Materials Research Express (Jan 2020)

Thermal analysis of carbon fibre reinforced polymer decomposition

  • Norazlina Mohamad Yatim,
  • Zurina Shamsudin,
  • Azizah Shaaban,
  • Nurhernida Abdullah Sani,
  • Ridhwan Jumaidin,
  • Emy Aqila Shariff

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/ab688f
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
p. 015615

Abstract

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The increasing number of carbon fibers reinforced polymer (CFRP) waste disposed of in landfills is creating environmental concerns due to the potential release of toxic by-products and the need for recycling. This research work investigates the influence of atmosphere (single and combination of nitrogen and oxygen) and heating rate (5 and 10 °C min ^−1 ) on the thermal decomposition of CFRP to recover the reclaimed-cf The samples were heated up to 420 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere followed by heating in the oxygen atmosphere from 420 °C until the final heating temperature at different heating rates. The thermal decomposition behavior of the CFRP waste was compared by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Morphological, chemical and structural analysis of reclaimed-CF was performed using SEM, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy respectively. A nitrogen atmosphere was significance at the early temperature (<420 °C) to decompose smaller molecules of epoxy resin components, while oxygen atmosphere is needed to achieve a complete separation of reclaimed-CF from their matrix. Thermal decomposition at lower heating rate (5 °C min ^−1 ) was found efficiently to eliminate the complex epoxy resin and retain the structure of reclaimed-cf The particular thermal decomposition technique that leads to a lower final heating temperature (540 °C) is present to recover valuable reclaimed-CF from complex CFRP industrial waste.

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