Management and recycling of composites containing carbon nanotubes - without risks for health and environment

Purpose and goal

The increasing use of nanomaterials places new demands on recycling and disposal of end-of-life products. The overall objective of the project was to generate awareness and knowledge about opportunities and risks related to disposal and recycling of polymer nanocomposites with carbon nanotubes. This has been achieved through experimental studies generating new important knowledge, but also through meetings, visits, and workshops at which experts from respective area have shared their knowledge. The project results have been communicated to industry and the academy.

Expected results and effects

A resource-efficient and safe way of handling products of plastic composite materials containing carbon nanotubes at their end-of-life is a prerequisite to develop and utilize the full potential of these new materials. In the project we generate new knowledge on safe and resource effective ways to handle waste of polymercomposites with carbon nanotubes. The new knowledge, and the awareness generated through the project, is expected to have a strong impact on how the industry will handle and recycle these materials in the future.

Planned approach and implementation

Two central parts of the project were experiments on i) Pyrolysis for material recycling and ii) Combustion for energy recovery. In the experiments, new knowledge was generated about how these materials behave during incineration in accordance with current legislation for waste incineration, and we show the potential for recycling the carbon nanotubes. The project also included a risk analysis, identifying possible risks related to the final disposal and recycling.