P11: Thermal Treatment of composites in the construction industry

 

At the unit technology of fuels at the RWTH Aachen University, led by professor Quicker, investigations on waste management concepts of composites in construction industry are performed. In particular, carbon fiber-reinforced plastics, in short CFRP, are examined regarding limits and opportunities of fiber recovery. CFRP are characterized by their excellent physical properties coming along with very low weight. In the construction industry, CFRP are currently mainly used to reinforce bridges. Furthermore, in recent research projects the possibility is investigated to use CFRP as a reinforcement material in concrete with the advantage of a significant saving of concrete material compared to classical reinforced concrete constructions.

Currently no waste management concept for CFRP exists. A waste management concept should both include recycling opportunities and disposal concepts. For this purpose, in this project, new treatment procedures for CFRP waste are investigated. This should include the technological environment such as mechanical processing and production processing as well as ecological and socio-economic aspects, considering energy consumption, emissions and product acceptance. Furthermore, the matter and process behavior of CFRP is evaluated in experiments with regard to non-recyclable fibers and their removal capability.