Table 3.

Overview of recycling methods for thermoplastic and thermoset micro-/nano-composites.

Recycling Methods	Short Description	Advantageous (+)/ Disadvantageous (−)	Status of the Technology	References
Primary and Secondary recycling, i.e., mechanical recycling	closed-loop recycling and downcycling recovered composites must be cut/crashed/grinded/shredded to small-sized pieces and reprocessed	(+) materials recovery (−) second-life materials show low properties (−) high-cost technology (in same cases it needs different processing technology)	under investigations; limited industrially applicable practice	[105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112,113]
Tertiary recycling, i.e., chemical recycling through chemicals	chemical recycling consisting in separation of matrix and reinforced particles/fibers	(+) materials recovery (−) negative environmental impacts due to using of chemicals, solvents, etc.	under investigations;	[114,115]
Quaternary recycling, i.e., energy recovery	incineration of composite materials	(+) energy recovery (−) gas emissions must be controlled to minimize their negative environmental impacts	under investigations; applicable	[116,117,118,119]