A high value application of reclaimed carbon fibers: Environmental remediation and redeployment in structural composites

This paper describes the use of reclaimed milled carbon fibers in a non-traditional application of pollutant removal and redeployment in a composite material. Commercially available milled reclaimed carbon fibers were able to remove 78% of perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substance pollutants from water. Modification of the reclaimed milled carbon fiber surface to model fibers ‘saturated’ with pollutant was undertaken and a comparison made between the modified sample and control materials. Aging these samples in water at 35 °C for 2 months, and periodically determining weight gain, flexural strength, and flexural modulus showed no significant difference between control fibers and those possessing a fluorinated surface. More aggressive aging, by boiling these samples in water for 48 h, again shows no meaningful difference between fiber types. Moreover, analysis of the water used for aggressive aging of samples by 19F NMR shows that no leaching of the fluorinated species occurs.