IoT Framework and Requirement for Intelligent Industrial Pyrolysis Process to Recycle CFRP Composite Wastes: Application Study

Abstract

The cumulating carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite wastes need to be disposed efficiently. So far, the most effective thermal-based recycling technique, namely pyrolysis, has grown exponentially towards industrial scaling in developed countries such as the UK and Germany. Typically, even the slightest mistakes can cause unfavorable results and delays in workflow within such a massive operating environment (e.g., >1 tonnes/day operating capacity). The existing semi-automated and, in some cases, fully automated plants should be continuously updated to resemble the varying classes and volume of the CFRP composite wastes. To overcome such research gaps and imprecise manual errors, Internet-of-Things (IoT) based framework is proposed. This paper studies the theoretical implementation of an IoT-based framework into the pyrolysis process to recycle CFRP composite waste to manage the process based on the principles of cyber-physical systems. The proposed framework consists of sensors and actuators that will be used to collect the data and communicate with a central management constructed as a platform that will articulate and manipulate data to satisfy the requirements of the recycling process, computationally modeled through logical relations between physical entities. In this case, the management unit can be either controllable or monitored remotely to increase the operation time of the plant. Our objective is to propose a scalable method to improve the recycling process, which will also help future decision-making in handling recycled carbon fiber. Specifically, this study will go beyond the state-of-the-art in the field by (i) automatically calculate the mass of the waste and adjust the operating time, temperature, atmospheric pressure, and inert gas flow (if needed), (ii) regenerating heat so that after the first batch is recycled, the resin high in calorific value will be burned and will be releasing energy, whose generated heat needs to be trapped inside the furnace and then regenerated into the system, and (iii) decrease energy consumption and fasten the process flow time. In summary, the proposed framework aims to provide a user-friendly control and temperature monitoring that can increase the overall efficiency of the process and avoid possible process shut down or even char formation by a controlled atmosphere in the pyrolytic reactor.