Disassembly of laminated CFRP using direct pulsed discharge

To promote the sustainable use of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs), the efficient recovery and recycling of carbon fibers (CFs) from used CFRP products is required. In this study, a direct pulsed discharge with high voltage was applied to CFRP samples for quick, low-cost dismantling and CF separation. It was found that direct pulsed discharge results in the effective destruction of CFRP, particularly in regions where the CFs are aligned parallel to the applied current. This implies that pulsed discharge is a promising method for the coarse dismantling of laminated CFRP. High-speed video camera observations, X-ray computed tomography, and electric field simulations revealed that Joule heat generated from the large current through the CFs rapidly gasifies the surrounding resin, resulting in the destruction of the CFRP.