Carbon: The challenge for recycling companies

Carbon: the challenge for recycling companies

Carbon is a high-tech plastic that is just as suitable for car and bicycle construction as it is for the production of fibre concrete or rotors for wind turbines. But the material is difficult to remove and can even damage waste incinerators.

Recyclers are concerned about the proliferation of lightweight carbon components from automobiles to wind turbines. “The main problem with recycling is not the fiber itself, but the close connection with other materials, which has made recycling, that is, the recovery of the material, difficult or impossible until now,” says Jörg Lacher, spokesperson for the Federal Association of Secondary Raw Materials.

Since carbon is not only light but also very stable and therefore offers advantages for many industrial applications, the Federal Environment Agency assumes that carbon materials will continue to spread in the future with corresponding effort in processing later.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) consist of synthetic fibres that are woven and connected with the help of epoxy resins or other materials. The disposal and recycling problem is mainly caused by composite materials, for example, carbon fibre concrete or sandwich panels made of two metal layers with a carbon layer in between.

Carbon: Popular with cars and bicycles

But otherwise, carbon is also a dream material. “Using CFRP in the correct places in the body structure offers a high degree of functional benefits,” says a BMW spokeswoman in Munich. “The material is very durable, five times stronger than steel, lighter than aluminium, can be molded almost any way you want, and will not rust.” Pillars A, B and C, in the tunnel and on the roof. “The vehicle’s weight has been reduced by a total of up to 130 kilograms compared to its predecessor, depending on the version and equipment,” says the spokeswoman. “Lightweight construction makes a significant contribution to sustainability by reducing the use of materials and the associated CO2 footprint in the production and use phase.”

It is not just the auto industry that has become fond of carbon. Riders ride with carbon frames; there are carbon fishing rods and hiking poles, orthopedic splints, shoe soles, carbon fibre reinforced components, boat hulls, 80-meter long wind turbine rotors, and exotic applications for For example, in space travel.

The problem is the removal of carbon

Suppose it wasn’t for the removal problem. Car manufacturers, for example, are subject to EU environmental directives. According to this, 95 per cent of the vehicle’s weight must be recyclable and 85 per cent recyclable. “Of course, this also applies to vehicles with a CFRP structure,” says the BMW spokeswoman. “On average, when CFRP is recycled, up to 50 percent of the raw material can be reused.”

In practice, however, recycling companies have to deal with technical difficulties. Carbon is dangerous relative to metal, as it can be found in auto parts, among other things. “Plastics containing CFRP can disrupt the recycling process,” says the Federal Environment Agency in Dessau-Roßlau. “When CFRP is shredded, it produces flammable and conductive fiber dust, which carries the risk of damage and breakdown in shredders and waste incineration plants.” To counteract the risk of short circuits.

But that takes a long time.” The CFRP has such a small stake and is so diverse that it can be found everywhere, but it is not economical to separate it, “says Christian Satlow, member of Theo Steil recycling management and waste disposal company in Trier:” The problem now is that at the end of each recycling chain there is the incineration of waste. “And according to the expert, even the smallest amount of CFRP causes problems because the material is extremely stable and the temperatures are significantly higher than those of an incineration plant of waste “.

For end-of-life care recycling, Federal Environment Agency experts hope that, with the increasing spread of carbon and other composite materials, recycling will become more expensive in the future with corresponding costs: “We assume that in the new medium-term treatment technologies will be developed and implemented on a large scale through investments that must be” services.”

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