Recycling of thermosets by direct moulding of fine powder

Abstract

A recycling technology is proposed for recycling of thermosets. An experimental approach is reported to design a “direct powder moulding” (i.e. compression moulding of thermoset fine powders in absence of virgin material or any linking agent). Experimental tests were performed by moulding fine and medium size powders from shredding of rubbers and polyurethane. Small samples were produced to show the process feasibility. The process is fast and easy and it is not required  any treatment of the shredded material or binder addition. Even if the moulding pressure was limited in the proposed experimentation, the final performance of the samples seems to be sufficient for a lot of structural and functional applications.