Markus Schwaiger is writing his doctoral thesis at the Institute of Materials Science and Testing of Polymers, specializing in sustainable composites and their recycling. The topic of recycling carbon fiber-reinforced polymer took him to Delaware at the Center for Composite Materials (CCM) at the beginning of this year. The CCM is part of the College of Engineering at the University of Delaware and is an internationally recognized, interdisciplinary center for composite materials research and education.
From February to July, Schwaiger worked there on recovering the individual components of composites so that monomer, i.e. the chemical building block that forms the basis for the formation of polymers, and carbon fibers can be reused in new products. This makes a closed material cycle possible.
From waste to recyclable material: the importance of composites recycling
