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> After use, the material can simply be ground into powder and pressed into a new shape while heated, causing the bonds to rearrange themselves. This is known as thermomechanical recycling.
> it can also be chemically dissolved
I wonder whether either of these opens up any practical durability issues for this variety of epoxy.
I saw that passage, which addresses that durability doesn't degrade through recycling cycles. But what I was curious about was whether this epoxy is more susceptible to weakening when exposed to heat in working environments, perhaps at lower threshold temperatures than common epoxy. Similarly, I wondered whether there were any chemicals which are commonly encountered in working environments which could serve as dissolving agents and damage this epoxy.
This looks like recycling fetishism. It's perfectly fine to burn such materials, if they were obtained from non-fossil sources to start with, so there would be no net CO2 addition to the atmosphere.
This is a presser (disguised as a science piece) from the company behind this; take it all with a grain of salt.
Also, epoxy already contains harmful endocrine disruptors, adding forever chemicals like those found in almost all flame retardants is just adding fuel to the fire (pun not intended).
When a general study was made back in the 1970s of the limits of substitutability and recyclability of mineral resources, it was found phosphorus likely dictates the minimum amount of mining needed in steady state. It occurs at an average concentration of about 0.1% in the continental crust.
I worry just a bit about this in reference to LFP batteries.
I think that was a core plot point of a series of books by Niven I think. Humans are on a planet that has almost no phosphorus or maybe potassium in it's biosphere. Humans have to take it artificially by sprinkling a special salt on every meal. But it's very limited and expensive and so a significant part of the population are mentally handicapped to lesser or greater degrees, generation after generaion.
Ah, Destiny's Road, and it was Potassium.
"...dooming humanity to a slow mental extinction."
> After use, the material can simply be ground into powder and pressed into a new shape while heated, causing the bonds to rearrange themselves. This is known as thermomechanical recycling.
> it can also be chemically dissolved
I wonder whether either of these opens up any practical durability issues for this variety of epoxy.
> We have carried out ten [thermomechanical] recycling cycles, and the epoxy has not lost any significant mechanical strength in the process
Chemical dissolving is only needed for carbon fiber composite. 90% of the resin was cited to be recoverable in this process.
Will Phytic acid in Lignin-Vitrimer encase burning CNT carbon nanotubes in a phosphorous char cage, this preventing health hazards and combustion?
This says "phosphorous epoxy".
FR4 silicon PCBs are N-doped and P-doped.
Also, epoxy already contains harmful endocrine disruptors, adding forever chemicals like those found in almost all flame retardants is just adding fuel to the fire (pun not intended).
It doesnt seem like any of the authors are making this commercially currently
A world where this actually became industrially very successful combined with a lack of recycling could potentially add large new sink for phosphorus.
In general, be careful when creating a process which locks meaningful amount of phosphorus out of the biosphere.
I worry just a bit about this in reference to LFP batteries.
Ah, Destiny's Road, and it was Potassium.
"...dooming humanity to a slow mental extinction."
Great.