Chemical Recycling of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polyurethane for Aviation Applications

Carbon fibres are widely used in carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) for aviation, automotive, windmills, sport and many more application due to their outstanding material properties. Annually, this generates about 62,000 tonnes of end-of-life (EoL) CFRP and CFRP production waste. Current EoL scenarios for CFRPs show some disadvantages: Landfilling and incineration are not sustainable and environmentally friendly. Carbon fibre recovery by pyrolysis damages the carbon fibres and incinerates the plastic material. Mechanical recycling shortens the carbon fibres and is of limited value for thermosets. However, chemical recycling routes like solvolysis offers the great potential to recover damage-free carbon fibres as well as useful monomers for a new generation of plastics. Here we provide an overview about the solvolysis of carbon fibre reinforced polyurethane material for aviation applications. Additionally, first life cycle assessment results are presented.