Materials such as carbon composites offer many benefits to the aerospace sector. Weight saving and high mechanical performance are some of the key benefits. With the increasing use of these materials there is a real need to find a “2nd life” for the materials when they come to the end of their life in it’s original intended use. Landfilling the material was never the real solution but relatively convenient. This can no longer be the case.
Issues related to the recovery of composite materials is gaining more and more importance in the aviation sector and this line of research is being increasingly considered with more emphasis in the future projections of business strategies. From Aragón, AERA (Aragon aerospace cluster), AREX (Aragon Exterior) and AIR (Aviation International Recycling) representatives attended to the meeting. One of the issues that is causing the most exceptions is the future dismantling of aircraft where HELACS is part of that strategy for the aviation of the future, as well as the manufacturing and development of sustainable aircraft in the coming years.Within the scope of the HELACS project, carbon/epoxy composites from aerospace sector will be prepared, pyrolyzed and then converted into another material ready for its second life Gen2Carbon have been pyrolyzing materials such as those shown below.
The materials initially undergo a size reduction step. This is carried out to ensure that the elevated temperature during pyrolysis can easily reach all the epoxy within the composite.
The material then undergoes pyrolysis. This involves applying temperatures between 400-700°C to the material in a controlled atmosphere. When pyrolysis is complete the remaining material is a clean carbon fibre shown in the images below. Single filament tests on the recovered carbon fibre confirm that ~90% of its strength and stiffness is retained.
