Recovery and characterisation of carbon fibres from waste CFRP using supercritical n-butanol

The high-performance carbon fibres can be recycled from waste carbon fibre/epoxy resin composites by supercritical n-butanol. Recycling experiment designed by response surface method was used to investigate quantitative relation between degradation rate of epoxy resin and process parameters. Thus, the optimum process parameters could be obtained, and effects of process parameters and layers on degradation rate and mechanical performance of the recycled carbon fibres were analysed. The tensile strength of the recycled carbon fibre under the optimum process parameters was 94.53% of that of the original carbon fibre, tensile modulus was 93.57% of that of the original carbon fibre and interfacial shear strength was 90% of that of the original carbon fibre.