Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs), with a demand expected to reach 194 ktons by 2022 and a global market increase to $48.7 billion are increasingly popular materials because of their ability to conjugate superior mechanical resistance and lightness, thus allowing their widespread application ranging from aerospace and wind turbines to automotive and sporting goods. A foreseeable consequence is the growth of production scraps and end-of-life composites. Considering the still high cost of the virgin carbon fiber (CF) and a CF demand expected to reach 117 ktons by 2022 (average of 30 €/kg and energetic cost of 183–286 MJ/kg), this review outlines recent advances of the existing methods to recycle cumulative composite wastes, still with many unresolved problems and issues, with emphasis on CF recovery and understanding their retained properties. Finally, a brief overview on the companies that offer carbon fiber reinforced polymer recovery services with the aim of addressing the issue of end of life is presented.

碳纤维增强聚合物（CFRP）的需求预计到2022年将达到194吨，全球市场增长至487亿美元，由于它们能够结合优异的机械阻力和轻便性，它们越来越受欢迎，因此可以广泛地应用于航空航天领域以及用于汽车和体育用品的风力涡轮机。可以预见的后果是生产废料和报废复合材料的增长。考虑到纯碳纤维（CF）的成本仍然很高，并且预计到2022年CF需求将达到117吨（平均30欧元/千克，高能成本183-286 MJ / kg），本文概述了碳纤维的最新进展。现有的回收累积的复合废物的方法，仍然存在许多未解决的问题，重点在于CF的回收和了解其保留的特性。