A clear case for carbon fibre recovery and reuse exists on environmental grounds due to the high cost and energy use of virgin fibre production. On a specific energy basis, carbon fibres can be recovered at around 10% of the energy required to manufacture virgin fibres but the scale of the recovery process can make a large difference to overall cost effectiveness. This study will describe the technical and economic challenges associated with the recycling of carbon fibres, the state of the art in recycling technologies and the re-use of fibres in high performance composites
