Characterisation of products from the recycling of glass fibre reinforced polyester waste by pyrolysis☆

A thermoset polyester/styrene copolymer reinforced with glass fibre was pyrolysed in a fixed-bed reactor at 450 °C. The main gases evolved were CO and CO2, which accounted for more than 75 vol% of the total gas composition. Other gases identified were H2, CH4 and other hydrocarbons from C2 to C4. The properties of the pyrolytic oil, including calorific value, viscosity and elemental analysis, suggested that it could be a viable liquid fuel. The condensable products could also be a valuable source of chemical feedstocks including styrene and phthalic anhydride, which could potentially be recycled into polyester/styrene resins. The glass fibre recovered from the solid residue had mechanical properties which indicated that they could replace up to 20 wt% of virgin glass fibre in Dough Moulding Compound.