In her bachelor’s thesis, Hildebrand investigated the recovery of carbon fibers from carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) using a microwave plasma jet. The aim of the research was to identify and optimize relevant process parameters for the efficient recovery of the fibersIn addition, the study analyzed the changes in the mechanical properties of the recovered carbon fibers compared to the original fibers The results contribute to further improving the recycling of CFRP components and making the use of these high-performance materials more sustainable.

The work was carried out as part of the collaborative project “CirProTech” (Funding reference No: 02P24Q920), which focuses on developing and implementing sustainable closed-loop material cycles for plastic and CFRP components. The investigations took place at the Fraunhofer Center for Circular Economy in Mobility (CCEM) at the Open Hybrid LabFactory e. V. (OHLF) research campus in Wolfsburg, in which Fraunhofer IST participates alongside three other Fraunhofer Institutes. To carry out the work, Yasmine Hildebrand collaborated closely with the project partners INVENT GmbH and Fricke und Mallah Microwave Technology GmbH.

“High-performance materials such as CFRP play an important role in many future technologies. This makes it all the more important to develop methods to recover valuable raw materials at the end of their life cycle and make them usable again. I am pleased that my work can contribute to this effort,” explains Yasmine Hildebrand.

Fraunhofer IST warmly congratulates Yasmine Hildebrand on this award and is delighted by the recognition of her research work.