Cosolvent processing of reinforcing fiber-containing products for recycling reinforcing fibers
AssigneeVartega Inc.
InventorsAndrew Timothy Maxey, Jordan Gray Harris, Sean Paul Kline
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Processing reinforcing fiber products to recover reinforcing fibers by removing other material, such fiber sizing material and/or matrix material from the reinforcing fibers. The processing includes cosolvent treating the reinforcing fiber product with a cosolvent composition including a normally-liquid first solvent portion and a normally-gaseous second solvent portion under conditions of temperature and pressure at which the cosolvent composition is in the form of a single fluid phase that is a liquid or a supercritical fluid. The processing may be performed in a continuous manner to recover the continuous reinforcing fibers in a continuous form.
Claims20
A method for processing a reinforcing fiber product comprising reinforcing fibers and other material, other than material of the reinforcing fibers, for recovery of the reinforcing fibers for recycling, the method comprising:
- cosolvent treating the reinforcing fiber product comprising reinforcing fibers and other material, other than material of the reinforcing fibers, with a cosolvent composition to prepare a treated solid residue comprising the reinforcing fibers, the treating comprising contacting at least a portion of the reinforcing fiber product with the cosolvent composition and dissolving at least a majority by weight of the other material into the cosolvent composition;
- and wherein:
- the cosolvent composition is a mixture including a normally-liquid first solvent portion and a normally-gaseous second solvent portion;
- and
- at conditions of the contacting, the cosolvent composition is in a single fluid phase of a liquid or supercritical fluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.