Circular carbon fiber reinforcements | Funding Period 2

Project E02 is dedicated to enable recycling of carbon-fiber reinforced concrete components without compromising the quality of the raw materials retrieved. In current deconstruction and demolition processes, the concrete is mechanically separated from the reinforcement material, which leads to a significant decrease of the carbon fiber performance, also considered as a downcycling. The vision of the project is to develop circular recycling processes for existing and new types of carbon fiber reinforcement in such a way that no loss of quality is associated with their recovery.

To achieve this, two approaches will be investigated: The first approach focuses on the electrochemical recycling of commercially used fiber-reinforced polymers. In contrast to the mechanical, chemical or thermal recycling processes currently in use, the electrochemical approach can be applied under mild conditions and represents an ecological alternative to existing recycling processes due to the use of electricity from renewable energy sources. The second approach focuses on mineral impregnations, a novel temperature-resistant impregnation technology. Based on a magnesia-based mineral impregnation, a hydromechanical recycling process will be investigated and a high-performance and fully recyclable composite material will be developed. The knowledge gained will then be transferred to other mineral binders.