Chemical Recycling of Vacuum-Infused Thermoplastic Acrylate-Based Composites Reinforced by Basalt Fabrics.

Inès Meyer Zu Reckendorf,Karynn Morand,Anne Bergeret,Amel Sahki,Avigaël Ohayon,Clément Lacoste,Didier Perrin

doi:10.3390/polym14061083

Abstract

The objective of this work was to compare the material recovered from different chemical recycling methodologies for thermoplastic acrylate-based composites reinforced by basalt fabrics and manufactured by vacuum infusion. Recycling was done via chemical dissolution with a preselected adapted solvent. The main goal of the study was to recover undamaged basalt fabrics in order to reuse them as reinforcements for “second-generation” composites. Two protocols were compared. The first one is based on an ultrasound technique, the second one on mechanical stirring. Dissolution kinetics as well as residual resin percentages were evaluated. Several parameters such as dissolution duration, dissolution temperature, and solvent/composite ratio were also studied. Recycled fabrics were characterized through SEM observations. Mechanical and thermomechanical properties of second-generation composites were determined and compared to those of virgin composites (called “first-generation” composites). The results show that the dissolution protocol using a mechanical stirring is more adapted to recover undamaged fabrics with no residual resin on their surface. Moreover, corresponding second-generation composites display equivalent mechanical properties than first generation ones.

Highlights

The aim of this section is to compare the effectiveness of different dissolution protocols in terms of dissolution percentage (%D) and residual resin rate (%RR) on basalt fabrics
The objective of this work was to compare the material recoveries resulting from different chemical recycling methodologies for thermoplastic acrylate-based composites reinforced by basalt fabrics and manufactured by vacuum infusion
The main goal of the study was to recover undamaged basalt fabrics to reuse them as reinforcements for second generation composites

Summary

Introduction

Thermoplastic Composite Materials in the Automotive Industry. In 2019, the global market of polymer-reinforced composites materials reached 17.7 megatons in volume with a value of $86 billion. In virtually every region of the world and every application sector, the composites market is growing in both volume and value. China (28%) and North America (26%) remain the largest markets in terms of volume, ahead of Europe (21%) and the rest of Asia (19%) [1]. The main industries using composites, in volume, are transportation (28%), ahead of construction (20%), electronics and electrical (16%), and pipes and tanks (15%) [1]. The automotive industry is one of the largest users of composites in the transportation sector owing to demand for weight reduction in vehicles; this is mainly driven by the demand for better fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions in order to comply with EU legislation. The benefits of lightweight solutions can be translated into potential savings of 8 million tons of CO2 per year in the EU wide vehicle fleet [3]

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