Energy Sources Part A-recovery Utilization and Environmental Effects, Vol.31, No.1, 76-85, 2009
Utilization of Scrap Thermosets Using Pyrolysis
Plastics are widely used materials, and their application increases considerably every year. Therefore, appropriate waste management policy should be used in relation to utilization/recycling of scrap plastic components. Currently, there are no clear utilization options for such scrap thermosetting materials, and landfill is the most commonly used method of their removal. However, it should be underlined that, in various products, especially from the electrotechnics industry, different metals are embedded in cured thermosets, and their recovery could be a very valuable recycling operation. Also, new environmental regulations are developing in this direction in that landfilling of organic wastes will be essentially limited. In this article, the results of the preliminary studies on pyrolytical degradation of thermosetting scrap have been presented, proving that this kind of waste treatment results in valuable pyrolysis products, and, as an additional benefit, recycling of the internal metallic parts can be successfully achieved.