Low-temperature degradation of waste epoxy resin polymer improved by swelling-assisted pyrolysis

The disposal of waste epoxy resin matrix composite becomes an urgent issue, and pyrolysis is an effective method to decompose the epoxy resin polymer, but the high operating temperature hinders its application. In this study, a swelling-assisted pyrolysis method was proposed for the low-temperature decomposition of epoxy resin. It was found that the degradation ratio of epoxy resin increased from 59.13 % to 79.10 % at 300 °C after the swelling treatment with acetic acid. Compared with traditional pyrolysis, the cracking of epoxy resin was promoted in the swelling-assisted pyrolysis, increasing the yields of pyrolysis gas and oil, as well as enriching the light components in pyrolysis oil and raising the graphite degree of pyrolysis char. Following the characterizations and reactive force field molecular dynamics (ReaxFF-MD) simulation, the key mechanisms of swelling-assisted pyrolysis were determined as the interaction of the enhanced heat transfer and the accelerated ring-open reactions. After the swelling treatment, epoxy resin became porous, improving the heat transfer in the pyrolysis process. Meanwhile, abundant O radicals were generated with the decomposition of acetic acid, accelerating the ring-open reactions of benzene rings. The results could provide promising guidance for the pyrolysis recovery of epoxy resin matrix composites towards the circular economy.