Developing Advanced Practical Recycling Method of FRP Boats

Abstract

Since 1990s, these many researchers have been fully involved in developing recycling methods for mechanical recycling of FRP boats, which involves shredding and grinding of the scrap FRP in a new recycled product. But still it leads to secondary problem such as air pollution and unacceptable shredding noise level. Another urgent and also FRP recycling is very limited applications. This study is to propose a newly advanced method which is more efficient and environment friendly waste FRP regenerating system. As extracting FRP layer and making the recycled fiber for recycled-fiber reinforced concrete(RFRC) from waste FRP, the recycling process has some merits in a sense of the recycling energy and the environmental effects. In this study spectrochemical differentiation between the two layers has been made using (1) boiling concentrated sulfuric acid which can dissolve the resin in the FRP layer, (2) methanol and isopropanol solution saturated with KOH which can dissolve the glass, or (3) hydrogen fluoride(HF) solution which can reacts with SiO2 fragments of the glass. Furthermore coloring water-soluble dye following the HF treatment makes the roving layer more distinguishable photophysically. For those tasks, spectro-chemical differentiation method and coloring water-soluble dye treatment makes the roving layer more distinguishable photophysically. Newly developed (patented) recycling system is not just efficient but also eco-friendly FRP waste regenerating system. That has remarkably reduced safety hazards and energy. Using the mechanical properties of polymers and composite, FRP with the orthotropic and laminated plastic structure has been easily separated in the new extracting system. Also five kind of separating manuals have been introduced for the some different compositions of FRP boats. The roving fiber of laminated glass-fiber layer is as good as the polyvinyl fiber which is cost-high commercial fiber to increasing strength of concrete products. The early study has shown the effectiveness of laminated glass-fiber layer which also is chemical-resistant due to the resin coating. The application of laminated glass-fiber layer has been to be very effective and value added. Therefore the extracting system of laminated glass-fiber layer in FRP waste should be more studied for mass production and industrialization. It will also be eco-friendly regenerate recycling of the troublesome FRP waste. These results imply that more efficient and environment friendly recycled glass fiber can be better applied to the fiber reinforced concrete(FRC) substitute and this study also has shown wide concrete applications with recycled-fiber reinforced concrete from the waste FRP boat. Furthermore it may be introduced in real life for the practical and eco-friendly FRP regenerating system to the waste FRP boats.