Economic and environmental analysis of composite recycling techniques for the design of future waste management supply chains

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites have permeated every aspect of modern life. Significant progress has been made in engineering communities to recycle composite wastes. While emerging recycling techniques can recover both fibers and resins at mild processing conditions, they are currently limited on the laboratory scale. It remains unclear if they could lead to market viability and environmental sustainability when they are used for industrial applications; if not, what the limiting factors are and how to improve them. In this study, the environmental and economic impacts of existing recycling techniques are studied. The average recycling costs are analyzed, and the environmental impacts are examined. It reveals that while the emerging techniques can recycle composites with extremely low environmental impact, their costs are significant compared to conventional techniques, primarily due to the expensive solvents and catalysts used to enable recycling. However, the study shows that it is possible to combine conventional waste processing techniques with emerging ones to enable recycling scenarios that are both cost-effective and environmentally beneficial. Overall, the study in this paper provides valuable insights for the design of future waste management supply chains and appropriate business models for the sustainable development of society.