-
Categories
-
Pharmaceutical Intermediates
-
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
-
Food Additives
- Industrial Coatings
- Agrochemicals
- Dyes and Pigments
- Surfactant
- Flavors and Fragrances
- Chemical Reagents
- Catalyst and Auxiliary
- Natural Products
- Inorganic Chemistry
-
Organic Chemistry
-
Biochemical Engineering
- Analytical Chemistry
- Cosmetic Ingredient
-
Pharmaceutical Intermediates
Promotion
ECHEMI Mall
Wholesale
Weekly Price
Exhibition
News
-
Trade Service
The reasons for using recycled carbon fiber are not only sustainable, but cost reduction is also a big advantage
.
For example, the cost of recycled carbon fiber produced by ELG is about 40% lower than that of industrial-grade virgin carbon fiber, and other commercial suppliers also claim that their material price is 20% to 40% cheaper than virgin carbon fiber
.
Additionally, for many applications, discontinuous fibers are required, presenting an opportunity for recycled carbon fibers to provide greater sustainability and an economical alternative to virgin materials
.
"For any industry that uses discontinuous or chopped carbon fiber, recycled fiber should be the first consideration,
" Maxey said.
In addition, the quality of the produced recycled carbon fibers has been shown to be comparable to virgin fibers in some cases
.
ELG recycles carbon fibers using a pyrolysis process, which allows its fibers to typically retain at least 90 percent of their tensile strength without changing their modulus
.
Vartega uses a chemical recycling process and claims that its fibers exhibit the same mechanical properties as virgin carbon fibers
.
US-based Shocker Composites uses an in-line solvolysis process to recover the fibers and obtain high-quality fibers with no visible damage
.
Recycled carbon fiber nonwoven felt produced by ELG
The challenge, says Vamsidhar Patolla, a Wichita State doctoral student and founder of Shocker Composites, is to bring the cost down to levels comparable to other materials such as aluminum
.
"Processability needs to match the scale of high-volume production,
" he said
.
Shocker Composites' process provides an advantage for this because it is an in-line process, not a batch process
.
Given the advancements in recycled carbon fiber processing and fiber quality over the past few years, commercial suppliers have begun to shift their focus from "downcycling recycled carbon fiber" to "for lower performance products" and more in finding suitable applications that "benefit from material properties"
.
"While we will never completely replace virgin fibers, especially in aerospace where high strength and stiffness are required, the idea is that recycled fibers are not just recycled fibers with low potential applications
.
" ELG's Benjamin Andrews, Field Technical Services Engineer, said, “It has its own advantages, being superior to virgin fiber in some applications, with better drape and surface quality than virgin fiber
.
It’s not just a reusable material, it’s It is a material with its own advantages
.
”
