The economic and mechanical potential of closed loop material usage and recycling of fibre-reinforced composite materials

Abstract This paper presents a novel recyclate value model derived from the retained mechanical performance of retrieved fibres in fibre-reinforced composites. The proposed recyclate value model was used to perform an economic analysis for establishing the future closed-loop material usage of fibre-reinforced composite materials. State-of-the-art recycling of carbon and glass-reinforced thermosets was adopted and resulted in a proposed recycling hierarchy in order to achieve a more sustainable environment and raw material cost reduction. The recyclate value model showed that approximately 50% material cost reductions can be achieved at comparable mechanical performance by using recycled fibre instead of virgin fibre in appropriate applications. From the aspect of lightweight design this cost reduction provides the designer with new material choices, appropriate for lower cost and diverse stiffness designs. The proposed closed-loop hierarchy documents the importance of further improvement of fibrous material recycling, including sorting according to mechanical performance, in order to identify application areas previously not utilised and to maximise material sustainability and value throughout the material's lifetime.