Methods for recovering expanded polymer tooling
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsXiaoxi Wang, Gary Ernest Georgeson, Jonathan A. Santiago
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Abstract
Methods of recovering and/or recycling expanded polymer tooling, the methods including collecting expanded polymer tooling, reducing the collected expanded polymer tooling into smaller particles, treating the reduced expanded polymer tooling in order to yield an at least partially purified recovered polymer composition, and then collecting the at least partially purified recovered polymer composition. The at least partially purified recovered polymer composition can then be used to form new expandable polymer tooling.
Claims20
A method for recycling expandable tooling, wherein the tooling includes foamable pellets, the method comprising:
- expanding the foamable pellets within a constraining container in order to apply pressure to an uncured composite workpiece;
- curing the composite workpiece while the pressure is applied to the composite workpiece;
- collecting the expanded foamable pellets from the constraining container;
- reducing the collected expanded foamable pellets into smaller particles;
- treating the reduced foamable pellets to yield an at least partially purified polymer composition, wherein the step of treating the reduced foamable pellets to yield an at least partially purified polymer composition includes:
- softening or dissolving the reduced foamable pellets with a nonpolar solvent, and subsequently treating the reduced foamable pellets with a polar solvent in order to remove one or more foaming agents from the reduced foamable pellets;
- collecting the at least partially purified polymer composition;
- and
- forming recovered-polymer pellets using the at least partially purified polymer composition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.