Identification of Cost-Effective Recycling Strategies for High-Performance Thermoplastic Prepreg Production Waste

The use of composites in transportation vehicles has been increasing for many years without a proportional response in the commercialization of recycling technologies to deal with this composites waste. Most of the waste generated during manufacturing and end-of-life is currently either landfilled or incinerated. Governments around the world recognize that such practices represent an obstacle in the effort to mitigate climate change and have, therefore, started implementing legislation such as the European Waste Framework Directive to promote waste reduction and recycling. The proposed research focuses on identifying recycling strategies for high-performance thermoplastic waste generated by the material supplier Teijin. Engineering and economic tools will be used to guide research and ensure the recycling solutions developed are technologically and economically viable. Cost-volume-profit analysis will be used to select promising combinations of waste material, recycling technology, and application. Thereafter, experimentation and process simulation will be used to develop the down-selected strategies.

Faculty Supervisor:

Martine Dube;Ilyass Tabiai

Student:

Partner:

Teijin Carbon America, Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

École de technologie supérieure

Program: