Closed Composites recovers high-quality carbon fiber strands and weaves from thermoset composite waste for reuse and remanufacturing, extending their high-performance lifespan. Through a proprietary recycling process, Closed Composites uniquely liberates whole carbon fiber fabrics, still in their native architecture, cleansed of previous organic residues and ready for reuse.
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Carlos Navarro
Carlos Navarro is the co-founder of Closed Composites, a company born from his Ph.D. research at the University of Southern California centered on depolymerizing amine-epoxy carbon fiber composites to recover embedded fiber fabrics. He is a firm believer in sustainability and strives for a more environmentally conscientious and harmonious future.
TECHNOLOGY
Critical Need
Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are popular construction materials because of their remarkable strength-to-weight ratios, outperforming structural metals in many applications like airplanes and automobiles. CFRPs offer great environmental benefits because of their light weight, but they are not sustainable because there is no effective way to recycle their end-of-life waste. Their expanded use across many sectors, particularly in recreational sporting goods, means post-consumer CFRP waste streams will continue to grow and accumulate.
Technology Vision
The greatest barrier to recycling CFRPs is the thermoset polymer holding the composite material together: once cured, it is incredibly difficult to separate it from the carbon fibers. This is fundamentally a chemistry problem, so Closed Composites has developed a chemical recycling reaction that targets the key bonds holding the polymer together. This process releases the embedded carbon fiber weaves from the composite fully intact and polymer-free for second-life remanufacturing, preserving much more of the material’s inherent value and performance characteristics compared to existing CFRP recycling technologies.
Potential for Impact
Until recently, end-of-life composites were dumped into landfills by the tons or shredded and added to concrete because there was no better alternative. This sacrifices much of the engineered properties and value of the carbon fibers, condemning them to low-value applications. Closed Composites can intercept and isolate these carbon fibers for re-use in performance consumer goods, simultaneously disrupting the CFRP industry. By introducing recycled fibers as a new building feedstock, Closed Composites transforms CFRPs into a more circular and sustainable manufacturing material as global demand for composites continues to grow.
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Closed Composites