Modelling of Environmental Impacts and Economic Benefits of Fibre Reinforced Polymers Composite Recycling Pathways

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780444635761500297

In the last few years, composites have been used increasingly in different applications (aerospace, automobile, industry, sports…). Both environmental and economic factors have driven the development of recycling pathways for the increasing amount of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) scrap generated. A recycling system for FRP has to be designed to recover and reuse the fibre and matrix content of the scrap. The objective of this paper is to model and compare the different routes of end-of-life FRP from both environmental and economic viewpoint combining Life Cycle Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis. More precisely, mechanical recycling, pyrolysis and fluidized bed are investigated and compared to low value end-of-life solutions (incineration, co-incineration and landfill) both for Glass and Carbon FRPs. Pyrolysis turns out to be an attractive recycling solution for CFRP that satisfies both environmental and economic benefit while co-incineration seems more promising for GFRP. 

Phuong Anh Vo Dong, Catherine Azzaro-Pantel, Marianne Boix, Leslie Jacquemin, Serge Domenech

Phuong Anh Vo Dong, Catherine Azzaro-Pantel, Marianne Boix, Leslie Jacquemin, Serge Domenech. (2015), Modelling of Environmental Impacts and Economic Benefits of Fibre Reinforced Polymers Composite Recycling Pathways. Computer Aided Chemical Engineering 37: 2009-2014. Doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-63576-1.50029-7.