System and method for reclaiming carbon fibers using solar energy

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11079140-B2
Application number	US-201716346687-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 8, 2017
Priority date	Dec 29, 2016
Publication date	Aug 3, 2021
Grant date	Aug 3, 2021

Abstract

A system for reclaiming carbon fiber from carbon fiber containing material using solar energy includes a sunlight focusing system, a sample platform for placement of carbon fiber containing material to be treated by focused sunlight from the sunlight focusing system, the sample platform being provided with a gas absorption pipe, and a waste gas treatment system connected with the gas absorption pipe.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for reclaiming carbon fiber from carbon fiber containing material using solar energy, comprising:
a sunlight focusing system;
a sample platform for placement of carbon fiber containing material to be treated by focused sunlight from the sunlight focusing system, the sample platform being provided with a gas absorption pipe;
a fine treatment furnace for receiving and heating carbon fiber containing material treated at the sample platform, the fine treatment furnace comprises: a heating cabinet, a heat sink, and a molten salt pipe; and
a waste gas treatment system connected with the gas absorption pipe.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the sunlight focusing system comprises:
a plurality of heliostats focusing the sunlight; and
a plurality of planar reflectors reflecting the focused sunlight to the sample platform.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the plurality of heliostats each comprising a plurality of concave reflecting mirrors.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the sample platform is driven by a servomotor moving the sample platform leftward, rightward, forward and backward.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the gas absorption pipe is fixed to a periphery of the sample platform.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the waste gas treatment system comprises: a dust cleaning apparatus connected with the gas absorption pipe; and a gas absorption treatment apparatus connected with the dust cleaning apparatus.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the dust cleaning apparatus removes particulate dusts from gas absorbed into the gas absorption pipe by way of dust removal by filtration.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the gas absorption treatment apparatus absorbs acidic substances in gas by utilizing an alkaline solution as an absorbent.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the heating cabinet comprises a cabinet liner and a housing, wherein an interlayer between the cabinet liner and the housing is filled with a molten salt, and wherein a heat preserved adiabatic apparatus is attached outside the housing.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the heat sink comprises a tubular heat exchanger and a funnel-shaped photomask, wherein the tubular heat exchanger contains a molten salt therein, wherein the funnel-shaped photomask concentrates sunlight from the sunlight focusing system to the tubular heat exchanger to heat the molten salt within the tubular heat exchanger.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the molten salt pipe communicates a lower end of the interlayer of the heating cabinet with an upper inlet of the tubular heat exchanger of the heat sink, and communicates an upper end of the interlayer of the heating cabinet with a lower outlet of the tubular heat exchanger of the heat sink.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein a working temperature of the molten salt is 400-580° C., and the molten salt is a binary mixed salt of KNO 3 and NaNO 3 .

13. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a digital control system achieving an automatic control for the reclaiming of carbon fibers from carbon fiber containing material using solar energy, the digital control system comprising a data acquisition device, a data transmission device, a control host and a monitoring software.

14. A method for reclaiming carbon fibers from carbon fiber reinforced polymer material using solar energy, comprising:
heating carbon fiber reinforced polymer material by irradiation from focused sunlight to remove a first portion of polymer from the carbon fiber reinforced polymer material;
placing the carbon fiber reinforced polymer material having the first portion of polymer removed into a fine treatment furnace, said fine treatment furnace includes a heating cabinet, a heat sink, and a molten salt pipe; and
heating the carbon fiber reinforced polymer material in the fine treatment furnace at a predetermined temperature to remove a second portion of polymer from the carbon fiber reinforced polymer material.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the carbon fiber reinforced polymer material is heated at between 350-600° C. by the irradiation from focused sunlight.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the carbon fiber reinforced polymer material is heated by the irradiation from focused sunlight to remove 40-80% of polymer from the carbon fiber reinforced polymer material.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the carbon fiber reinforced polymer material is heated in the fine treatment furnace to remove the remaining polymer from the carbon fiber reinforced polymer material.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the carbon fiber reinforced polymer material is thermosetting resin-matrix composite material containing carbon fibers.

19. A system for reclaiming carbon fiber from carbon fiber containing material using solar energy, comprising:
a sunlight focusing system;
a sample platform for placement of carbon fiber containing material to be treated by focused sunlight from the sunlight focusing system, the sample platform being provided with a gas absorption pipe; and
a fine treatment furnace for removing resin from the carbon fiber containing material treated at the sample platform.

20. The system of claim 19 further comprising a waste gas treatment system connected with the gas absorption pipe.

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Mei Shengwei
• Lu Qiang
• Xue Xiaodai
• Chen Xiaotao
• Chen Laijun
• Si Yang

Classifications

• F24S23/70

  with reflectors · CPC title

• F24S23/77

  with flat reflective plates · CPC title

• C08J11/00 Primary

  Recovery or working-up of waste materials (recovery of plastics B29B17/00; polymerisation processes involving purification or recycling of waste polymers or their depolymerisation products C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G, C08H) · CPC title

• F24S20/20

  Solar heat collectors for receiving concentrated solar energy, e.g. receivers for solar power plants · CPC title

• Y02E10/47

  Mountings or tracking · CPC title