Thermochemical process for recovering fiberglass reinforced plastics waste matter

A process for treating a fiberglass-reinforced plastic waste comprising:

• a matrix of an unsaturated polyester resin;
• reinforcement glass fibers incorporated in said matrix, said process comprising the steps of:
• prearranging a reactor comprising a pyrolysis chamber;
• feeding said fiberglass-reinforced plastic waste into said pyrolysis chamber;
• removing oxygen from said pyrolysis chamber down to a predetermined residual oxygen concentration;
• creating a CO2-containing environment in said pyrolysis chamber, at a 30% minimum CO2 volume concentration;
• heating said fiberglass-reinforced plastic waste in said pyrolysis chamber and reaching a pyrolysis temperature set between 350° C. and 550° C.;
• wherein said step of removing oxygen and said step of reaching a pyrolysis temperature are carried out in such a way that said residual oxygen concentration is attained before reaching said pyrolysis temperature;
• maintaining said CO2-containing environment and said pyrolysis temperature in said pyrolysis chamber for a predetermined residence time, obtaining a gas mixture containing products of pyrolysis of said unsaturated polyester resin, and a solid residue comprising said glass fibers;
• extracting said gas mixture from said pyrolysis chamber;
• condensing said pyrolysis products from said gas mixture in a condensation chamber, obtaining a condensate liquid phase comprising a product of pyrolysis that is separated from the uncondensed gas, such that said organic liquid can be recycled to a production process of fiberglass-reinforced plastics as a mixture with commercial unsaturated resins;
• and
• extracting said solid residue from said pyrolysis chamber.