Recycling of natural fiber composites: Challenges and opportunities

Xianhui Zhao; Katie Copenhaver; Lu Wang; Matthew Korey; Douglas J. Gardner; Kai Li; Meghan E. Lamm; Vidya Kishore; Samarthya Bhagia; Mehdi Tajvidi; Halil Tekinalp; Oluwafemi Oyedeji; Sanjita Wasti; Erin Webb; Arthur J. Ragauskas; Hongli Zhu; William H. Peter; Soydan Ozcan

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105962

Recycling of natural fiber composites: Challenges and opportunities

Xianhui Zhao, Katie Copenhaver, Lu Wang, Matthew Korey, Douglas J. Gardner, Kai Li, Meghan E. Lamm, Vidya Kishore, Samarthya Bhagia, Mehdi Tajvidi, Halil Tekinalp, Oluwafemi Oyedeji, Sanjita Wasti, Erin Webb, Arthur J. Ragauskas, Hongli Zhu, William H. Peter, Soydan Ozcan

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

53 Scopus citations

Abstract

Natural fibers have been widely used for reinforcing polymers attributed to their sustainable nature, excellent stiffness to weight ratio, biodegradability, and low cost compared with synthetic fibers like carbon or glass fibers. Thermoplastic composites offer an advantage of recyclability after their service life, but challenges and opportunities remain in the recycling of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites (NFRPCs). This article summarized the effects of reprocessing/recycling on the material properties of NFRPCs. The material properties considered include mechanical performance, thermal properties, hygroscopic behavior, viscoelasticity, degradation, and durability. NFRPCs can generally be recycled approximately 4–6 times until their thermomechanical properties change. After recycling 7 times, the tensile strength of NFRPCs can decrease by 17%, and the tensile modulus can decrease by 28%. The mitigation approaches to overcome degradation of material properties of NFRPCs such as adding functional additives and virgin plastics are also discussed. The main challenges in these approaches such as degradation and incompatibility are discussed, and an effort is made to provide a rationale for reprocessing/recyclability assessment. Future applications of NFRPCs such as additive manufacturing and automotive part use are discussed.

Original language	English
Article number	105962
Journal	Resources, Conservation and Recycling
Volume	177
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105962
State	Published - Feb 2022

Funding

The authors acknowledge the support from the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Advanced Manufacturing Office under CPS Agreement 35714, and the US DOE FY 2021 BETO Project under Contract 2.5.6.105 with UT-Battelle LLC. This manuscript was authored in part by UT-Battelle LLC under contract DE-AC05–00OR22725 with DOE. The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ). The authors acknowledge the support from the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Advanced Manufacturing Office under CPS Agreement 35714, and the US DOE FY 2021 BETO Project under Contract 2.5.6.105 with UT-Battelle LLC. This manuscript was authored in part by UT-Battelle LLC under contract DE-AC05?00OR22725 with DOE. The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan).

Keywords

Material property
Natural fiber
Natural fiber reinforced polymer composite
Polymer
Recycling
Reprocessing

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105962

Cite this

Zhao, X., Copenhaver, K., Wang, L., Korey, M., Gardner, D. J., Li, K., Lamm, M. E., Kishore, V., Bhagia, S., Tajvidi, M., Tekinalp, H., Oyedeji, O., Wasti, S., Webb, E., Ragauskas, A. J., Zhu, H., Peter, W. H., & Ozcan, S. (2022). Recycling of natural fiber composites: Challenges and opportunities. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 177, Article 105962. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105962

@article{bae4aaa66d284d3995967831bd6232b9,

title = "Recycling of natural fiber composites: Challenges and opportunities",

abstract = "Natural fibers have been widely used for reinforcing polymers attributed to their sustainable nature, excellent stiffness to weight ratio, biodegradability, and low cost compared with synthetic fibers like carbon or glass fibers. Thermoplastic composites offer an advantage of recyclability after their service life, but challenges and opportunities remain in the recycling of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites (NFRPCs). This article summarized the effects of reprocessing/recycling on the material properties of NFRPCs. The material properties considered include mechanical performance, thermal properties, hygroscopic behavior, viscoelasticity, degradation, and durability. NFRPCs can generally be recycled approximately 4–6 times until their thermomechanical properties change. After recycling 7 times, the tensile strength of NFRPCs can decrease by 17%, and the tensile modulus can decrease by 28%. The mitigation approaches to overcome degradation of material properties of NFRPCs such as adding functional additives and virgin plastics are also discussed. The main challenges in these approaches such as degradation and incompatibility are discussed, and an effort is made to provide a rationale for reprocessing/recyclability assessment. Future applications of NFRPCs such as additive manufacturing and automotive part use are discussed.",

keywords = "Material property, Natural fiber, Natural fiber reinforced polymer composite, Polymer, Recycling, Reprocessing",

author = "Xianhui Zhao and Katie Copenhaver and Lu Wang and Matthew Korey and Gardner, {Douglas J.} and Kai Li and Lamm, {Meghan E.} and Vidya Kishore and Samarthya Bhagia and Mehdi Tajvidi and Halil Tekinalp and Oluwafemi Oyedeji and Sanjita Wasti and Erin Webb and Ragauskas, {Arthur J.} and Hongli Zhu and Peter, {William H.} and Soydan Ozcan",

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year = "2022",

month = feb,

doi = "10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105962",

language = "English",

volume = "177",

journal = "Resources, Conservation and Recycling",

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Zhao, X, Copenhaver, K, Wang, L, Korey, M, Gardner, DJ, Li, K , Lamm, ME, Kishore, V, Bhagia, S, Tajvidi, M, Tekinalp, H, Oyedeji, O, Wasti, S, Webb, E, Ragauskas, AJ, Zhu, H, Peter, WH & Ozcan, S 2022, 'Recycling of natural fiber composites: Challenges and opportunities', Resources, Conservation and Recycling, vol. 177, 105962. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105962

TY - JOUR

T1 - Recycling of natural fiber composites

T2 - Challenges and opportunities

AU - Zhao, Xianhui

AU - Copenhaver, Katie

AU - Wang, Lu

AU - Korey, Matthew

AU - Gardner, Douglas J.

AU - Li, Kai

AU - Lamm, Meghan E.

AU - Kishore, Vidya

AU - Bhagia, Samarthya

AU - Tajvidi, Mehdi

AU - Tekinalp, Halil

AU - Oyedeji, Oluwafemi

AU - Wasti, Sanjita

AU - Webb, Erin

AU - Ragauskas, Arthur J.

AU - Zhu, Hongli

AU - Peter, William H.

AU - Ozcan, Soydan

PY - 2022/2

Y1 - 2022/2

N2 - Natural fibers have been widely used for reinforcing polymers attributed to their sustainable nature, excellent stiffness to weight ratio, biodegradability, and low cost compared with synthetic fibers like carbon or glass fibers. Thermoplastic composites offer an advantage of recyclability after their service life, but challenges and opportunities remain in the recycling of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites (NFRPCs). This article summarized the effects of reprocessing/recycling on the material properties of NFRPCs. The material properties considered include mechanical performance, thermal properties, hygroscopic behavior, viscoelasticity, degradation, and durability. NFRPCs can generally be recycled approximately 4–6 times until their thermomechanical properties change. After recycling 7 times, the tensile strength of NFRPCs can decrease by 17%, and the tensile modulus can decrease by 28%. The mitigation approaches to overcome degradation of material properties of NFRPCs such as adding functional additives and virgin plastics are also discussed. The main challenges in these approaches such as degradation and incompatibility are discussed, and an effort is made to provide a rationale for reprocessing/recyclability assessment. Future applications of NFRPCs such as additive manufacturing and automotive part use are discussed.

AB - Natural fibers have been widely used for reinforcing polymers attributed to their sustainable nature, excellent stiffness to weight ratio, biodegradability, and low cost compared with synthetic fibers like carbon or glass fibers. Thermoplastic composites offer an advantage of recyclability after their service life, but challenges and opportunities remain in the recycling of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites (NFRPCs). This article summarized the effects of reprocessing/recycling on the material properties of NFRPCs. The material properties considered include mechanical performance, thermal properties, hygroscopic behavior, viscoelasticity, degradation, and durability. NFRPCs can generally be recycled approximately 4–6 times until their thermomechanical properties change. After recycling 7 times, the tensile strength of NFRPCs can decrease by 17%, and the tensile modulus can decrease by 28%. The mitigation approaches to overcome degradation of material properties of NFRPCs such as adding functional additives and virgin plastics are also discussed. The main challenges in these approaches such as degradation and incompatibility are discussed, and an effort is made to provide a rationale for reprocessing/recyclability assessment. Future applications of NFRPCs such as additive manufacturing and automotive part use are discussed.

KW - Material property

KW - Natural fiber

KW - Natural fiber reinforced polymer composite

KW - Polymer

KW - Recycling

KW - Reprocessing

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U2 - 10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105962

DO - 10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105962

M3 - Review article

AN - SCOPUS:85117584841

SN - 0921-3449

VL - 177

JO - Resources, Conservation and Recycling

JF - Resources, Conservation and Recycling

M1 - 105962

ER -

Recycling of natural fiber composites: Challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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