According to Washington State University, the team of Jinwen Zhang, a teacher of the School of Mechanical and Material Engineering, developed a new technology for carbon fiber recycling.
The team used weak acid as a catalyst and used liquid ethanol containing the catalyst to decompose the thermosetting material at a relatively low temperature. To achieve a better decomposition effect, the researchers warmed the material during the experiment so that the catalyst-containing liquid could be better immersed inside the composite material and destroy the already solidified complex structure. Zhang uses ethanol to swell the resin and then destroys the carbon and nitrogen bonds in the chemical with zinc chloride.
"The key to effective recovery of carbon fiber is to find a catalyst that can effectively immerse into the already cured resin system and destroy its chemical bonds," said Zhang.
This method has been proved to be effective by experiments. The decomposed carbon fibers and resins are separately preserved and put into production. The team has applied for a patent for the technology and tried to commercialize it.
The research was jointly funded by aviation technology innovation. Participants included JunnaXin, postdoctoral Tuan Liu, and postgraduate Xiaolong Guo.