Recovery of reinforcing fibers from fiber-reinforced composites
AssigneeVartega Inc.
InventorAndrew T. Maxey
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Processing fiber-reinforced composite to recover reinforcing fibers includes first treating the composite with a normally-liquid first solvent for material of the matrix followed by second treating of solid residue including reinforcing fibers from the first treating with a normally-gaseous material contacted with the solid residue under conditions of temperature and pressure at which the normally-gaseous material is in a liquid or supercritical fluid form. Treating a crude product including released reinforcing fibers and residual material of the matrix and/or fiber sizing includes first converting a normally-gaseous substance from a fluid form to a solid form and thereafter second converting the solid form to a gaseous form, to assist dislodgment of such residual material.
Claims16
A method for processing a crude product containing reinforcing fibers recovered from a composite including the reinforcing fibers held in a matrix of a plastic material or a precursor for plastic material, wherein the crude product comprises some residual material of one or both of the matrix and fiber sizing on the reinforcing fibers, the method comprising:
- with the crude product in the presence of the normally-gaseous substance, converting the normally-gaseous substance from a fluid form to a solid form in contact with the crude product, the first converting comprising reducing the temperature of the normally-gaseous substance;
- and
- after the first converting, second converting the normally-gaseous substance in the solid form from the solid form into a gaseous form, to assist dislodgment of at least a portion of the residual material from the reinforcing fibers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.