A Bibliometric and Systematic Review of the Use of Recycled Composite Materials with an Emphasis on the Mechanical Performance of Structures
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Current Scenario from the Study
2.1. FRP Recycling Technologies
2.2. Mechanical Behavior of Recycled FRP Materials
2.3. Environmental and Economic Implications
3. Methodology and Approach for Data Collection
4. Results of Bibliometric Analysis
4.1. Analysis of the Number of Publications over Time
4.2. Publication by Country
4.3. Keyword Analysis
4.4. Co-Authorship Network
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Recycling Technology | Description | Advantages | Disadvantages | Reviewed Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mechanical | Mechanical recycling is a conventional method for recycling thermoset matrix composites, where the material is reduced in size through grinding, cutting, milling, or shredding operations. Initially, the composite is cut into small pieces (50–100 mm) and manually cleared of inserts before being fed into a shredder. These pieces are then ground into smaller particles ranging from 10 mm to 50 μm. The resulting larger particles, which contain fibrous material, are typically used as filler in bulk molding compounds (BMCs), while the finer particles are suitable for sheet molding compounds (SMCs). The process involves key equipment, such as granulators or hammer mills, pulverizers for further crushing, and classifiers (e.g., cyclones or sieves) to separate the coarse fibrous and fine powdered products. Additionally, recycled GFRP aggregates, both coarse and fine, can be used in polyester-based mortar and concrete. |
|
| [18,46,58,59,60,61,62,63] |
Thermal—fluidized bed | This involves burning the resin matrix in a hot, oxygen-rich flow, allowing for clean fiber recovery without char deposits. However, fiber length and strength degradation can occur during this process. The composite waste is first reduced to 25 mm and fed into a fluidized silica sand bed, which is heated to 450–550 °C using a hot air stream. Both the fibers and resin are carried by the stream, with the fibers separated by a cyclone and the resin fully oxidized in an afterburner, recovering energy as heat. |
|
| [18,46,58,61,64,65,66,67,68] |
Thermal—pyrolysis | Pyrolysis is a thermal recycling method that involves the decomposition of organic materials in the absence of oxygen. During this process, composite materials are exposed to high temperatures (450–750 °C), causing the matrix to break down into lower-weight molecules, while the fibers remain unaffected and can be recovered. The decomposition of the matrix produces oil, gases, and solid particles (char and fillers). The gases, primarily consisting of hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and other hydrocarbons, can be used for energy recovery. This process typically occurs in a static pyrolysis reactor under nitrogen. |
|
| [18,46,58,65,69,70,71,72,73] |
Chemical (solvolysis) | The chemical process of recycling composites is known as solvolysis. In this technique, the polymer matrix is degraded through exposure to a solvent. Solvolysis can be classified into two types: (a) solvolysis at lower temperatures and (b) solvolysis in supercritical fluids, depending on the temperature and state of the solvent. Additionally, solvolysis can be further categorized based on the type of solvent used, such as hydrolysis (using water), glycolysis (using glycols), and acid digestion (using acid). |
|
| [18,46,58,61,65,74,75,76,77,78] |
Recycling Method | Effect on Mechanical Properties | Source Paper |
---|---|---|
Mechanical | A decrease of 29% in tensile strength, 23% in Young’s modulus, 28% in flexural strength, and 24% in flexural modulus was demonstrated. | [63] |
The bending modulus of coarse and fine fibers increased by approximately 161% and 80%, respectively, compared to the resin alone. The coarse and fine samples showed reductions in strain at failure of approximately 32% and 45%, respectively. The fine sample exhibited a slight reduction in bending strength of about 14.7%. | [79] | |
A decrease in flexural strength by 9%, an increase in impact strength by 7%, and a decrease in flexural modulus by 3% compared to the standard composite were demonstrated. | [80] | |
The addition of carbon powder wastes (CPW) significantly enhanced the resin’s mechanical properties. With 10 wt.% and 20 wt.% CPW, the flexural strength increased by 14% and 30%, the modulus of elasticity by 10% and 30%, and impact strength by 3% and 28%, respectively. The compressive strength improved by 6% and nearly 20% with 10 wt.% and 20 wt.% CPW, respectively. | [81] | |
Thermal | A decrease of 19% in flexural strength and an increase of 3.6% in flexural modulus were demonstrated. | [82] |
An increase in tensile strength from 140 MPa to 149 MPa (6.4%) and an increase in Young’s modulus from 3.9 GPa to 4.1 GPa (5.1%) were demonstrated. | [83] | |
The best retention of carbon fiber characteristics (93% of virgin tensile strength) was obtained when composite waste was pyrolyzed and oxidized at 500 °C. In comparison, when the composite waste was pyrolyzed at 350 °C and oxidized at 700 °C, it retained only 26% of virgin carbon fiber tensile strength. | [84] | |
When CFRP decomposed at 600 °C, the tensile strength decreased by about 50%, as the oxygen concentration increased from 5% to 20%. At 650 °C, the tensile modulus decreased in air, while the tensile strength stabilized with high oxygen concentrations. At 650 °C and 5% O2, the tensile properties remained stable, with the best retention of tensile strength (about 80%) observed at 650 °C with 5% O2 for 45 min. | [85] | |
The tensile strength of recovered E-glass fibers was reduced by up to 50%. | [64] | |
Flexural and Young’s moduli remained unchanged, but flexural and tensile strength decreased when over 50% of the virgin reinforcement was replaced by fibers recovered at 450 °C. | [86] | |
Chemical | A 350 °C hydrolysis temperature reduced mechanical properties by 60%, while 300 °C caused a 50% reduction. | [87] |
A reduction of 10% in tensile strength was found. | [88] | |
The tensile strength of all recovered fibers was similar to that of the virgin fiber after sizing removal. | [77] | |
The recycled glass fibers (GFs) retained approximately 92.7% tensile strength, 99.0% Young’s modulus, and 96.2% strain-to-failure compared to virgin GFs. | [89] | |
The tensile strength of the recovered CFs was over 95% of that of the virgin fibers. | [75] | |
The CFs retained approximately 92% tensile strength and 94% strain-to-failure, compared to the original CFs. | [90] |
Journal | Journal Impact Factor (2024) | Journal Quartile 2024 | Number of Publications |
---|---|---|---|
Construction and Building Materials | 7.4 | Q1 | 112 |
Polymers | 4.7 | Q1 | 62 |
Composites Part B Engineering | 12.7 | Q1 | 49 |
Journal of Cleaner Production | 9.8 | Q1 | 49 |
Composite Structures | 6.3 | Q1 | 45 |
Polymer Composites | 4.8 | Q1 | 40 |
Materials | 3.1 | Q1 | 39 |
Journal of Building Engineering | 6.7 | Q1 | 31 |
Resources Conservation and Recycling | 11.2 | Q1 | 30 |
Structures | 3.9 | Q1 | 29 |
Composites Part A Applied Science and Manufacturing | 8.1 | Q1 | 26 |
Engineering Structures | 5.6 | Q1 | 26 |
Polymer Degradation and Stability | 6.3 | Q1 | 26 |
Composites Science and Technology | 8.3 | Q1 | 24 |
Journal of Applied Polymer Science | 2.7 | Q2 | 24 |
Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites | 2.3 | Q3 | 24 |
Journal of Composites For Construction | 2.9 | Q2 | 23 |
ACS Sustainable Chemistry Engineering | 7.1 | Q1 | 20 |
Journal of Composite Materials | 2.3 | Q3 | 17 |
Sustainability | 3.3 | Q2 | 17 |
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Veres, C.; Tănase, M. A Bibliometric and Systematic Review of the Use of Recycled Composite Materials with an Emphasis on the Mechanical Performance of Structures. Materials 2025, 18, 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18030607
Veres C, Tănase M. A Bibliometric and Systematic Review of the Use of Recycled Composite Materials with an Emphasis on the Mechanical Performance of Structures. Materials. 2025; 18(3):607. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18030607
Chicago/Turabian StyleVeres, Cristina, and Maria Tănase. 2025. "A Bibliometric and Systematic Review of the Use of Recycled Composite Materials with an Emphasis on the Mechanical Performance of Structures" Materials 18, no. 3: 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18030607
APA StyleVeres, C., & Tănase, M. (2025). A Bibliometric and Systematic Review of the Use of Recycled Composite Materials with an Emphasis on the Mechanical Performance of Structures. Materials, 18(3), 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18030607