TALGO is developing a process for recycling composite materials.

Sustainable development is one of the major global challenges. The railway sector must take up the challenge of decarbonising trains, and one of the lines of action to reduce energy consumption is related to weight, and in this sense TALGO has worked intensively since its creation, pioneering the use of aluminium structures already in the 1950s and more recently with the introduction of composite materials in primary structures.

The use of composite solutions has increased significantly in recent years, with the result that more and more waste is being generated for which clear guidelines on recycling and the circular economy are lacking or official information is outdated.

With a focus on recycling, TALGO has developed a proprietary process for recycling carbon fibre and thermoset composites. It combines the traditional mechanical, thermal, and chemical recycling processes in three steps, resulting in a clean, high-quality fibre with minimal loss of mechanical properties and a length suitable for further use.

Based on the above recycling process, the recyclability (MRF) and energy recovery factors (ERF) for the thermal stage of the process are as follows, according to ISO 21106:2019.

These values could be used to calculate the recyclability and energy recovery rates of the train by updating the information.