Résumé
Fibre reinforced thermosets and thermoplastic resins are increasingly used to replace conventional materials in a number of industrial, transport and sporting applications. One of the biggest challenges posed by fibre reinforced composites, in particular in marine application, is their recycling [1].Environmental legislation is becoming more and more restrictive and end-of-life solutions for leisure boats waste are limited. The environmental impact of these materials disposed in landfills or drowned in sea water is accelerating the urgency to reach more industrial scale solutions to the recycling of composite.The newly developed reactive methacrylate thermoplastic matrix Elium® presents an alternative to thermoset resins currently used in composites for marine structures. It can be processed at room temperature with processing techniques typical of thermosets, like resin infusion. This thermoplastic resin reinforced by carbon fibers presents good mechanical and durability properties, compared to acarbon fiber reinforced vinylester composites [2].The recycling of the carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic resin was investigated by two methods. The first method, developed by Arkema, allows the recovery and the reuse of both the carbon fiber and the thermoplastic resin by depolymerisation. This method allows the reuse of the recovered fibers either with virgin resin to form a semi-recycled composite or with recycled resin to form a totally recycled composite. The second method consists in the recovery of carbon fiber by chemical extractiontechniques. For both recycling ways, their efficiency is studied by measuring the residual rate of the resin into the recovered fibers, FTIR spectroscopy and surface tension. The surface quality of recycled fiber was investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Those results showed that a small layer of the matrix is still present on the fiber surface (Figure 1). Further tests consisting in the comparison of the mechanical properties of the initial composite and the totally and semi-recycled composites have been carried out. Results show a significant decrease in mechanical properties and less fiber/matrix adhesion due to the loss of fiber sizing during the recycling process.[1] G. Oliveux, L.O. Dandy, G.A. Leeke, Current status of recycling of fibre reinforced polymers: Review of technologies, reuse and resulting properties, Prog. Mater. Sci. 72 (2015) 61–99.doi:10.1016/j.pmatsci.2015.01.004.[2] P. Davies, P.-Y. Le Gac, M. Le Gall, Influence of Sea Water Aging on the Mechanical Behaviour of Acrylic Matrix Composites, Appl. Compos. Mater. 24 (2017) 97–111. doi:10.1007/s10443-016-9516