A fluidised-bed process for the recovery of glass fibres from scrap thermoset composites

A fluidised bed combustion process was developed for the treatment of therm oset composites in the form of process scrap or end-of-life components. The process was shown to be robust, coping with contaminated scrap of variable composition and providing useful outputs in the form of recovered fibres, particulate materials and heat. Comminuted feeds were decomposed at a bed t emperature of 450 degrees C and a fluidising velocity of 1.3 m/s. Fibres wi th mean lengths of up to 5 mm were collected at purities of up to 80% by us ing a novel rotating sieve separator. Shorter fibres were collected with th e particulate mineral fillers. The tensile strength of recovered E-glass fi bres was reduced by up to 50% although this depended on the thermal history within the process. Fibre modulus was relatively unaffected by the exposur e to high temperatures. Recovered fibres were successfully reused in DMC fo rmulations and veil products. A simple economic model suggests that the pro cess would break even at a throughput of approximately 9000 tonnes scrap co mposite per year. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.