Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing
Composite recycling in the construction industry
Introduction
Fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) are increasingly being used in construction due to their light weight, ease of installation, low maintenance, tailor made properties, and corrosion resistance. The UK FRP industry produces 240,000 tonnes of products a year with 11% of this being for the construction industry. Current and impending waste management legislation will put more pressure on the industry to address the options available for dealing with FRP waste. Such waste legislation focuses on dealing with waste through the waste hierarchy and will therefore, put more pressure on solving FRP waste management through recycling and reuse.
At present the most common disposal method for UK FRP waste is landfill. To assist in the transition from disposal in landfill to recycling, the FRP industry needs to consider designing materials and components for easier deconstruction, reuse and recycling at the end of the product life.
Section snippets
EU directives
EU directives such as End of Life Vehicles (ELV) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) will put more pressure on solving FRP waste management through recycling and reuse. The ELV directive states that by 2015, 85% of ELVs will have to be reused or recycled (excluding energy recovery), with only 10% incinerated with energy recovery, and only 5% going to landfill [1]. Whilst this new legislation does not impact on the construction industry, currently in negotiation is the proposed
The waste hierarchy
According to the waste hierarchy, the options for FRP waste management in order of preference are waste minimisation, reuse, recycling, incineration with energy recovery/composting, and lastly incineration without energy recovery/landfill (see Fig. 1).
End products from recyclate
Several potential uses for ground FRP recyclate have been investigated.
Artificial woods have been experimentally manufactured using powder from pulverised waste FRP products. The waste trimmings from bathtubs were pulverised to make the FRP powder. The artificial woods were autoclaved from cementitious compositions with various other contents including carbon fibre. The material can be nailed and sawn like natural wood [12].
The effect of adding ground recycled fibreglass composite in
Life cycle assessment and ecodesign
The use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Ecodesign can aid the construction industry in its search for ecologically friendly products. LCA is a quantitative method to assess the environmental impacts occurring through the product life cycle, covering materials extraction and processing, manufacture, use, disposal and recycling, and has already been applied to the construction industry in the form of BRE Environmental Profiles. Ecodesign takes into consideration the life cycle of the materials
Conclusions
FRPs are increasingly being used in construction due to their low weight, durability and tailor made properties. The UK FRP industry currently produces 240,000 tonnes of product a year with 11% of this being for the construction sector. FRP is widely considered to be un-recyclable, and at present the most common disposal method for such material is landfill. Nevertheless several recycling options have been developed for this material including reintroduction of ground FRP waste into the
Acknowledgements
This research was carried out as part of the Construction Innovation Research Programme of the UK Department of Trade and Industry.
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