(The Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Friendly and Fire-Safety Polymeric Materials (MoE), National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China)
Waste thermosetting resin and its composites, as an unconventional carbon resource, display great potential for various applications but have not been fully exploited. Landfill and incineration are the mainstream methods for wastes treatment, which have caused serious environmental pollution and resources waste. At present, among the technologies for recycling thermosetting resin and its composites, physical recycling is simple and efficient, as well as easy to promote industrialization. However, the deteriorating performance and low value of recycled products limit its application. Chemical recycling is regarded as a versatile, flexible and promising recycling method since monomers, oligmers or value-added chemicals can be obtained from wastes, but the main disadvantages include harsh reaction conditions, complex post-treatment processes and low performance/value of recycled products. Therefore, it is of great significance to propose and establish new strategies for upcycling of thermosetting resin and its composites, and it is also very challenging and urgent to realize upcycling. This review introduces the recent progress on the recycling of thermosetting resin and its composites, focusing on our recent work on the upcycling of thermosetting resin, and makes a prospect for upcycling of the wastes.