8. Conclusion

Significant quantities of composite waste (production waste or end-of-life parts) are still landfilled or simply incinerated, and their volume is likely to increase in the years to come. Glass/resin composites (mainly unsaturated polyester) are in the majority, with carbon/resin composites (mainly epoxy) remaining in the minority and composites reinforced with other types of fiber (aramid, vegetable) very marginal. Thermoset polymer matrices (65% of composites by volume) remain the most critical.

Various recycling solutions leading to material or mixed material/energy recovery have been developed over the past two decades, at laboratory, pre-industrial demonstrator or industrial pilot scale. Mechanical, thermal and chemical processing methods have been explored in parallel. All these solutions still have potential for improvement and optimization, and a great deal...