Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 50 (2011) 01AJ01 (5 pages)  |Previous Article| |Next Article|  |Table of Contents|
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Optimum Decomposition Conditions for Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic Recycling by Superheated Steam

Jian Shi and Limin Bao

(Received April 30, 2010; accepted August 20, 2010; published online January 20, 2011)

The objective of the present study is to investigate the effect of pyrolysis time and temperature on the mechanical properties of recycled fiber, based on tensile strength measurements, determining the optimum decomposition conditions for glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) by superheated steam. In this research, GFRP was efficiently depolymerized and reinforced fiber was separated from resin by superheated steam. Tensile strength of fibrous recyclates was measured and compared to that of virgin fiber. Although tensile strength of recycled fibers were lower than that of virgin fiber, under some conditions tensile strength of recycled fibers were close to that of virgin fiber. They were the optimum decomposition conditions for GFRP in our experiments. With pyrolysis, some char residue from the polymer remains on the fibers and degrees of char on the recycled fibers were closely examined by scanning electron microscopy.

URL: http://jjap.jsap.jp/link?JJAP/50/01AJ01/
DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.50.01AJ01
PACS: 81.05.Qk, 82.30.Lp, 81.40.Jj, 81.70.Bt

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