Recycling of carbon-fiber-reinforced polypropylene prepreg waste based on pelletization process

Abstract

This research proposes a technique to recycle carbon-fiber-reinforced polypropylene thermoplastics based on a pelletization process followed by injection molding. Experiments were designed with different process conditions to evaluate the efficient performance of the recyclates. In this study, the properties of the recyclates with various fiber contents were compared with those of conventional virgin products. The study confirmed that the recycled composite is as usable for injection molding as virgin conventional materials in terms of flowability and mechanical properties. The recycled composite is suggested to have better interfacial adhesion between the fiber and the resin than conventional materials because of the good impregnation of the carbon fibers in the carbon-fiber-reinforced-thermoplastic waste. In conclusion, the recycling of carbon-fiber-reinforced-thermoplastic prepreg waste using the proposed method is simple, effective and it would be economical.