Development of an epoxy resin for composites that can be broken down at end-of-life and characterization of the thermoplastic polymer recovered from the recycling process

复合材料坚固，重量轻，耐用，因此通常用于取代其他材料，如金属，以节省燃料，同时保持相同或改进的性能。英国每年生产110，000吨复合材料，然而，目前只有15%的复合材料被回收或再利用，这导致每年有94，000吨玻璃和碳纤维复合材料废物进入英国垃圾填埋场。目前可用的商业复合材料回收方法非常有限，而且这些方法通常在经济上不可行。特别是对于玻璃纤维复合材料（因为玻璃纤维具有比碳纤维低得多的值）。此外，目前的回收方法会显著降低纤维的质量，因此只能用于有限的应用领域，树脂基体根本无法回收。本项目开发的产品和工艺将解决复合材料行业面临的许多问题。它将提供一种回收复合材料的方法，这种方法将减少送往垃圾填埋场的复合材料的体积，从回收过程中回收的纤维将是高质量的，并将减少对原始纤维的需求。碳纤维的高价值也可能提高回收过程的经济可行性。为了进一步增加循环经济的概念，基质树脂可以作为热塑性树脂从回收过程中回收。这增加了价值并进一步提高了该回收过程的经济可行性。因此，玻璃纤维复合材料的再循环可能是可行的，使用这种回收工艺，这是目前其他工艺所没有的。热塑性树脂的回收还减少了工业上对原始热塑性树脂的需求，这减少了对使用非可持续资源制造的原始热塑性塑料的需求。

Composites are strong, lightweight, and durable so are often used to replace other materials such as metals to save fuel whilst still maintaining the same or improved performance. Every year the UK produces 110,000 tons of composites, however, only 15% of composites are recycled or reused currently which leads to 94,000 tons of glass and carbon fibre composite waste going to UK landfill each year.There are very limited commercial composite recycling methods currently available and these are often not economically viable, especially for glass fibre composites (as glass fibre has a much lower value than carbon fibre). Additionally, those current recycling methods degrade the fibres significantly so they can only be used for limited applications and the resin matrix is not recoverable at all.The products and process developed in this project will address many of the issues facing the composite industry. It will provide a method of recycling composites which will reduce the volume of composites being sent to landfill.The fibres recovered from the recycling process will be of high quality and will reduce the need for virgin fibres. The higher value of carbon fibre will also likely improve the economic viability of the recovery process.To add further to the notion of circularity of economy the matrix resin can be recovered from the recycling process as a thermoplastic resin. This adds value and further improves the economic viability of this recovery process. As a result, recycling of glass fibre composites may be viable with use of this recovery process which is not currently the case with other processes. The recovery of a thermoplastic resin also reduces the industry need for virgin thermoplastic resin which reduces the need for virgin thermoplastics manufactured using non-sustainable resources.