Recycling of broad goods with thermoplastic stabilizer materials

Abstract

A method is disclosed for recycling broad goods material into a flaked feed material. The broad goods material includes reinforcement fibers and thermoplastic material. The recycling method includes applying heat and pressure to impregnate the reinforcement fibers at a filament level with the thermoplastic material to form an impregnated fiber material. The method also includes cooling the impregnated fiber material, and cutting the cooled impregnated fiber material into flakes to produce the flaked feed material.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A recycled feed material comprising:
 a plurality of substantially uniform flakes of recycled broad goods material, the broad goods material having a plurality of individual filaments bundled together to form a tow, wherein each flake comprises:
 a plurality of reinforcement fibers; and 
 a thermoplastic material impregnated within the reinforcement fibers at a filament level. 
   
     
     
         2 . The recycled feed material of  claim 1 , wherein each flake of recycled broad goods material has a maximum dimension of about 1 inch or less. 
     
     
         3 . The recycled feed material of  claim 1 , wherein the broad goods material comprises a fiber-reinforced resin-matrix composite material. 
     
     
         4 . The recycled feed material of  claim 1 , wherein the flakes comprise squares, rectangles, triangles, parallelograms, or circles. 
     
     
         5 . The recycled feed material of  claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic comprises polyamide, polyester, polyethylene, polyprolylene, polyetherimide (PEI), polyphenylene (PPS), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), or polyetherketoneketone (PEKK). 
     
     
         6 . A molding compound comprising:
 a plurality of flakes of recycled broad goods material, the broad goods material having a plurality of individual filaments bundled together to form a tow, wherein each flake comprises:   a plurality of reinforcement fibers; and   a thermoplastic material impregnated within the reinforcement fibers at a filament level,   wherein the plurality of flakes are compounded to form a molding.   
     
     
         7 . The molding compound of  claim 6 , wherein each flake of recycled broad goods material has a maximum dimension of about 1 inch or less. 
     
     
         8 . The molding compound of  claim 6 , wherein the broad goods material comprises a fiber-reinforced resin-matrix composite material. 
     
     
         9 . The molding compound of  claim 6 , wherein the flakes comprise squares, rectangles, triangles, parallelograms, or circles. 
     
     
         10 . The molding compound of  claim 6 , wherein the thermoplastic comprises polyamide, polyester, polyethylene, polyprolylene, polyetherimide (PEI), polyphenylene (PPS), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), or polyetherketoneketone (PEKK). 
     
     
         11 . The molding compound of  claim 6 , wherein the molding has a tensile strength of at least about 38,586 psi. 
     
     
         12 . The molding compound of  claim 6 , wherein the molding has a tensile modulus of at least about 2.84 psi. 
     
     
         13 . The molding compound of  claim 6 , wherein the flakes are substantially uniform in size. 
     
     
         14 . The molding compound of  claim 6 , further comprising thermoset resin into which the flakes have been impregnated. 
     
     
         15 . The molding compound of  claim 6 , wherein the molding is shaped as a pellet or a sheet. 
     
     
         16 . A flake of recycled broad goods material comprising:
 a plurality of reinforcement fibers bundled together to form a tow; and   a thermoplastic material impregnated within the reinforcement fibers at a filament level.   
     
     
         17 . The flake of recycled broad goods material of  claim 16 , wherein the flake has a maximum dimension of about 1 inch or less. 
     
     
         18 . The flake of recycled broad goods material of  claim 16 , wherein the broad goods material comprises a fiber-reinforced resin-matrix composite material. 
     
     
         19 . The flake of recycled broad goods material of  claim 16 , wherein the flake comprises a square, rectangle, triangle, parallelogram, or circle. 
     
     
         20 . The flake of recycled broad goods material of  claim 16 , wherein the thermoplastic comprises polyamide, polyester, polyethylene, polyprolylene, polyetherimide (PEI), polyphenylene (PPS), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), or polyetherketoneketone (PEKK).