Life cycle assessment of glass fibre recovery from waste composites using pressolysis

Life cycle assessment of glass fibre recovery from waste composites using pressolysis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Life cycle assessment of glass fibre recovery from waste composites using pressolysis Daniel Paul, Hesam Badri, Sadik Omairey, Nithin Jayasree, James Cosby, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6955499/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Waste and Biomass Valorization → Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The increasing demand for sustainable solutions in composite recycling has driven the development of novel methodologies to minimise environmental impact. This study evaluates the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the pressolysis process for recycling glass fibres from waste composites, particularly from wind turbine blades. The pressolysis process called DEECOM®, initially developed for polymer filter cleaning, utilises repeated cycles of compression and decompression to separate fibres from polymer matrices. Three scenarios are assessed: a batch process, an improved semi-continuous process with heat recovery, and a scaled-up semi-continuous process, targeting different schemes of scale-up. Results indicate that scaling up the pressolysis process significantly reduces environmental impact, with Global Warming Potential (GWP) dropping from 95 kg CO₂ eq/kg recovered fibre in the laboratory scale batch process to 2 kg CO₂ eq/kg recovered fibre in the scaled-up scenario where component capacities are increased. This represents an approximate 98% reduction, with the most substantial improvement achieved by increasing equipment capacity rather than the number of runs or components. The environmental impact per kilogram of recovered fibre approaches that of virgin glass fibre production, highlighting pressolysis as a promising recycling solution. This study demonstrates the viability of pressolysis in facilitating a circular economy by reducing reliance on landfilling and virgin raw materials, contributing to a more sustainable composite material lifecycle. Composite recycling Pressolysis DEECOM® Life cycle assessment Sustainability Industrial scale-up Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Waste and Biomass Valorization → Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Jul, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 18 Jul, 2025 Editor invited by journal 17 Jul, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 23 Jun, 2025 First submitted to journal 23 Jun, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6955499","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":487400958,"identity":"098291f4-d258-417f-84ff-1128171d2783","order_by":0,"name":"Daniel 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