Method of producing HTL-based products from footwear-containing raw materials

Abstract

A process for producing at least one HTL-based product (HBP) comprising an oil product and / or recovered chemicals is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of providing a raw material fraction (FF) comprising the footwear product, processing at least a portion of the raw material fraction (FF) into at least one granulated raw material fraction (PFF) in a granulation step, subjecting the at least one granulated raw material fraction (PFF) to hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) to obtain the HTL-based product (HBP). In addition, a system for producing an HTL-based product (HBP) comprising an oil product and / or recovered chemicals is disclosed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a process for producing at least one HTL-based product. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the sustainable production and disposal of clothing products, including footwear, for example through a greater focus on recycling the product or its materials. However, footwear products can often consist of a relatively high number of different materials that are effectively bonded together to extend the product life, thus posing a significant barrier to the recovery of materials from footwear products. As a result, a large portion of discarded footwear products is not recycled but instead sent to landfill.

[0003] When footwear is disposed of in landfill, this may have undesirable environmental consequences, for example in terms of pollution, and over time, the footwear materials decompose and release carbon dioxide. An alternative may be to use the discarded footwear as a fuel source, thereby obtaining some value from incineration. However, this may have limited benefits and may not achieve any material recovery.

[0004] Other efforts have been made to produce footwear designed for recycling, such as by producing mono-material footwear. However, this has led to unresolved issues in terms of product longevity and comfort.

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to solve one or more of the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present invention relates to a method for producing at least one HTL based product comprising an oil product and / or recovered chemicals, said method comprising the following steps:

[0007] Provide the raw material portion containing footwear products,

[0008] processing at least a portion of the feedstock portion into at least one granulated feedstock portion in a granulation step,

[0009] At least one part of the granulated feedstock is subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction to obtain said HTL-based product.

[0010] One advantage of the present invention may be that useful HTL based products comprising oil products and / or recycled chemicals may be obtained from a raw material fraction comprising footwear.

[0011] Surprisingly, footwear products can be relatively efficiently converted into HTL-based products using hydrothermal liquefaction. Although footwear products are on the one hand usually composed of many different materials and are therefore not suitable for recycling, it has been found that they are excellent as feedstock materials for hydrothermal liquefaction, for example when cofed with biomass feedstocks or processed into different feedstock fractions. Furthermore, due to the granulation of the feedstock fractions comprising footwear products, footwear products themselves are suitable feedstocks for hydrothermal liquefaction even if they are usually not suitable for hydrothermal liquefaction, for example due to poor handleability / pumpability and the extended residence time required for ungranulated footwear products.

[0012] Another advantage of the present invention may be that, although footwear products may contain a large amount of additives and so-called permanent chemicals, such as PFAS compounds or metals such as Cu, Co, Cr, etc., which pose a challenge for recycling, these substances may be decomposed due to the severity of the processing conditions used in hydrothermal liquefaction, or separated as a solid or oil phase during processing. The correct handling of these entities, for example after separation into specific phases and fractions, may be greatly simplified.

[0013] It should be noted that the hydrothermal liquefaction step produces at least one output fraction in the form of a HTL-based product. In embodiments where the HTL-based product comprises an oil product, the oil product may be obtained as a separate fraction or as a fraction containing other components such as water, solid components, gas components, etc.

[0014] In the present context, the term "granulated raw material portion" refers to a raw material portion that has been granulated. Thus, the granulated raw material portion has been processed by a suitable technique such as granulation, grinding, tearing, cutting, milling, crushing, pulverizing, etc.

[0015] In the present context, the term "HTL-based product" includes an oil product, one or more recovery chemicals, or both. In the present context, the term "HTL-based product" refers to a product based on hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0016] In this context, the term "oil product" refers to the oil recovered from the claimed method. It should be noted that crude oil or crude oil may also be sometimes used to refer to oil products. In addition, it should be noted that the term "bio-crude oil" is usually used in hydrothermal liquefaction, but the term "oil product" is used in this case. Although it is emphasized that the oil product itself is composed of components based on biomass, synthetic materials, semi-synthetic materials or their combinations, the term bio-crude oil can be used interchangeably with the oil product in this article. In addition, it should be noted that in some embodiments, the oil can be a viscous oil with a viscosity of at least 10 centipoise, such as at least 100 centipoise, for example at least 1000 centipoise, such as at least 10000 centipoise.

[0017] It should be noted that footwear products may consist of new footwear products, footwear products, defective footwear products, surplus footwear products, used footwear products, scrapped footwear products, etc.

[0018] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the granulation step and the hydrothermal liquefaction step are non-overlapping, ie, the granulation of the feedstock portion is completed before the hydrothermal liquefaction begins.

[0019] Similarly, it should be noted that in other embodiments, the granulation step and the hydrothermal liquefaction step partially overlap, for example by starting the hydrothermal liquefaction step before the granulation step is completed. In some embodiments, the feedstock portion in its non-granulated state may be subjected to a pretreatment, wherein the conditions may partially or completely overlap with the hydrothermal liquefaction step, and the granulation may be performed during and / or combined with the hydrothermal liquefaction, i.e., such that the granulated feedstock portion is subsequently subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0020] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the granulation step comprises processing at least a portion of the feedstock portion into at least a first granulated feedstock portion and a second granulated feedstock portion, wherein at least one of the first feedstock portion and the second feedstock portion is subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0021] One advantage of the above embodiments may be that efficient conversion may be obtained by hydrothermal liquefaction. In particular, by subjecting at least one of the feedstock portions to hydrothermal liquefaction and separately treating the other feedstock portion, for example by separate hydrothermal liquefaction, by separate hydrothermal liquefaction with co-feeding, etc., or by other treatments if not suitable, a much more efficient treatment of the feedstock portions may be obtained.

[0022] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the first feedstock portion is subjected to a first hydrothermal liquefaction and wherein the second feedstock portion is subjected to a second hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0023] An advantage of the above embodiments can be that effective conversion can be obtained by hydrothermal liquefaction. On the one hand, the ability of hydrothermal liquefaction to process raw materials containing many kinds of compounds is utilized, and on the other hand, the raw material portion is processed into at least two raw material portions for the respective hydrothermal liquefaction of these raw material portions. In certain embodiments, this can even enable the recovery of recycled chemicals such as monomer components and oil products from the output portion.

[0024] Thus, in the above-described embodiment, the first granulated feedstock portion is subjected to a first hydrothermal liquefaction and the second granulated feedstock portion is subjected to a second hydrothermal liquefaction, wherein the first hydrothermal liquefaction and the second hydrothermal liquefaction are separate. It should be noted that the first and second hydrothermal liquefactions can be performed using two different hydrothermal liquefaction systems, or by using the same hydrothermal liquefaction system operated sequentially. Thus, a first obtained output portion comprising a first HTL-based product is obtained from the first hydrothermal liquefaction, and a second obtained output portion comprising a second HTL-based product is obtained from the second hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0025] An advantage of the above embodiments may be that a more efficient hydrothermal liquefaction of the feedstock fractions may be obtained, since the process conditions may be adapted to the individual feedstock fractions. Thereby, the process may be more cost-effective, for example by reducing the average processing time (retention time), by reducing the average temperature, by improving the quality of the HTL product, increasing the yield, etc.

[0026] In one embodiment of the invention, the method comprises processing at least a portion of the feedstock portion into a plurality of granulated feedstock portions, such as at least two granulated feedstock portions, and subjecting the plurality of granulated feedstock portions to hydrothermal liquefaction, respectively.

[0027] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, at least two granulated feedstock portions have different compositions.

[0028] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said granulation step also comprises, before processing, cutting said footwear into at least one sole-based portion and at least one upper portion.

[0029] Thus, in the above described embodiments, the sole is cut from the footwear prior to being processed into particles.

[0030] An advantage of the above embodiments may be that efficient conversion may be obtained by hydrothermal liquefaction. On the one hand, the ability of hydrothermal liquefaction to process feedstocks containing a wide variety of compounds is utilized, and on the other hand, the footwear products are separated to enable separate processing by hydrothermal liquefaction. In some embodiments, this may even enable recovery of recycled chemicals, such as monomer components and oil products, from the output portion.

[0031] In an embodiment of the invention, the sole based portion comprises the sole in an amount of at least 70% by weight based on the sole portion, such as at least 80% by weight based on the sole portion, such as at least 90% by weight based on the sole portion.

[0032] In one embodiment of the present invention, the sole based on the sole part includes the sole in an amount of 70 to 100% by weight of the sole part, such as 80 to 99.9% by weight of the sole part, such as 90 to 99% by weight of the sole part, such as 95 to 98% by weight of the sole part.

[0033] In one embodiment of the present invention, the shoe-sole-based portion is mainly composed of the shoe sole.

[0034] In one embodiment of the present invention, the upper part-based upper comprises an amount of at least 70% by weight of the upper part, such as at least 80% by weight of the upper part, such as at least 90% by weight of the upper part, such as at least 95% by weight of the upper part.

[0035] In one embodiment of the present invention, the upper part includes an amount of 70 to 100% based on the weight of the upper part, such as 80 to 99.9% based on the weight of the upper part, such as 90 to 99% based on the weight of the upper part, such as 95 to 98% based on the weight of the upper part.

[0036] In one embodiment of the present invention, the upper-based part mainly consists of the upper.

[0037] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, in said granulation step, said shoe sole based portion is processed into at least a first granulated raw material portion, which is a shoe sole based granulated portion.

[0038] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, in the granulation step, the shoe upper based portion is processed into a second granulated raw material portion, which is based on a shoe upper granulated portion.

[0039] An advantage of the above embodiment may be that the further processing based on the sole component and the further processing based on the upper component may be optimized by being treated separately as the first and second granulated raw material portions. For example, the at least two raw material portions may be subjected to separate hydrothermal liquefaction treatments, each of which is optimized for a specific raw material portion. In another example, one of the first and second granulated raw material portions is subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction, in particular if the other portion is not suitable for hydrothermal liquefaction and / or is more suitable for other types of processing.

[0040] In some embodiments, only the shoe sole portion is granulated.

[0041] In some embodiments, the first granulated feedstock portion has a smaller average particle size than the second granulated feedstock portion.

[0042] In some cases, the upper portion may be easier to process by hydrothermal liquefaction and may not require granulation, or may only require partial granulation, ie, granulation to a larger average particle size, than the sole portion.

[0043] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, at least one of the first feedstock portion and the second feedstock portion is subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0044] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the first feedstock portion is subjected to a first hydrothermal liquefaction and wherein the second feedstock portion is subjected to a second hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0045] Therefore, the treated raw material portion includes or consists of at least one sole particle based portion based on a sole portion and at least one upper based portion based on an upper portion.

[0046] In one embodiment of the present invention, in the granulation step, the shoe sole-based portion is processed into at least a first granulated raw material portion as a shoe sole-based particle portion.

[0047] wherein, in the granulation step, the upper portion is processed into a second granulated raw material portion based on the upper granular portion,

[0048] wherein the first feedstock portion is subjected to a first hydrothermal liquefaction, and wherein the second feedstock portion is subjected to a second hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0049] It should be noted that the sole-based portion and / or the upper-based portion may be further processed into separate parts. As an illustrative example, if the sole is composed of polyurethane, cork and rubber, it may be beneficial to process the sole-based portion into three separate parts, namely a polyurethane-based portion, a cork-based portion and a rubber-based portion. Then, one or more of the polyurethane-based portion, the cork-based portion and the rubber-based portion may be subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction, optionally after mixing with the co-feed raw material portions described herein.

[0050] In one embodiment of the present invention, the sole particle-based portion contains a granulated sole portion in an amount of at least 90% by weight of the sole particle portion, such as at least 95% by weight of the sole particle portion, such as at least 99% by weight of the sole particle portion.

[0051] In one embodiment of the present invention, the sole particle based portion contains 90 to 100% by weight of the sole particle based portion, such as 95 to 99.9% by weight of the sole granulated portion, such as 99 to 99.5% by weight of the sole granulated portion.

[0052] In one embodiment of the present invention, the sole particle-based portion is mainly composed of a granulated sole-based portion.

[0053] In one embodiment of the present invention, the upper particle-based portion contains at least 90% by weight of the upper particle-based portion, such as at least 95% by weight of the upper particle-based portion, such as at least 99% by weight of the upper particle-based portion.

[0054] In one embodiment of the present invention, the upper particle-based portion contains 90 to 100% by weight of the upper particle-based portion, such as 95 to 99.9% by weight of the upper particle-based portion, such as 99 to 99.5% by weight of the upper particle-based portion.

[0055] In one embodiment of the present invention, the upper particle-based portion substantially consists of a particle-based upper portion.

[0056] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the shoe sole particles based fraction is separated into at least two different individual shoe sole particles based fractions.

[0057] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the particle-based portion is separated into at least two different individual particle-based portions.

[0058] In one embodiment of the present invention, the shoe sole based portion is processed into at least a first granulated raw material portion, which is a shoe sole based granular portion, while the shoe upper based portion is not granulated.

[0059] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises a particle separation step, which comprises separating at least one granulated raw material portion into at least two different separate granulated raw material portions, in the form of the first granulated raw material portion and the second granulated raw material portion, such as at least three different separate granulated feed portions, such as at least four different separated granulated raw material portions.

[0060] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the first granulated raw material portion and the second granulated raw material portion are different.

[0061] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the first granulated feedstock portion and the second granulated feedstock portion have a compositional similarity of not more than 70% by weight, such as not more than 50% by weight, such as not more than 30% by weight, such as not more than 20% by weight.

[0062] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first granulated feedstock portion and the second granulated feedstock portion have a compositional similarity of 0 to 70 wt%, such as 1 to 50 wt%, such as 2 to 30 wt%, such as 5 to 20 wt%.

[0063] Compositional similarity can be expressed, for example, as compositions of the first and second granulated raw material portions having a Jaccard index of no more than 0.7 when calculated by weight, such as no more than 0.5 when calculated by weight, such as no more than 0.3 when calculated by weight, such as no more than 0.2.

[0064] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the second granulated raw material portion has a natural material content which is at least 20% by weight higher than the first granulated raw material portion.

[0065] In one embodiment of the present invention, the second granulated raw material portion has a natural material content 20 to 80% higher by weight than the first granulated raw material portion.

[0066] In one exemplary embodiment, the first granulated feedstock portion consists solely of synthetic materials and the second granulated feedstock portion consists solely of natural materials.

[0067] In another exemplary embodiment, the first granulated feedstock portion consists only of natural materials and the second granulated feedstock portion consists only of synthetic materials.

[0068] In another exemplary embodiment, the first granulated feedstock portion consists exclusively of synthetic material and the second granulated feedstock portion consists exclusively of synthetic material.

[0069] In another exemplary example embodiment, the first granulated feedstock portion consists solely of natural materials and the second granulated feedstock portion consists solely of natural materials.

[0070] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said first granulated feedstock portion has a polymer material content which is at least 20% by weight higher than said second granulated feedstock portion.

[0071] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first granulated feedstock portion has a polymer material content that is 20 to 80% higher by weight than the second granulated feedstock portion.

[0072] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said first granulated feedstock portion has a synthetic polymer material content which is at least 20% by weight higher than said second granulated feedstock portion.

[0073] In one embodiment of the invention, the first granulated feedstock portion has a synthetic polymer material content that is 20 to 80% higher by weight than the second granulated feedstock portion.

[0074] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the first granulated raw material portion has a polyurethane content which is at least 20% by weight higher than that of the second granulated raw material portion.

[0075] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first granulated raw material portion has a polyurethane content 20 to 80% higher by weight than the second granulated raw material portion.

[0076] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said first granulated raw material portion has a polyurethane content of at least 25% by weight, such as at least 50% by weight.

[0077] In one embodiment of the invention, the first granulated feedstock portion has a polyurethane content of 25 to 90 wt%, such as 50 to 80 wt%.

[0078] According to one embodiment of the invention, the first granulated stock portion has a rubber content of at least 25% by weight, such as at least 50% by weight.

[0079] In one embodiment of the invention, the first granulated stock portion has a rubber content of 25 to 90 wt%, such as 50 to 80 wt%.

[0080] According to one embodiment of the invention, the first granulated feedstock portion has an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) content of at least 25 wt%, such as at least 50 wt%.

[0081] In one embodiment of the invention, the first granulated feedstock portion has an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) content of 25 to 90 wt%, such as 50 to 80 wt%.

[0082] According to an embodiment of the invention, said first granulated feedstock portion has a cork content of at least 25 wt%, such as at least 50 wt%.

[0083] In one embodiment of the invention, the first granulated feedstock portion has a cork content of 25 to 90 wt%, such as 50 to 80 wt%.

[0084] According to an embodiment of the invention, said first granulated feedstock portion has a wood content of at least 25 wt.-%, such as at least 50 wt.-%.

[0085] In one embodiment of the invention, the first granulated feedstock portion has a wood content of 25 to 90 wt%, such as 50 to 80 wt%.

[0086] According to one embodiment of the invention, the first granulated feedstock portion has a thermoplastic polyurethane content of at least 25% by weight, such as at least 50% by weight.

[0087] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first granulated raw material portion has a thermoplastic polyurethane content of 25 to 90% by weight, such as 50 to 80% by weight.

[0088] According to one embodiment of the invention, said first granulated feedstock portion has a thermoplastic elastomer content of at least 25% by weight, such as at least 50% by weight.

[0089] In one embodiment of the invention, the first granulated feedstock portion has a thermoplastic elastomer content of 25 to 90% by weight, such as 50 to 80% by weight.

[0090] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said second granulated raw material portion has a polyurethane content of not more than 10% by weight, such as not more than 5% by weight.

[0091] In one embodiment of the present invention, the second granulated feedstock portion has a polyurethane content of 0 to 10 wt%, such as 1 to 5 wt%.

[0092] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the feedstock portion also comprises a co-feed feedstock.

[0093] One advantage of the above embodiments may be that the obtained oil product may have improved properties, for example in terms of viscosity, stability, higher heating value (HHV), and the like.

[0094] Another advantage of the above described embodiments may be that co-feeding feedstocks may result in enhanced or simplified recovery of the oil product portion and / or recovered chemicals.

[0095] Another advantage of the above embodiment may be that the feedstock portion comprising biomass feedstock may have improved properties in terms of handling aspects such as pumpability. Furthermore, using a feedstock portion comprising a co-feed feedstock may facilitate granulation into the granulated feedstock portion.

[0096] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises a raw material mixing step for mixing the footwear or a portion derived therefrom with a co-feed raw material to obtain said raw material portion.

[0097] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the co-feed feedstock comprises a low-value or negative-value feedstock.

[0098] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said co-feed raw material comprises a raw material selected from the group of textile and textile-based waste, industrial waste fractions, feces, and combinations thereof.

[0099] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the co-feed feedstock comprises a biomass feedstock.

[0100] One advantage of the above embodiments may be that the obtained oil product may have improved properties, for example in terms of viscosity, higher calorific value, stability, lower sulfur content, and the like.

[0101] One advantage of the above-described embodiments may be that the recovered chemicals obtained may have improved yields and / or simpler separations.

[0102] Another advantage of the above-described embodiments may be that the feedstock portion comprising the biomass feedstock may have improved properties with respect to handling (eg, pumpability).

[0103] In the present context, the term "biomass raw material" is understood as a raw material consisting of biomass, which does not include footwear or components therefrom.

[0104] Thus, in the above embodiment, the raw material portion includes footwear products and biomass.

[0105] In one embodiment of the invention, the raw material portion includes a footwear product and an industrial waste stream.

[0106] In one embodiment of the invention, the feedstock portion includes a footwear product and a combination of biomass and industrial waste streams.

[0107] In one embodiment of the present invention, the co-feed feedstock is a biomass feedstock.

[0108] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the raw material portion contains biomass raw materials in an amount of at least 2% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 5% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 10% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 20% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 30% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 40% by weight of the raw material portion.

[0109] In one embodiment of the present invention, the raw material portion contains biomass raw materials in an amount of 2 to 50% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 5 to 50% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 10 to 50% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 20 to 50% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 30 to 48% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 40 to 45% by weight of the raw material portion.

[0110] In one embodiment of the present invention, the raw material portion contains biomass raw materials in an amount of 2 to 40% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 5 to 35% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 10 to 30% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 15 to 25% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 10% to 20% by weight of the raw material portion.

[0111] According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the biomass raw material comprises a cellulose-based raw material.

[0112] In one embodiment of the present invention, the biomass feedstock is a cellulose-based feedstock.

[0113] According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the biomass feedstock comprises lignocellulosic biomass.

[0114] In one embodiment of the present invention, the biomass feedstock is lignocellulosic biomass.

[0115] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the biomass raw material includes starch-based raw material.

[0116] According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the biomass feedstock is selected from the group consisting of wood-based biomass, wood pulp, straw, forestry residues, cork, bark, lignin, microalgae, macroalgae, seaweed, kelp, corn cob cobs, corn, waste fat, used cooking oil, corn stover, food waste, agricultural waste, rice husks, bagasse, molasses, cotton, starch, cellulose, wheat, barley, mash, cotton stalks, grass, manure, yard waste, nut shells, coffee grounds, from the group of fruit and vegetable peels, and any combination thereof.

[0117] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the industrial waste raw material is selected from the group of production waste from the leather and textile industry, sludge, scrap products, horse hay, building demolition material / debris containing wood, municipal solid waste, residues from production processes, slaughterhouse waste, cheese whey, scrap furniture, paper, cardboard, scrap fabrics, surplus fabrics from retail production, waste food from retail, furniture upholstery including car seats, food processing waste, oil and lubricant waste, pharmaceutical waste, etc., and any combination thereof.

[0118] Wood-based biomass may include, for example, wood chips, sawdust, logging residues, bark, willow, poplar, and the like.

[0119] Grasses may include both regular grasses, switchgrass, and elephant grass, which may refer to miscanthus, particularly giant miscanthus and / or purple miscanthus.

[0120] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the footwear item comprises at least a sole, such as at least a sole and an upper.

[0121] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the upper may simply include one or more straps for securing the sole in place, such as in the case of sandals, flip-flops, some high-heeled shoes, while in other cases the upper may be more complex and may wrap around the foot or a portion thereof, such as in the case of sneakers, boots, dress shoes, loafers, slippers, work shoes, etc.

[0122] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the raw material portion contains a footwear product in an amount of at least 50% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 60% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 70% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 80% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 90% by weight of the raw material portion, or wherein the raw material portion consists of a footwear product.

[0123] In one embodiment of the present invention, the raw material portion contains a footwear product in an amount of 50 to 100% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 60 to 99.9% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 70 to 99.5% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 80 to 99% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 90 to 98% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 95 to 97% by weight of the raw material portion.

[0124] In one embodiment of the present invention, the raw material portion contains a footwear product in an amount of 50 to 100% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 60 to 95% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 70 to 90% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 80 to 90% by weight of the raw material portion.

[0125] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the granulated feedstock portion comprises a combination of two or more materials.

[0126] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said first granulated feedstock portion comprises a combination of two or more materials.

[0127] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said second granulated feedstock portion comprises a combination of two or more materials.

[0128] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the footwear comprises two or more materials, such as three or more materials, such as four or more materials, such as five or more materials.

[0129] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the footwear product comprises a group selected from polyether, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester (such as polyethylene terephthalate), polyamide (such as nylon), polycarbonate, polyurethane, thermoplastic polyurethane, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polylactic acid, synthetic rubber, natural rubber, thermoplastic elastomer, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene polymer (ABS), polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene, composite materials, cotton, wool, cork, wood, wood fiber, bamboo, coconut, leather, frosted leather, suede, synthetic leather, leather substitutes, collagen, animal hair, fabric, silk, metal and alloy, adhesives and hot melt glue, contact glue, polyurethane glue, epoxy resin glue, EVA glue, and any combination thereof, such as at least two materials selected from the group, such as at least three materials selected from the group, such as at least four materials selected from the group, such as at least five materials selected from the group, such as at least six materials selected from the group.

[0130] In one embodiment of the present invention, the composite material is selected from thermoplastic and / or thermosetting polymers mixed with one or more of glass fibers, textile fibers and organic fibers.

[0131] In one embodiment of the present invention, the leather substitute is selected from apple peel, pineapple peel, mycelium peel and any combination thereof.

[0132] In one embodiment of the present invention, metals and alloys are used for one or more of eyelids, zippers, buttons, aglet and shank.

[0133] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the footwear product comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of leather, nubuck, suede, fabric, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, thermoplastic elastomer, EVA, polyurethane such as thermoplastic polyurethane, and any combination thereof.

[0134] Other materials for the shoe may include natural materials such as, for example, cork, bamboo, and wood, or synthetic materials such as carbon fiber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), etc. It should be noted that PVC is generally considered an undesirable material, and in some embodiments, the method includes the step of removing PVC-based items from the raw material portion.

[0135] In this context, the term "polymer material" refers to natural and synthetic polymers. Synthetic polymers may include, for example, polyurethanes (including thermoplastic polyurethanes), ethylene vinyl acetate, thermoplastic elastomers, polyesters, nylons, neoprene, etc. It should be noted that these terms may overlap somewhat. Some synthetic materials, especially ethylene vinyl acetate and polyurethane, can be used as foams. Natural polymers include in particular natural rubber (latex). It may also include cotton, wool, leather, silk, etc., or one or more of the lists of their polymer components.

[0136] In the present context, the term "fabric" is understood to cover various fiber-based materials and textiles, including woven and non-woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, etc. Furthermore, the fiber-based materials may be natural, synthetic or semi-synthetic in origin.

[0137] In one embodiment of the invention, the feedstock portion has a water content of at least 2% by weight of the feedstock portion, such as at least 5% by weight of the feedstock portion, such as at least 10% by weight of the feedstock portion.

[0138] In one embodiment of the invention, the feedstock portion has a water content of 2 to 30% by weight of the feedstock portion, such as 5 to 20% by weight of the feedstock portion, such as 10 to 15% by weight of the feedstock portion.

[0139] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the raw material fraction comprises inorganic components, such as sand or dirt.

[0140] By using waste or end-of-life footwear as raw material or as a component thereof, certain impurities are generally unavoidable due to the actual life use of the footwear. In particular, sand and dirt may adhere to the footwear, especially to the sole portion, but in some cases, also to other parts of the footwear such as footwear waste from landfills.

[0141] However, hydrothermal liquefaction is a very suitable processing method for such raw materials including footwear because despite these impurities it provides multiple operating possibilities, for example by removing the impurities or a portion thereof before hydrothermal liquefaction or removing the impurities or a portion thereof after hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0142] In one embodiment of the invention, the raw material portion comprises inorganic components, such as sand or dirt in an amount of at least 0.5% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 1% by weight of the raw material portion.

[0143] In one embodiment of the invention, the raw material portion comprises an inorganic component, such as sand or dirt in an amount of 0.5 to 10% by weight of the raw material portion, such as 1 to 5% by weight of the raw material portion.

[0144] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the granulated feedstock portion has a weight average particle size of not more than 10 mm, such as not more than 5 mm, such as not more than 2 mm, such as not more than 1 mm.

[0145] In one embodiment of the present invention, the granulated feedstock portion has a weight average particle size of 0.1 to 10 mm, such as 0.2 to 5 mm, such as 0.3 to 2 mm, such as 0.5 to 1 mm.

[0146] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first granulated raw material portion has a weight average particle size of no more than 10 mm, such as no more than 5 mm, such as no more than 2 mm, such as no more than 1 mm.

[0147] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first granulated feedstock portion has a weight average particle size of 0.1 to 10 mm, such as 0.2 to 5 mm, such as 0.3 to 2 mm, such as 0.5 to 1 mm.

[0148] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the granulated feedstock portion has a weight average shortest dimension of not more than 10 mm, such as not more than 5 mm, such as not more than 2 mm.

[0149] In one embodiment of the invention, the granulated feedstock portion has a weight average shortest dimension of 0.1 to 10 mm, such as 0.2 to 5 mm, such as 0.5 to 2 mm.

[0150] According to an embodiment of the invention, the first granulated feedstock portion has a weight average shortest dimension of no more than 10 mm, such as no more than 5 mm, such as no more than 2 mm.

[0151] In one embodiment of the invention, the first granulated feedstock portion has a weight average shortest dimension of 0.1 to 10 mm, such as 0.2 to 5 mm, such as 0.5 to 2 mm.

[0152] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said HTL based product comprises an oil product.

[0153] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said HTL-based product comprises at least one recycled chemical.

[0154] In one embodiment of the invention, an oil product and at least one recovered chemical are obtained from the process.

[0155] Thus, in the above-described embodiments, a method of producing an oil product and at least one recovered chemical, such as at least one monomer, is contemplated.

[0156] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the HTL-based product comprises an oil product and at least one recovered chemical.

[0157] In one embodiment of the present invention, said oil product and said at least one recovered chemical are mixed in the same phase.

[0158] In one embodiment of the present invention, the oil product and the at least one recovered chemical are present in different phases.

[0159] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said at least one recycled chemical comprises at least one monomer and / or monomer precursor.

[0160] In the present context, a monomer precursor is a precursor of a monomer. In certain cases, such a monomer precursor is referred to as a chemical intermediate.

[0161] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the at least one recycled chemical comprises at least one monomer.

[0162] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the at least one recycled chemical comprises at least one monomer precursor.

[0163] According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the at least one monomer and / or monomer precursor comprises one or more polyurethane monomers and / or polyurethane monomer precursors.

[0164] In one embodiment of the present invention, the monomer and / or monomer precursor may be selected from the group consisting of a polymer mixture of polyether polyols, polyester polyol precursors, alcohols and carboxylic acids (e.g., adipic acid), 4,4'-methylenedianiline, 2,4'-methylenedianiline, 2,2-methylenedianiline, 2,4-toluenediamine, 2,6-toluenediamine, 4,4'-methylenedianiline, 2,4-methylenedianiline and 2,2-methyldianiline.

[0165] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the at least one monomer or intermediate is selected from monomers or intermediates of polyamides, monomers or intermediates of polyesters, monomers and intermediates of polyurethanes, monomers and intermediates of ethylene-vinyl acetate, monomers and intermediates of rubbers, monomers or intermediates of thermoplastic polyurethanes, monomers or intermediates of elastomers, monomers or intermediates of carbonates, monomers or intermediates of thermoplastic polyurethanes, monomers or intermediates of thermoplastic elastomers, monomers or intermediates of epoxides, and any combination thereof.

[0166] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises separating at least one oil product fraction from the output of the hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0167] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises separating at least one recovered chemical, such as at least one monomer, from the output of the hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0168] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises separating at least one recovered chemical, such as a valuable chemical entity, such as a chemical selected from the group of copper salts, cobalt salts, chromium salts, phosphorus components, from the output of the hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0169] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said method further comprises the step of adding a water portion to said feedstock portion prior to said hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0170] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said step of adding water is after said step of granulating.

[0171] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said step of adding water precedes said step of granulation.

[0172] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises a step of removing inorganic components such as sand from the feedstock fraction prior to the hydrothermal liquefaction step.

[0173] In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of removing inorganic components is prior to the step of granulating.

[0174] In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of removing inorganic components is performed after the granulation step.

[0175] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises a step of removing at least a part of the contaminating and / or unprocessable components from the feedstock portion.

[0176] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the contaminated and / or unprocessable components include or are selected from the group consisting of metal objects (such as zippers, buttons and rivets), polyvinyl chloride and polyolefins (such as polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polystyrene, etc.).

[0177] Removing at least a portion of, for example, unprocessable components can be advantageous because these components, particularly metal components, may damage the hydrothermal liquefaction equipment, especially in a continuously operated hydrothermal liquefaction. In addition, polyolefin-based components may cause clogging due to melting, rather than being decomposed in the hydrothermal liquefaction equipment. Typically, the more unprocessable component amounts present in the raw material portion, the more advantageous it is to remove. Therefore, in certain embodiments, a relatively small amount of unprocessable components in the raw material portion may be acceptable.

[0178] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the polluted and / or untreatable components are selected from metal objects and / or polyvinyl chloride.

[0179] The step of removing contaminants or unprocessable components may be performed before or after the granulation step.

[0180] In one embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises the step of removing metal objects from the stock portion.

[0181] In one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises the step of removing polyvinyl chloride articles from the raw material portion.

[0182] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said hydrothermal liquefaction step comprises subjecting said granulated feedstock portion to a temperature of at least 170 degrees Celsius, such as at least 200 degrees Celsius, such as at least 250 degrees Celsius, such as at least 300 degrees Celsius.

[0183] In one embodiment of the invention, the hydrothermal liquefaction step comprises subjecting the granulated feedstock portion to a temperature of 170 to 600 degrees Celsius, such as 170 to 550 degrees Celsius, such as 200 to 500 degrees Celsius, such as 250 to 450 degrees Celsius, such as 300 to 450 degrees Celsius.

[0184] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said hydrothermal liquefaction step comprises subjecting said granulated feedstock portion to a pressure of at least 50 bar, such as at least 75 bar, for example at least 100 bar, for example at least 125 bar.

[0185] In one embodiment of the invention, the hydrothermal liquefaction step comprises subjecting the granulated feedstock portion to a pressure of at least 50 to 400 bar, such as 75 to 350 bar, such as 100 to 300 bar, such as 125 to 250 bar, such as 125-200 bar.

[0186] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said hydrothermal liquefaction step has a treatment time of at least 5 minutes, such as at least 10 minutes, for example at least 20 minutes, such as at least 30 minutes.

[0187] In one embodiment of the invention, the hydrothermal liquefaction step has a treatment time of 5 minutes to 10 hours, such as 10 minutes to 10 hours, for example 20 minutes to 5 hours, for example 30 minutes to 2 hours.

[0188] According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises adding an additive, a reagent, a catalyst or any combination thereof.

[0189] In one embodiment of the present invention, the additive comprises or consists of an inert additive and / or a substantially inert additive. In one embodiment of the present invention, the inert additive and / or the substantially inert additive is selected from the group of carriers, thickeners, agents promoting pumpability, agents promoting stable suspension. The inert additive and / or the substantially inert additive may be inert in the sense that they do not themselves lead to a higher yield of HTL-based products, but contribute to logistics, such as pumpability. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the inert additive and / or the substantially inert additive is selected from the group of salts, silicates, bentonites, aluminum sulfate, magnesium sulfate, and any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the inert additive and / or the substantially inert additive may comprise or consist of other substances.

[0190] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises adding a catalyst to the granulated feedstock portion.

[0191] Addition of a catalyst may advantageously facilitate the increase of desired output components such as oil products and / or recovered chemicals such as monomer components.

[0192] The addition of catalysts can also be used to reduce the processing temperature and / or processing time required to provide the desired output components. The addition of catalysts can also be used to eliminate the formation of undesirable processing impurities.

[0193] It should be noted that in this context, the term "catalyst" refers to an additive with catalytic activity with respect to the chemical reaction of the hydrothermal liquefaction step. It should be noted that such a catalyst is not necessarily recyclable, for example, due to the deactivation of the byproducts of some other chemical processes. For example, a base can be added as a hydrolysis catalyst, but at the same time some processes of the hydrothermal liquefaction may result in the formation of an acid, which may hinder the recovery of the base. Similarly, in some cases, the recovery of the catalyst may not be cost effective. It should be noted that in some cases, a catalyst such as a base may refer to a catalytic additive, a catalytic reagent, a reaction enhancing additive or a reaction enhancing reagent.

[0194] In one embodiment of the present invention, the catalyst is added to the particulate feedstock portion prior to the hydrothermal liquefaction step.

[0195] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said catalyst, said reagent, said additive or any combination therefore comprises a base.

[0196] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the catalyst comprises a base.

[0197] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the catalyst comprises an acid. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the catalyst comprises an acid selected from the group consisting of carboxylic acids such as adipic acid, acetic acid, benzoic acid and citric acid, inorganic acids such as nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and any combination thereof. In some embodiments, other acids may be used as catalysts.

[0198] In one embodiment of the present invention, the base is selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, calcium oxide, ammonium hydroxide, and any combination thereof.

[0199] In one embodiment of the present invention, the catalyst comprises or consists of ferric chloride, aluminum salt, zeolite catalyst, base or any combination thereof.

[0200] In one embodiment of the present invention, the catalyst comprises a catalyst selected from the group consisting of transition metal catalysts, supported metal catalysts, noble metal catalysts, bifunctional catalysts, zeolites and heterogeneous catalysts, biochar and biomass-derived catalysts, and any combination thereof, or consists thereof.

[0201] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the catalyst is provided as part of the aqueous portion.

[0202] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the additive, the reagent, the catalyst or any combination thereof is provided as part of the aqueous portion.

[0203] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, at least one of the temperature, pressure and treatment time of the hydrothermal liquefaction is set at least partly based on the composition of the feedstock portion.

[0204] The present invention also relates to a system for producing HTL-based products comprising oil products and / or recovered chemicals, the system comprising a device for receiving a package comprising:

[0205] an inlet for receiving a raw material portion comprising a footwear product,

[0206] a granulation device connected to the inlet for receiving a feedstock portion, the granulation device being configured to granulate at least a portion of the feedstock portion into at least one granulated feedstock portion, and

[0207] A hydrothermal liquefaction device is connected to the granulation device for receiving the at least one granulated feedstock portion, the hydrothermal liquefaction device being configured to process the granulated feedstock portion by hydrothermal liquefaction to obtain the HTL-based product.

[0208] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the system is configured to operate according to the method of the invention or any embodiment thereof.

[0209] The invention also relates to various aspects and embodiments according to the following clauses.

[0210] 1. A method for producing at least one HTL based product (HBP) comprising an oil product and / or recovered chemicals, the method comprising the following steps:

[0211] Provide the raw material fraction (FF) containing the footwear product,

[0212] In a granulation step, at least a portion of said feedstock fraction (FF) is processed into at least one granulated feedstock fraction (PFF),

[0213] At least one particle-sized feedstock fraction (PFF) is subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) to obtain said HTL-based product (HBP).

[0214] 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the granulation step includes processing at least a portion of the raw material portion into at least a first granulated raw material portion and a second granulated raw material portion, wherein at least one of the first raw material portion and the second raw material portion is subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0215] 3. A method according to clause 2, wherein the first feedstock portion is subjected to a first hydrothermal liquefaction, and wherein the second feedstock portion is subjected to a second hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0216] 4. A method according to clause 2 or 3, wherein the at least two granulated feedstock portions have different compositions.

[0217] 5. The method according to any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the granulating step further comprises cutting the footwear into at least one sole portion and at least one upper portion prior to processing.

[0218] 6. A method according to clause 5, wherein, in the granulation step, the sole-based portion is processed into at least a first granulated raw material portion, which is a sole-based granular portion; and the upper-based portion is processed into a second granulated raw material portion, which is an upper-based granular portion.

[0219] 7. The method of clause 6, wherein at least one of the first feedstock portion and the second feedstock portion is subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0220] 8. A method according to clause 6 or 7, wherein the first feedstock portion is subjected to a first hydrothermal liquefaction, and wherein the second feedstock portion is subjected to a second hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0221] 9. A method according to any of clauses 5-8, wherein the shoe sole based particle size fraction is separated into at least two different individual shoe sole based particle fractions.

[0222] 10. The method according to any of clauses 5-9, wherein the upper-based particle fraction is separated into at least two different individual upper-based particle portions.

[0223] 11. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the method further comprises a particle separation step, which comprises separating at least one granulated raw material portion into at least two different separate granulated raw material portions, which are in the form of a first granulated raw material portion and a second granulated raw material portion, such as at least three different separate granulated raw material portions, such as at least four different separate granulated raw material portions.

[0224] 12. A method according to any of clauses 5 to 11, wherein the first granulated feedstock portion and the second granulated feedstock portion are different.

[0225] 13. A method according to any one of clauses 5-12, wherein the first granulated raw material portion and the second granulated raw material portion have a compositional similarity of no more than 70% by weight, such as no more than 50% by weight, such as no more than 30% by weight, such as no more than 20% by weight.

[0226] 14. A method according to any of clauses 5 to 13, wherein the second granulated feedstock portion has a natural material content that is at least 20% by weight higher than the first granulated feedstock portion.

[0227] 15. A method according to any of clauses 5 to 14, wherein the first granulated feedstock portion has a polymer material content that is at least 20% higher by weight than the second granulated feedstock portion.

[0228] 16. A method according to any of clauses 5 to 15, wherein the first granulated feedstock portion has a synthetic polymer material content that is at least 20% by weight higher than the second granulated feedstock portion.

[0229] 17. A method according to any of clauses 5 to 16, wherein the first granulated feedstock portion has a polyurethane content that is at least 20% higher by weight than the second granulated feedstock portion.

[0230] 18. A method according to any of clauses 5 to 17, wherein the first granulated feedstock portion has a polyurethane content of at least 25% by weight, such as at least 50% by weight.

[0231] 19. A method according to any of clauses 5 to 18, wherein the second granulated feedstock portion has a polyurethane content of not more than 10 wt%, such as not more than 5 wt%.

[0232] 20. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 19, wherein the feedstock portion further comprises a co-feed feedstock.

[0233] 21. A method according to any of clauses 1 to 20, wherein the method further comprises a raw material mixing step for mixing the footwear or a portion derived therefrom with a co-feed raw material to obtain the raw material portion.

[0234] 22. A method according to clause 20 or 21, wherein the co-feed feedstock comprises a low value or negative value feedstock.

[0235] 23. The method according to any of clauses 20-22, wherein the co-feed feedstock comprises a feedstock selected from the group of textile and textile-based waste, industrial waste fractions, feces, and combinations thereof.

[0236] 24. A method according to any one of clauses 20-23, wherein the co-feed feedstock comprises a biomass feedstock.

[0237] 25. A method according to any one of clauses 20-24, wherein the raw material portion contains biomass raw materials in an amount of at least 2% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 5% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 10% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 20% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 30% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 40% by weight of the raw material portion.

[0238] 26. A method according to clause 24 or 25, wherein the biomass feedstock comprises a cellulose-based feedstock.

[0239] 27. The method of any one of clauses 24-26, wherein the biomass feedstock comprises lignocellulosic biomass.

[0240] 28. A method according to any of clauses 24-27, wherein the biomass feedstock is selected from the group of wood-based biomass, wood pulp, straw, forestry residues, cork, bark, lignin, microalgae, macroalgae, seaweed, kelp, corn cob cobs, corn, waste fat, used cooking oil, corn stover, food waste, agricultural waste, rice husks, bagasse, molasses, cotton, starch, cellulose, wheat, barley, mash, cotton stalks, grass, manure, yard waste, nut shells, coffee grounds, peels from fruits and vegetables, and any combination thereof.

[0241] 29. The method according to any one of clauses 23-28, wherein the industrial waste feedstock is selected from the group consisting of production waste from leather and textile industries, sewage sludge, scrap products, mattresses, building demolition materials / debris containing wood, municipal solid waste, residues from production processes, slaughterhouse waste, cheese whey, scrap furniture, paper, cardboard, scrap fabrics, surplus fabrics from retail production, waste food from retail, furniture upholstery including car seats, food processing waste, oil and lubricant waste, pharmaceutical waste, etc., and any combination thereof.

[0242] 30. A method according to any of clauses 1-29, wherein the article of footwear comprises at least a sole, such as at least a sole and an upper.

[0243] 31. A method according to any one of clauses 1-30, wherein the raw material portion comprises a footwear product in an amount of at least 50% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 60% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 70% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 80% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 90% by weight of the raw material portion, such as at least 95% by weight of the raw material portion, or wherein the raw material portion consists of a footwear product.

[0244] 32. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 31, wherein the granulated feedstock portion comprises a combination of two or more materials.

[0245] 33. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 32, wherein the first granulated feedstock portion comprises a combination of two or more materials.

[0246] 34. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 33, wherein the second granulated feedstock portion comprises a combination of two or more materials.

[0247] 35. A method according to any of clauses 1-34, wherein the article of footwear comprises two or more materials, such as three or more materials, such as four or more materials, such as five or more materials.

[0248] 36. A method according to any one of clauses 1-35, wherein the footwear product comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of polyether, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate), polyamide (e.g., nylon), polycarbonate, polyurethane, thermoplastic polyurethane, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polylactic acid, synthetic rubber, natural rubber, thermoplastic elastomer, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene polymer (ABS), polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene, composite materials, cotton, wool, cork, wood, wood fiber, bamboo, coconut, leather, nubuck, suede, synthetic leather, leather substitutes, collagen, animal hair, fabric, silk, metals and alloys, adhesives and hot melt glues, contact glues, polyurethane glues, epoxy resin glues, EVA glues, and any combination thereof, such as at least two materials selected from said group, such as at least three materials selected from said group, such as at least four materials selected from said group, such as at least five materials selected from said group, such as at least six materials selected from said group.

[0249] 37. A method according to any one of clauses 1-36, wherein the footwear product comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of leather, nubuck, suede, fabric, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, thermoplastic polyurethane, thermoplastic elastomer, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polyurethane, and any combination thereof.

[0250] 38. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 37, wherein the feedstock portion comprises inorganic components, such as sand or dirt.

[0251] 39. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 38, wherein the granulated feedstock portion has a weight average particle size of no more than 10 mm, such as no more than 5 mm, such as no more than 2 mm, such as no more than 1 mm.

[0252] 40. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 39, wherein the granulated feedstock portion has a weight average shortest dimension of not more than 10 mm, such as not more than 5 mm, such as not more than 2 mm.

[0253] 41. The method of any one of clauses 1-40, wherein the HTL-based product comprises an oil product.

[0254] 42. The method of any one of clauses 1-41, wherein the HTL-based product comprises at least one recycled chemical.

[0255] 43. The method according to any of clauses 1 to 42, wherein the at least one recovered chemical comprises at least one monomer and / or precursor.

[0256] 44. The method according to clause 43, wherein the at least one monomer and / or precursor comprises one or more polyurethane monomers and / or chemical precursors.

[0257] 45. The method according to clause 43 or 44, wherein the at least one monomer or intermediate is selected from monomers or intermediates from polyamides, monomers or intermediates from polyesters, monomers or intermediates from polyurethanes, monomers or intermediates from ethylene vinyl acetate, monomers or intermediates from rubbers, monomers or intermediates from thermoplastic polyurethanes, monomers or intermediates from elastomers, monomers or intermediates from carbonates, monomers or intermediates from thermoplastic polyurethanes, monomers or intermediates from thermoplastic elastomers, monomers or intermediates from epoxides, and any combination thereof.

[0258] 46. The method according to any one of clauses 1-45, wherein the method further comprises separating at least one oil product portion from the output portion of the hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0259] 47. The method according to any one of clauses 1-46, wherein the method further comprises separating at least one recovered chemical, such as at least one monomer, from the output portion of the hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0260] 48. The method according to any one of clauses 1-47, wherein the method further comprises separating at least one recovered chemical, such as valuable chemical entities, such as chemicals selected from the group consisting of copper salts, cobalt salts, chromium salts, and phosphorus components, from the output portion of the hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0261] 49. The method according to any one of clauses 1-48, wherein the method further comprises the step of adding a water portion to the feedstock portion prior to the hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0262] 50. The method according to any one of clauses 1-49, wherein the step of adding water is after the granulation step.

[0263] 51. The method according to any one of clauses 1-50, wherein the step of adding water is before the granulation step.

[0264] 52. The method according to any one of clauses 1-51, wherein the method further comprises the step of removing inorganic components such as sand from the feedstock portion prior to the hydrothermal liquefaction step.

[0265] 53. The method according to any one of clauses 1-52, wherein the method further comprises the step of removing at least a portion of the contaminants and / or non-treatable components from the feedstock portion.

[0266] 54. A method according to any one of clauses 1-53, wherein the hydrothermal liquefaction step comprises subjecting the granulated feedstock portion to a temperature of at least 170 degrees Celsius, such as at least 200 degrees Celsius, such as at least 250 degrees Celsius, such as at least 300 degrees Celsius.

[0267] 55. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 54, wherein the hydrothermal liquefaction step comprises subjecting the granulated feedstock portion to a pressure of at least 50 bar, such as at least 75 bar, such as at least 100 bar, such as at least 125 bar.

[0268] 56. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 55, wherein the hydrothermal liquefaction step has a treatment time of at least 5 minutes, such as at least 10 minutes, such as at least 20 minutes, such as at least 30 minutes.

[0269] 57. The method of any one of clauses 1-56, further comprising adding an additive, a reagent, a catalyst, or any combination thereof.

[0270] 58. The method of any one of clauses 1-57, wherein the catalyst, the reagent, the additive, or any combination thereof comprises a base.

[0271] 59. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 58, wherein at least one of the temperature, pressure and processing time of the or hydrothermal liquefaction is set at least in part based on the composition of the feedstock portion.

[0272] 60. A system for producing HTL based products (HBP) comprising oil products and / or recovered chemicals, the system comprising:

[0273] an inlet for receiving a bag containing a raw material part (FF) of a footwear product,

[0274] a granulation device connected to the inlet for receiving the feedstock portion (FF), the granulation device being configured to granulate at least a portion of the feedstock portion (FF) into at least one granulated feedstock portion (PFF), and

[0275] a hydrothermal liquefaction device connected to the granulation device for receiving the at least one granulated feedstock fraction (PFF), the hydrothermal liquefaction arrangement (HTL) being configured to process the granulated feedstock fraction (PFF) by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) to obtain the HTL-based product.

[0276] 61. The system of clause 60, wherein the system is configured to operate according to the method of any one of clauses 1-59. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0277] The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

[0278] Figure 1 A method according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0279] Figure 2 A method according to an embodiment of the invention is shown, wherein a feedstock portion is processed into a first granulated feedstock portion and a second granulated feedstock portion.

[0280] Figure 3 A method according to an embodiment of the invention is shown, wherein a further feedstock portion is combined with the granulated feedstock portion.

[0281] Figure 4 A method according to an embodiment of the invention is shown wherein an aqueous portion is added to a granulated feedstock portion prior to hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0282] Figure 5 A method according to an embodiment of the invention is shown wherein unwanted material is removed from the particle fraction prior to hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0283] Figure 6 shows hydrothermal liquefaction according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the hydrothermal liquefaction is a continuous process, and

[0284] Figure 7 Hydrothermal liquefaction according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown, wherein the hydrothermal liquefaction is a batch process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0285] Reference Figure 1 , shows a method for producing at least one HTL-based product according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , a raw material portion FF comprising a footwear product is provided.

[0286] Then, in a granulation step PRT, the feedstock fraction FF is processed into at least one granulated feedstock fraction PFF.

[0287] Subsequently, at least one of the granulated feedstock portions is subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction HTL, thereby obtaining a HTL-based product HBP. Such HTL-based product HBP includes oil products and / or recovered chemicals.

[0288] Reference now Figure 2 , showing the granulation step according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0289] Here, the raw material portion FF is processed in the granulation step PRT into a first granulated raw material portion PPF1 and a second granulated raw material portion PFF2.

[0290] Subsequently, at least one of the first and second granulated feedstock fractions PFF1, PFF2 is subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction HTL. This can advantageously be carried out according to Figure 1 The embodiment shown in is completed.

[0291] In certain embodiments, the two particulate feedstock portions are subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction separately, ie, the first particulate feedstock portion PFF1 is subjected to a first hydrothermal liquefaction HTL, and the second particulate feedstock portion PFF2 is subjected to a second hydrothermal liquefaction HTL.

[0292] In other embodiments, only one of the two particulate feedstock portions is subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0293] and Figure 2 Similar to the embodiment shown in , the granulation step may include processing the feedstock fraction FF into a greater number of granulated feedstock fractions, such as three or four granulated feedstock fractions, or even more than four granulated feedstock fractions. These, whether all of these fractions, or only some of them, may also be subjected to separate hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0294] It should also be noted that in embodiments having two or more granulated feedstock portions, two or more of them may be subsequently mixed, for example, to achieve a certain desired mixing ratio between the components of the applied granulated feedstock portions.

[0295] For example, if the feedstock fractions FF are processed into three granulated feedstock fractions, the first granulated feedstock fraction can be subjected to a first hydrothermal liquid fraction, while the second granulated feedstock fraction is mixed with, for example, 20% of the third granulated feedstock fraction to obtain the desired mixed fraction of the components of the second and third granulated feedstock fractions. The mixture obtained can then be subjected to a separate hydrothermal liquefaction, while the remainder of the third granulated feedstock fraction can be processed, for example, in a further separate hydrothermal liquefaction.

[0296] Now, go to Figure 3 , showing the hydrothermal liquefaction step according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0297] like Figure 3 As shown in , the step of subjecting at least one particulate feedstock portion PFF to the hydrothermal liquefaction HTL further comprises adding a co-feed feedstock portion CFF to the hydrothermal liquefaction HTL together with the particulate feedstock portion.

[0298] As described herein, the co-feed feedstock portion may be composed of a wide variety of different materials and mixtures including, but not limited to, biomass, industrial waste, sludge, manure, etc., and mixtures thereof.

[0299] Advantageously, this embodiment can be used with Figure 1 The embodiments shown and / or described herein may be used with Figure 1 Any other combination of embodiments of the combination of embodiments.

[0300] In particular, it should be noted that Figure 3 The embodiments can be used with Figure 2 The invention also provides a combination of embodiments, i.e., processing the feedstock portion into at least two separate granulated feedstock portions and adding one or more co-feed feedstocks to one or more of the granulated feedstock portions.

[0301] As an illustrative example, a feedstock portion may be processed into at least two separate granulated feedstock portions, wherein a co-feed feedstock portion is subsequently added to one of the granulated feedstock portions.

[0302] In some embodiments, the co-feed feedstock portion may be added prior to the granulation step.

[0303] Reference now Figure 4 , showing an embodiment of the present invention.

[0304] In an addition step ADD, the water portion WTR is added to the granulated feed portion PFF, which step may include active mixing or rely on the water portion and the granulated feed portion being passively dispersed to a sufficient extent.

[0305] Advantageously, this embodiment can be used with Figure 1 The embodiments shown and / or described may be used with Figure 1 Any other combination of embodiments of the combination of embodiments.

[0306] Reference now Figure 5 , showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[0307] In this example, the pelletized feed fraction PFF is treated to remove unwanted elements. These can fall into two groups, the first group includes contaminants that may contaminate or otherwise negatively affect the obtained HTL-based product HBP or cause corrosion of processing equipment. The second group includes non-processable components such as metal objects and polyolefins. It should be noted that some compounds can fall into both categories.

[0308] Advantageously, this embodiment can be used with Figure 1 The embodiments shown and / or described may be used with Figure 1 Any other combination of embodiments of the combination of embodiments.

[0309] Now, Figure 6 and Figure 7 Different hydrothermal liquefaction modes according to two different embodiments are shown, both of which can be used with Figure 1 The embodiments shown and / or described are intended to be compatible with Figure 1 In particular, Figure 6 shows continuous hydrothermal liquefaction, while Figure 7 Batch hydrothermal liquefaction is shown.

[0310] exist Figure 6 In an embodiment, the granulated raw material portion PFF is first fed into a pressurizing device PMP, such as a high-pressure pump, to pressurize the granulated raw material portion PFF to a desired pressure level. It should be noted that in some embodiments, the pressurizing device PMP may be a single pump, while in other embodiments it may include two or more pumps, such as to operate to sequentially increase the pressure to a desired level.

[0311] Next, the pressurized granulated feedstock portion PFF is fed into a heating device HTR, which is arranged to heat the granulated feedstock portion PFF to the required temperature to undergo hydrothermal liquefaction. It should be noted that the heating device HTR can be a single heater or a combination of several heaters. It can also include heating based on, for example, a heat pump, electric heating, gas heating, heating based on the combustion of hydrocarbons, etc. It should also be noted that although Figure 5 Shown is the heating device HTR after the pressurizing device PMP, but in some embodiments, the order of these devices may be reversed. In addition, when, for example, multiple heaters are used, these heaters may be both before and after the pressurizing device PMP.

[0312] The granulated feedstock portion PFF is then fed through a reactor RTR which may, for example, consist of a pipe having a length suitable for hydrothermal liquefaction. For a given cross-sectional area, increasing the length of the pipe forming the reactor RTR results in a longer residence time for a given feedstock rate, and vice versa. Finally, a HTL-based product HBP may be obtained.

[0313] It should be noted that when referring to the heating means HTR, this may comprise, for example, one or more distributed sub-units for gradually heating and / or maintaining the elevated temperature of the particulate feedstock portion PFF.

[0314] In some embodiments, the heating device HTR and the reactor RTR are partially integrated, for example by using subunits of the heating device HTR to heat the granulated feedstock portion before the reactor RTR and then integrating other subunits of the heating device HTL with the reactor RTL.

[0315] In some embodiments, the heating device HTR and the reactor RTR are integrated, for example by using an integrated subunit of the heating device HTL with the reactor RTR to heat the particulate feedstock portion inside the reactor RTR.

[0316] exist Figure 7 In the embodiment of , the granulated raw material PFF can be similarly fed into the pressurizing device PMP and then fed into the heating device HTR. Figure 6 The embodiment of the present invention is similar to that of the present invention, the pressurizing device PMP and the heating device HTR, while the reactor RTR is a batch reactor, in which the granulated feedstock part PFF is processed during the residence time. Finally, the HTL-based product HBP can be obtained.

[0317] It should also be noted that although Figure 7 Shown is the heating device HTR after the pressurizing device PMP, but in some embodiments, the order of these devices may be reversed. In addition, when, for example, multiple heaters are used, these heaters may be present both before and after the pressurizing device PMP.

[0318] Figure 6 or Figure 7 Features not shown but that may be included in various embodiments are means for reducing the pressure to ambient pressure and means for separating the HTL-based product HBP from the output stream of the reactor.

Claims

1. A method for producing at least a HTL based product (HBP), said product comprising an oil product and / or recovered chemicals, said method comprising the following steps: Provide the raw material fraction (FF) containing the footwear product, In a granulation step, at least a portion of said feedstock fraction (FF) is processed into at least one granulated feedstock fraction (PFF), At least one particle-sized feedstock fraction (PFF) is subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) to obtain said HTL-based product (HBP).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The granulating step includes processing at least a portion of the feedstock portion into at least a first granulated feedstock portion and a second granulated feedstock portion, wherein at least one of the first feedstock portion and the second feedstock portion is subjected to hydrothermal liquefaction.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The first feedstock portion is subjected to a first hydrothermal liquefaction, and wherein the second feedstock portion is subjected to a second hydrothermal liquefaction.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: The at least two granulated feedstock portions have different compositions.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The granulating step may also include cutting the footwear into at least one sole portion and at least one upper portion prior to processing.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: In the granulation step, the sole-based portion is processed into at least a first granulated raw material portion as a sole-based granulated portion, and the upper-based portion is processed into a second granulated raw material portion as an upper-based granulated portion.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The first feedstock portion is subjected to a first hydrothermal liquefaction, and wherein the second feedstock portion is subjected to a second hydrothermal liquefaction.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein: The first granulated feedstock portion and the second granulated feedstock portion are different.

9. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein: The first granulated feedstock portion has a polymer material content that is at least 20% by weight higher than the second granulated feedstock portion.

10. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein: The first pelletized feedstock portion has a polyurethane content that is at least 20% higher by weight than the second pelletized feedstock portion.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein: The feedstock portion also includes co-feed feedstocks.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The co-feed raw materials include raw materials selected from the group of textile and textile-based waste, industrial waste fractions, feces, and combinations thereof.

13. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 12, wherein: The co-feed feedstock includes a biomass feedstock.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein: The granulated feedstock portion includes a combination of two or more materials.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein: The HTL-based products include oil products.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein: The HTL-based product includes at least one recycled chemical.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein: The method further comprises the step of adding a water portion to the feedstock portion prior to the hydrothermal liquefaction.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein: The hydrothermal liquefaction step comprises subjecting the granulated feedstock portion to a temperature of at least 170 degrees Celsius, such as at least 200 degrees Celsius, such as at least 250 degrees Celsius, such as at least 300 degrees Celsius.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein: The hydrothermal liquefaction step comprises subjecting the granulated feedstock portion to a pressure of at least 50 bar, such as at least 75 bar, such as at least 100 bar, such as at least 125 bar.

20. A system for producing HTL based products (HBP) comprising oil products and / or recovered chemicals, the system comprising an inlet for receiving a raw material portion (FF) comprising a product of footwear, a granulation device connected to said inlet for receiving said feedstock portion (FF), said granulation device being configured to granulate at least a portion of said feedstock portion (FF) into at least one granulated feedstock portion (PFF), and A hydrothermal liquefaction device connected to the granulation device is used to receive the at least one granulated feedstock fraction (PFF), and the hydrothermal liquefaction device (HTL) is configured to process the granulated feedstock fraction (PFD) by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) to obtain the HTL-based product.

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