Recovering carbon fibers from waste CFRPs via pyrolysis-oxidation method: Implications for reuse in remanufactured materials

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) have gained widespread usage due to their promising physiochemical properties, while this causes large amounts of waste CFRPs worldwide. In this study, carbon fibers were successfully recovered from waste CFRPs through the pyrolysis-oxidation method, and the recovered fibers were reused in remanufacturing the secondary generation CFRPs. Moreover, the individual and interactive effects of pyrolysis-oxidation recovering parameters on the mechanical strength of the resulting remanufactured CFRPs (reCFRPs) were investigated. The recovered carbon fibers displayed surface chemical structures similar to virgin fibers but with high contents of oxygen-containing bonds. The tensile strength retention (TSR) of the reCFRPs was primarily influenced by oxidation temperature. Notably, a higher oxidation temperature, especially exceeding 560 °C, amplified the impact of oxidation duration on the TSR value. Similarly, concerning interlaminar shear strength retention (ISSR), the oxidation stage had a more substantial effect compared to the pyrolysis stage. As the oxidation temperature increased from 500 °C to 600 °C, the ISSR value initially increased and then decreased, irrespective of variations in pyrolysis parameters. Additionally, through integrating the response surface methodology (RSM) analysis and multi-island genetic algorithm (MIGA) global optimization, three recovery strategies, along with the corresponding processing parameters, were proposed to meet diverse requirements. The conclusions could provide valuable insights for optimizing the recovery and reuse of carbon fibers from waste CFRPs.