Description:
Background
Carbon fiber prepregs are widely used in aerospace and high-performance manufacturing since they can produce lightweight, high-strength composite structures. However, prepregs have a limited storage life, and an estimated 30–50% of prepreg material used is ultimately discarded due to expiration or manufacturing scrap. A recycling solution that can recover both intact fiber reinforcements and reusable resin building blocks is needed.
Technology Description
USC researchers have developed a technology that gives a new way to recycle expired carbon fiber prepreg materials via a series of gentle chemical treatments to dissolve and remove the resin while preserving the woven carbon fiber fabric. The resin chemicals are purified for reuse in new composite materials. The recovered carbon fiber fabrics maintain more than 92% of their original strength and can be remanufactured into new prepregs and composite parts. Testing showed that composites produced from the recycled fabrics performed similarly to those made from new materials.
Benefits
- Recovers ≤90% of aerospace-grade diamine hardener and ≤76% of BPA resin precursor.
- Retains > 92% of fiber tensile strength and >98% of modulus after recycling
- Operates with relatively mild chemical conditions compared to pyrolysis and aggressive acid digestion methods.
- Produces 2nd-generation composite laminates with short beam shear performance comparable to virgin materials.
Stage of Development
- Lab prototype
- Patent pending
Applications
- Industrial composite fabrication
- Defense and military composites
Related Publication:
Composites Part B: Engineering, 2026, 15, 113345 DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2025.113345