Can fiberglass be recycled?
While energy efficiency in terms of production and transporation of fiberglass contributes to its lower carbon footprint, we cannot deny that certain significant issues do exist when it comes to its environmental impact. For example, durability, one of fiberglass’ greatest strengths when it comes to industrial application, becomes a liability once the products are no longer in use. Combined with brittleness, it can lead to breaking and cracking of an item under certain conditions, which leads to the creation of waste material that cannot be reused and is difficult to be disposed of.
If we bear in mind that fiberglass is a growing industry, which produces around 5 million tonnes of products every year, it becomes clear why there is growing interest in discovering the ways to handle the accompanying waste in a responsible and productive manner, which would fully align this industry with the rising – and urgently needed – global trend of sustainable development.
High demand leads to innovative solutions
Fortunately, the immense versatility and wide-range application of fiberglass – a trend that has only been showing signs of expansion in the last decades – has lead to considerable leaps in technological innovation in the field of recycling. It should be noted here that the market future of fiberglass shows a lot of promise, as demand for this material has been steadily increasing in several industries, such as construction, transportation, and renewable energy. Adding to that, the rise of new, innovative applications for fiberglass in the medical and sports industries, is another factor that is expected to drive demand in the future.
It should come as no surprise that the recent advances in recycling technology have lead to viable methods in making fiberglass reusable in several ways.
The fiberglass recycling process typically involves these steps:
Collection: fiberglass waste is collected from various sources, such as construction sites, manufacturing plants, and end-of-life products.
Sorting: the fiberglass waste is sorted to remove any contaminants, such as metal or wood.
Grinding: the fiberglass waste is ground down into small pieces or powder.
Separation: the glass fibres are separated from the polymer resin using a combination of mechanical and chemical processes.
Purification: tfhe glass fibres are purified to remove any impurities and prepare them for reuse.
Reprocessing: the glass fibres are then combined with new polymer resin and moulded into new products.
This fiberglass grinding, is the traditional, and most common method for making fiberglass reusable. Waste fiberglass is cut up and then shredded into smaller pieces or powder. These tiny pieces are reused in other products, such as filler in cement, artificial wood, or asphalt. It leaves little to no waste with as much fiberglass as possible ground up and reused. This process, however, is labour-intensive and damages the glass fibres irreparably, so they can’t be used as the new glass fibre. Apart from this method, two others have also been developed:
Incineration – i.e. burning or thermal oxidation. This method uses waste fiberglass for generating heat. This could be creating steam to power turbines that generate electricity or to heat cement kilns. The heat damages the glass fibres, rendering them useless, but any residue or leftover fibres can be used for strengthening concrete.
Pyrolysis – this process chemically decomposes or transforms fiberglass into recoverable substances – pyro-gas, pyro-oil, and a solid byproduct. Fiberglass is shredded into small squares and added to a pyrolysis reactor by a vacuum assist. This draws off most of the oxygen in the atmosphere. It’s then heated to incredibly high temperatures of around 500°C and hydrocarbons in the resin decompose into gas. Pyro-gas and pyro-oil are separated and used as natural gas replacements, blended with other fuel oils, or added to asphalt.
While there are still certain disadvantages and issues with all three processes to iron out, it is undeniable that fiberglass recycling conserves natural resources by reducing the need for new raw materials, decreases the amount of waste sent to landfills, thus helping reduce the environmental impact of waste disposal, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, since it requires less energy than producing new fiberglass products.
Recycling fiberglass can help mitigate environmental impacts by reducing demand for new raw materials together with waste. As more countries and industries prioritise sustainability, fiberglass recycling is likely to become an increasingly important part of the global waste management and materials economy. As concerns around environmental sustainability and recycling are expected to impact the future growth of fiberglass market, consumers and manufacturers increasingly prioritize environmentally friendly materials and production processes. This increase in fiberglass recyclability will undoubtedly have a positive effect on its market future, as well as the market future of all those who opt to include fiberglass products in their brand.
At Wood Plastix, we are confident that these advances in recycling technology will maintain the widespread and well-earned popularity of fiberglass and that this material will remain one of the key blocks of progress and development in the foreseeable future.
