Recycling of Waste Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Composites: A Patent-Based Analysis
Fiber-reinforced plastic composite materials are increasingly used in many industrial applications, leading to an increase in the amount of waste that must be treated to avoid environmental problems. Currently, the scientific literature classifies existing recycling technologies into three macro-cat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-11-01
|
| Series: | Recycling |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-4321/6/4/72 |
| _version_ | 1797501108386529280 |
|---|---|
| author | Beatrice Colombo Paolo Gaiardelli Stefano Dotti Flavio Caretto Gaetano Coletta |
| author_facet | Beatrice Colombo Paolo Gaiardelli Stefano Dotti Flavio Caretto Gaetano Coletta |
| author_sort | Beatrice Colombo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fiber-reinforced plastic composite materials are increasingly used in many industrial applications, leading to an increase in the amount of waste that must be treated to avoid environmental problems. Currently, the scientific literature classifies existing recycling technologies into three macro-categories: mechanical, thermal, and chemical; however, none are identified as superior to the others. Therefore, scholars and companies struggle to understand where to focus their efforts. Patent analysis, by relying on quantitative data as a precursor to new technological developments, can contribute to fully grasping current applications of each recycling technology and provide insights about their future development perspectives. Based on these premises, this paper performs a patent technology roadmap to enhance knowledge about prior, current, and future use of the main recycling technologies. The results show that recycling macro-categories have different technology maturity levels and growth potentials. Specifically, mechanical recycling is the most mature, with the lowest growth potential, while thermal and chemical recycling are in their growth stage and present remarkable future opportunities. Moreover, the analysis depicts several perspectives for future development on recycling technologies applications within different industries and underline inter- and intra-category dependencies, thus providing valuable information for practitioners and both academic and non-academic backgrounds researchers interested in the topic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:13:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6a6c2653469a4bb38196634678de6c8b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2313-4321 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:13:36Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Recycling |
| spelling | doaj.art-6a6c2653469a4bb38196634678de6c8b2023-11-23T10:21:29ZengMDPI AGRecycling2313-43212021-11-01647210.3390/recycling6040072Recycling of Waste Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Composites: A Patent-Based AnalysisBeatrice Colombo0Paolo Gaiardelli1Stefano Dotti2Flavio Caretto3Gaetano Coletta4Department of Management, Information and Production Engineering, University of Bergamo, Viale Marconi 5, 24044 Bergamo, ItalyDepartment of Management, Information and Production Engineering, University of Bergamo, Viale Marconi 5, 24044 Bergamo, ItalyDepartment of Management, Information and Production Engineering, University of Bergamo, Viale Marconi 5, 24044 Bergamo, ItalyDivision for Sustainable Materials, Brindisi Research Center, ENEA—Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, SS7 Appia Km 706,00, 72100 Brindisi, ItalyTechnology Transfer Unit, ENEA—Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Via Martiri di Monte Sole 4, 40129 Bologna, ItalyFiber-reinforced plastic composite materials are increasingly used in many industrial applications, leading to an increase in the amount of waste that must be treated to avoid environmental problems. Currently, the scientific literature classifies existing recycling technologies into three macro-categories: mechanical, thermal, and chemical; however, none are identified as superior to the others. Therefore, scholars and companies struggle to understand where to focus their efforts. Patent analysis, by relying on quantitative data as a precursor to new technological developments, can contribute to fully grasping current applications of each recycling technology and provide insights about their future development perspectives. Based on these premises, this paper performs a patent technology roadmap to enhance knowledge about prior, current, and future use of the main recycling technologies. The results show that recycling macro-categories have different technology maturity levels and growth potentials. Specifically, mechanical recycling is the most mature, with the lowest growth potential, while thermal and chemical recycling are in their growth stage and present remarkable future opportunities. Moreover, the analysis depicts several perspectives for future development on recycling technologies applications within different industries and underline inter- and intra-category dependencies, thus providing valuable information for practitioners and both academic and non-academic backgrounds researchers interested in the topic.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-4321/6/4/72patent analysistechnology roadmapfiber-reinforced plastic composite materialsrecycling technologies |
| spellingShingle | Beatrice Colombo Paolo Gaiardelli Stefano Dotti Flavio Caretto Gaetano Coletta Recycling of Waste Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Composites: A Patent-Based Analysis Recycling patent analysis technology roadmap fiber-reinforced plastic composite materials recycling technologies |
| title | Recycling of Waste Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Composites: A Patent-Based Analysis |
| title_full | Recycling of Waste Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Composites: A Patent-Based Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Recycling of Waste Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Composites: A Patent-Based Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recycling of Waste Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Composites: A Patent-Based Analysis |
| title_short | Recycling of Waste Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Composites: A Patent-Based Analysis |
| title_sort | recycling of waste fiber reinforced plastic composites a patent based analysis |
| topic | patent analysis technology roadmap fiber-reinforced plastic composite materials recycling technologies |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-4321/6/4/72 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT beatricecolombo recyclingofwastefiberreinforcedplasticcompositesapatentbasedanalysis AT paologaiardelli recyclingofwastefiberreinforcedplasticcompositesapatentbasedanalysis AT stefanodotti recyclingofwastefiberreinforcedplasticcompositesapatentbasedanalysis AT flaviocaretto recyclingofwastefiberreinforcedplasticcompositesapatentbasedanalysis AT gaetanocoletta recyclingofwastefiberreinforcedplasticcompositesapatentbasedanalysis |