Caroliny M. Santos, Vishnu Vijay Kumar, Shuchi Tiwari, Thiago F. Santos, Bahati Shabani Nzeyimana, Dieter Rahmadiawan, Shih-Chen Shi
Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are essential for reducing weight and carbon emissions in aerospace, wind energy, automotive, and construction sectors. However, growing volumes of end-of-life composite waste remain a major challenge due to limited scalable recovery options. While previous reviews have examined recycling technologies, life-cycle assessment (LCA), or policy separately, an integrated perspective is still lacking. This review addresses that gap through a comprehensive assessment combining bibliometric analysis of 917 Scopus-indexed publications (1995-2024), comparative evaluation of recycling technologies, LCA synthesis, and multi-regional policy analysis. The results show a sharp increase in research activity after 2015, particularly in advanced recycling approaches, although industrial adoption remains limited. Mechanical, chemical, thermal, and reuse pathways each present distinct trade-offs in scalability and value retention. LCA findings indicate that recycled carbon fibre can reduce global warming potential by 70-90% compared with virgin fibre production. The analysis highlights that effective composite circularity requires material-specific and application-oriented strategies integrated from the design stage. A decision-oriented framework linking research trends, recycling technologies, LCA outcomes, and policy considerations is proposed to support practitioners and policymakers in advancing circular composite management. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd.
Postgraduate Program in Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (PPgEQ-UFRN), Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, 59072-970, Brazil; Structural Engineering, Division of Engineering, New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), PO Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Department of Chemistry, VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology, VNRVJIET, Telangana, Hyderabad, India; PG&Research Department of Environmental Science, Bishop Heber College (Autonomous) Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, 620017, India; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang, Sumatera Barat, Padang, 25173, Indonesia; Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, 70101, Taiwan
