Recycling carbon fiber composites using electromagnetic fields

Abstract

In an embodiment, the present disclosure pertains to a method of recycling that includes applying an electromagnetic field to a composite material having carbon fiber therein, heating the composition, degrading a matrix of the composite material, and recovering the carbon fiber from the composite material. In an additional embodiment, the present disclosure pertains to a method of non-contact recycling that includes applying an electromagnetic field to a composite material having carbon fiber therein with an electromagnetic applicator via at least one of direct current or alternating current, heating the composition, degrading a matrix of the composite material, and recovering the carbon fiber from the composite material. In some embodiments, the electromagnetic field is applied in a non-contact manner. In some embodiments, the heating is locally induced heating that includes increasing the temperature inside the composite material via an inside-out method thereby initiating pyrolysis within the composite material.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.