Abstract
A new recycling process for fiberglass waste is proposed without any use of virgin materials or additives. This technology consists of a “direct molding” (i.e. compression molding) of powders from fiberglass pulverization. In order to show the feasibility of this recycling technology, several fiberglass laminates were molded with a polyester matrix and different glass fiber contents (from 0 to 40 wt%). The pulverization-molding cycle was repeated two times to evaluate further recyclability of recycled fiberglass. Particle size distribution of recycled powders was evaluated after each pulverizing step, as well as density and bending properties of all virgin and recycled samples. Even if final properties of recycled fiberglass are not comparable with virgin fiberglass, they are comparable with other technical materials such as plasterboard. In fact, in the best case, 40% glass-filled samples showed a bending strength over 4 MPa with a strain at break over 2%. Highest values were found after the second pulverization step because of particle size refinement. Applying a polyester coating on the molded sample surface always resulted in a strong increase on strength (up to + 200%).
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.