Complete Recovery of Reinforcing Fibers from FRP and their Recycling with Thermally Activated Oxide Semiconductors

Abstract

A novel technology has been developed to achieve complete recovery of carbon fibers from CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) on the basis of thermal activation of oxide semiconductors (TASC). This is a new application using semiconductors at high temperatures. Here, “thermal activation” means that the semiconductor exhibits no catalytic effects at RT. The appearance of significant catalytic effects when heated in the 350-500 °C range was, however, accidentally discovered. The present finding has been applied to the complete recovery of reinforcing fibers from various FRP, and the embedded fibers have been isolated without any damage. This is a 100 %-dry process. The present technology can also be utilized to recover metals from cell phones, mold motors, etc.