Supercritical propanol, a possible route to composite carbon fibre recovery: A viability study

Jason R. Hyde, Edward Lester, Sam Kingman, Stephen Pickering, Kok Hoong Wong

Research output: Journal PublicationArticlepeer-review

114 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Supercritical propanol has been used to extract and remove the epoxy resin from the surface of a carbon fibre composite material. The process appeared to be effective when operating above 450 °C and above 50 bar. The recovered fibres were found to be virtually as strong, in terms of tensile strength, as the virgin fibres indicating that little had been done to damage their structural integrity. One advantage of this method is that the polymer, as well as the fibre material, can be recovered. The polymer was analysed to investigate what chemical transformations had occurred during treatment. It is seems likely that the amide cross-linker is broken in the polymer to release a residue with a relatively high molecular weight.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2171-2175
Number of pages5
JournalComposites - Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing
Volume37
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2006
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • A. Carbon fibre
  • A. Surfaces
  • B. Strength

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ceramics and Composites
  • Mechanics of Materials

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