Recyclable Carbon Fiber: Extreme Fuel Efficiency

April 23, 2006 – Vol.11 No.5

RECYCLABLE CARBON FIBER: EXTREME FUEL EFFICIENCY.

Imagine the cars and trucks of the future: Heavy steel bodies are replaced with lightweight carbon fiber composite ones and plug-in hybrid electric drive (PHEVs) are the norm. Today’s 50 mile-per-gallon hybrids seem like gas-guzzlers by comparison.

Carbon fiber panels already can be made as quickly as steel thus fit into mass production schedules. Now, carbon fiber composites can also be recycled.

Recycling specialist Milled Carbon Ltd of the UK has a process that can turn rejected carbon parts into valuable, reusable material. The process removes any resin or binder from the carbon composite by pyrolysis - applying heat in the absence of oxygen.

The recovered carbon fiber has nearly the same properties, such as tensile strength, as virgin material.

Already Boeing and Airbus are interested. Both are using carbon fiber composites in new, more fuel efficient aircraft design. Milled Carbon has the capability of reprocessing over 500 tons of carbon fiber each year. Visit Milled Carbon at http://www.milledcarbon.com/.