Toray Industries Develops CFRP Recycling Technology to Maintain Fiber Strength and Quality

Tory Industries announced that it has developed a recycling technology that can decompose various carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) made from thermosetting resins while preserving the strength and surface quality of the fibers. The company has utilized this technology to create a non-woven fabric made from recycled carbon fibers.

Toray has started providing prototype samples to customers in hopes that they will develop performance and decorative materials suitable for various applications such as automotive, construction, electrical and electronics, as well as daily goods. The company will advance technical evaluations in line with customer needs.

CFRP applications include airplanes and wind turbines. Chemical recycling as a reducing agent in steel furnaces is gaining increasing attention for recycling CFRP. The technology of pyrolyzing waste CFRP at high temperatures to recover and reuse fibers is emerging and the market is expanding, particularly in injection molding applications. To expand the range of applications, technologies that can suppress thermal damage to recycled carbon fibers, control resin residues, and be applicable to various types of waste CFRP are needed.

Toray has leveraged its expertise in organic synthesis and polymer polymerization to innovate a decomposition agent capable of breaking down degradation-resistant three-dimensional cross-linked thermosetting resins at lower temperatures than traditional methods. The company uses this agent to decompose CFRP waste from sources such as airplanes, wind turbines, and automobiles. The carbon fibers recovered through this process retain over 95% of the tensile strength of virgin petroleum-based carbon fibers. Toray expects the carbon dioxide emissions from this technology to be less than half of those from manufacturing virgin carbon fibers.

The regenerated carbon fiber from this technology is stronger than traditional carbon fiber and minimizes fiber breakage during post-processing. Its low resin residue and excellent surface quality enable the processing to adapt to a wider range of applications. In particular, efforts to disperse short fibers and process them into sheet-like non-woven fabrics have been successful.

The recycled carbon fiber produced using this technology has controllable water dispersibility, allowing for the creation of uniform non-woven fabric structures and washi paper structures with unique textures. This fabric combines the functionalities of carbon fiber, including RF shielding and thermal conductivity, with the aesthetic appeal of washi paper. Toray aims to expand the applications of this new material to many industries.