Recycled Carbon Fiber as Flame Retardant in Palm-Based Polyurethane Composite

The effect of recovered carbon fiber (rCF) to the burning property of polyurethane composites was investigated. The carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) in mat form was first glycolysed at 190-200 oC and characterized by FTIR, TGA, DSC and SEM analyses. The rCF was added at 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% (w/w). The polyurethane filled with recovered carbon fiber composites (PU-rCF) have also undergone burning test. The TGA analysis of PU-rCF indicated the percentage of weight loss decreased from 95.6% to 91.4% as rCF content increased. The DSC showed the glass transition temperature, Tg of PU-rCF increased with increasing addition of rCF from 56.7 to 63.0oC. The burning rate of the PU-rCF decreased from 6.1 mm∙s-1 to 2.8 mm∙s-1 with increasing rCF. The FTIR analysis confirmed that there was no chemical interaction between the rCF and PU. The addition of rCF to PU has improved the burning property of the composite.