Report of mechanical recycling processes

1 DELIVERABLE 4.3 Report of mechanical recycling processes Contractual Date of Delivery: 08-31-2025 Actual Date of Delivery: 09-03-2025 Lead contractor for this deliverable: FUNDACIÓN CIDAUT Author(s): Lucía Martín Gobernado, Laura Matesanz-Niño Participants(s): CID WP contributing to the deliverable: WP4 Nature: Version V. 3 Grant Agreement 101058371 Project ESTELLA Deliverable T4.3 ©ESTELLA - This is the property of ESTELLA Parties: shall not be distributed/reproduced without formal approval of ESTELLA General Assembly. use that may be made of the information contained therein. 6 Executive Summary This deliverable describes a type of recycling processes, the mechanical recycling process, which belongs to Task 4.3 related to the recycling of composites in WP4. The main objective of this task is to define and optimize a mechanical method for recycling the selected final composite (ISCO resin + hemp fiber of Wood-kplus and ISCO resin + nanocellulose of Celabor). The secondary mechanical process is complex. The separation, cleaning, grinding, and storing steps are needed before the reprocessing of polymers. Some chain scissions may occur in the polymer during the reintegration, depending on its chemical structure. Heat, presence of water released on degradation can lead to the decrease of the molar mass, affecting mainly the mechanical performance (Finnerty, 2023). Key outcomes: Mechanical recycling process: The composite is grinded to reduce the size without modifying its chemical structure. Then, the composite grinded is sieved to separate in two different fractions. Characterization: The fractions sieved are characterized to determine the percentage of resin and fiber in each one. This characterization is important to evaluate its reincorporation in other composites. Manufacturing: The reinforced fractions obtained are introduced into a new composite using hot press moulding and an oven for the curing process. In conclusion, in this mechanical recycling process, the fractions obtained have been able to be separated into different sizes (<500 and >500 microns). The ICSO resin with hemp fiber contains more quantity of resin in the fraction with <500 microns. However, the ICSO resin with nanocellulose fiber contains more quantity of resin in the fraction with >500 microns. This D4.3 deliverable has fully met its objectives. No deviations have been found in the deliverable or in the project progress in content, time or impacts, as set out in the Grant Agreement.