Recyclable thermoset composites derived from waste textiles

Abstract

The idea of ​​recycling waste materials from such different sectors as textile or  automotive has been popular for decades, but today's recycling methods often produce poor quality products that are difficult to reuse. In the specific case of thermoset composites the problem is even greater, since once the resin is cured its dissolution is not possible and therefore the recovery of the original fiber and resin becomes practically unfeasible. This work presents recyclable thermoset composites made with fabrics obtained from waste textiles and epoxy or polyurethane resins, whose crosslinking is based on reversible bonds, which confers them the ability to be dissolved in a specific agent, so that both the fiber and the resin can be recovered for subsequent reuse. Taking into account the particularities of the starting raw materials, the manufacturing parameters of the composites and the resin dissolution conditions have been studied and optimized. The work is part of the European project Trash-2-Cash, which proposes a new model in which waste from paper and textiles are recycled chemically,in order to obtain fabrics with the same quality as the initial ones, to manufacture innovative products such as recyclable thermoset composites that can be industrially produced and recycled at the end of life.

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