description
- "The concept of the project lies in the full recovery of glass-fiber aircraft insulation materials and in the recycling of their constituents into new, competitive materials for building applications. In this context, the project envisages recovery of the glass fibers, the polymeric bags and the thermosetting resin used as binder and aims to develop and apply alternative routes for their recycling, including closed and open-loop systems, as well as primary and secondary recycling processes. The final products of the project shall include: -New insulation materials, - A series of concrete samples incorporating alternative recycled materials (i.e. glass fibers, glass microparticles and polymeric microparticles), - Glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites. More specifically, following the acquisition and characterization of the end-of-life a/c insulation materials, their individual constituents will be recovered and characterized to assess their processability. The proposed recycling routes for each constituents are summarized as follows: 1. Glass fibers: - Closed loop recycling into new insulation materials, - Use as reinforcement in polymer-matrix and concrete composites, - Preparation and treatment of glass microparticles and their application in concrete. 2. Polymer bag materials: - Utilization of polymeric microparticles as concrete filler, - Polymer recycling into composite materials. 3. Thermoset resin: - Utilization as sand substitute in concete. All products will be characterized and optimized in terms of performance and cost to ensure their acceptance in the market, which is a prerequisite for the economic viability of the recycling processes developed. Overall, environmental, economic and technological benefits are expected from the establishment of the proposed recycling routes."