New Promising Way to Recycle Carbon Fiber-reinforced Plastics: WSU
A research team from WSU for the first time has developed a promising way to recycle the popular carbon fiber plastics that are used in everything from modern airplanes and sporting goods to the wind energy industry. The work, reported in Polymer Degradation and Stability, provides an efficient way to re-use the expensive carbon fiber and other materials that make up the composites. Planes, Windmills, Many Products Jinwen Zhang with his Carbon Fiber Recycling Research Team Carbon fiber reinforced plastics are increasingly popular in many industries, particularly aviation, because they are light and strong. They are, however: Very difficult to break down or recycle, and disposing of them has become of increasing concern. Thermoplastics - type of plastic used in milk bottles, can be melted and easily re-used whereas, composites used in planes are thermoset plastics which are cured and can’t easily be undone and returned to their original materials. Cau