres-are used to reinforce epoxy, poly(lactic acid) (PLA), and polypropylene (PP) matrices to form aligned discontinuous natural fibre reinforced composites (ADNFRC). The novel HiPerDiF (high performance discontinuous fibre) method is used to produce high performance ADNFRC. The tensile mechanical, fracture, and physical (density, porosity, water absorption, and fibre volume fraction) properties of these composites are reported. In terms of stiffness, epoxy and PP ADNFRC exhibit similar properties, but epoxy ADNFRC shows increased strength compared to PP ADNFRC. It was found that PLA ADNFRC had the poorest mechanical performance of the composites tested, due principally to the limits of the polymer matrix. Moreover, curaua, flax (French origin), and jute fibres are found to be promising reinforcements owing to their mechanical performance in epoxy and PP ADNFRC. However, only flax fibre with desirable fibre length is considered to be the best reinforcement constituent for future sustainable ADNFRC studies in terms of mechanical performance and current availability on the market, particularly for the UK and EU.

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Remanufacturing of Woven Carbon Fibre Fabric Production Waste into High Performance Aligned Discontinuous Fibre Composites

Cited by 23 publications

References 37 publications

Life Cycle Assessment of the High Performance Discontinuous Fibre (HiPerDiF) Technology and Its Operation in Various Countries

Life Cycle Assessment of the High Performance Discontinuous Fibre (HiPerDiF) Technology and Its Operation in Various Countries

A Review of Recent Developments in Composites Made of Recycled Carbon Fiber Textiles

Natural Fibres as a Sustainable Reinforcement Constituent in Aligned Discontinuous Polymer Composites Produced by the HiPerDiF Method

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