Method for recovering textile fibres from waste textile articles and associated apparatus
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202380071352.3
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-10-04
- Filing Date
- 2023-10-02
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-30
Smart Images
Figure CN120076912A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for recovering textile fibers from waste textile articles.
[0002] Specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for recovering textile fibers from waste textile articles, for use in the textile, non-woven (TNT), clothing, PPE, automotive, and construction industries. Background Art
[0003] As used herein, the term "waste textile article" refers to textile articles to be discarded from various sources, including, for example:
[0004] - Municipal collection of post-consumer articles (used, discarded, non-reusable clothing) through waste bins,
[0005] - Unsold articles (unsold clothing and surplus inventory), sorted / discarded articles that have been sorted for the vintage and second-hand markets, and
[0006] - Industrial textile residues (mattress cuttings, die cuttings, negatives, selvages).
[0007] It is well known to fray industrial textile residues to obtain TNT (sometimes short fiber material), but nowadays it is no longer recovered from municipal collections and unsold / discarded articles because it is complex to implement and economically unsustainable.
[0008] In fact, sorting by material type and manually removing non-woven materials (i.e., rigid components of natural, synthetic, and iron materials, such as buttons, zippers (zip), pulls, zipper assemblies (zipper)) makes the process time-consuming, complex, and costly.
[0009] To verify the composition of the clothing and perform a rigorous sorting process, the operator needs to read the attached label (if the label exists and is legible) (people usually remove the label because it is annoying, or the label fades over time and becomes illegible), so it is obvious that the recycling process requires a long lead time and high labor costs to achieve high efficiency in terms of production volume. In addition, even if the operator is experienced and professional, he still cannot process clothing whose source and composition cannot be verified.
[0010] In addition, the articles cannot be frayed without first removing the rigid components, otherwise the textile material may catch fire due to sparks generated by friction between the fraying head and the rigid metal components during the fraying process. The rigid components are removed manually after the manual sorting process of the clothing.
[0011] Therefore, to date, not all discarded textile items can be properly processed for recycling due to their non-uniform composition, the presence of rigid elements, the high sorting costs, and the lack of technology; as a result, many discarded items end up in landfills or are converted into secondary fuel, emitting microplastic particles harmful to the environment into the atmosphere.
[0012] However, some regulations stipulate that in the coming years, it will no longer be allowed to send textile waste to waste incineration power plants, landfills, or factories for producing secondary solid fuel. Therefore, any items that cannot be recycled in the vintage or second-hand market (because they are worn out and shabby) and production waste must be processed / recycled in other ways. Summary of the Invention
[0013] Therefore, in this context, the technical task of the present invention is to propose a method and equipment for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile items that overcome one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.
[0014] Specifically, the object of the present invention is to provide a method for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile items, which can effectively and efficiently recover different types of discarded textile items in a cost-effective and sustainable manner.
[0015] Another object of the present invention is to propose a method for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile items, which allows the sorting and processing of textile items to be automated in a fast, accurate, and efficient manner.
[0016] The object of the present invention also lies in proposing a device for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile items, which allows the automatic management of the entire recycling process, thereby improving the efficiency of the production process and quickly and efficiently producing recycled short fiber materials used as yarns in industrial processes.
[0017] The specific technical tasks and specific objects are basically achieved through a method and equipment for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile items, which include the technical features described in one or more of the appended claims.
[0018] Specifically, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile items, comprising the following steps:
[0019] - Storing discarded textile items (such as clothing or industrial textile residues) at a storage station,
[0020] - Moving the items to an analysis station,
[0021] - Analyzing the items by NIR (near-infrared) spectroscopy to detect the characteristic parameters of the textile fibers of the items.
[0022] - Compare the characteristic parameters detected from each analyzed item with the reference characteristic parameters.
[0023] - Move the selected items whose characteristic parameters of textile fibers meet the predetermined acceptable standards to the processing station.
[0024] - Process the selected items in the processing station to separate any rigid or semi-rigid components of plastic and / or metal types, such as buttons and zippers, from the textile material of the selected items, and loosen the textile material to obtain recycled textile fibers.
[0025] Advantageously, the items are then analyzed in an automated manner to accurately and precisely identify the types of existing textile fibers, and thus sorted according to a preset logic for processing. Specifically, the mechanized and automated processing includes a sub-step of removing rigid or semi-rigid components from the items, and a subsequent step of loosening the remaining textile material, so as to perform the final operation efficiently and safely.
[0026] Due to the selection and sorting logic based on the characteristic parameters of the analyzed textile fibers, all stored waste textile items can be recycled efficiently and automatically according to the operation logic preset based on the recycling activities to produce new recycled textile fibers that can be used for new industrial applications.
[0027] Advantageously, the method allows the recycling of waste textile items, used clothing, and production / warehouse waste, thus avoiding their disposal in landfills and waste incineration power plants.
[0028] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a device for recycling textile fibers from waste textile items, comprising:
[0029] - A storage station adapted to receive waste textile items such as clothing or industrial textile residues.
[0030] - An analysis station including at least one NIR spectrometer configured to detect the characteristic parameters of the textile fibers of the items.
[0031] - A processing station including a separation unit and a loosening unit, the separation unit being configured to separate any rigid or semi-rigid components of plastic and / or metal types, such as buttons and zippers, from the textile material of the items, and the loosening unit being configured to mechanically loosen the separated textile material to obtain recycled textile fibers.
[0032] - A handling device configured to move the items from the storage station via the analysis station to the processing station, and
[0033] - A management and control unit configured to compare characteristic parameters detected from each analyzed article with reference characteristic parameters and to indicate the movement of selected articles, whose characteristic parameters of textile fibers comply with a predetermined acceptable standard, towards a processing station.
[0034] Advantageously, the presence of the analysis station allows for a rapid and accurate analysis of the articles, and the management and control unit enables an efficient sorting of the analyzed articles in order to produce preferably homogeneous selected articles to be processed, in order to obtain preferably homogeneous recycled textile fibers according to a preset logic and specific recycling requirements.
[0035] Thus, advantageously, the device allows for the processing of any textile waste from any source in a single solution, without manual sorting before or after storage, thus automatically managing the articles that can be processed simultaneously.
[0036] The processing station allows for a cascaded mechanical processing of the selected articles to first remove the rigid or semi-rigid components of a given recycling operation and then to tease them apart to obtain recycled fibers ready for further processing, without manual intervention by an operator, but through appropriate separation and teasing devices, which reduces the processing time and cost.
[0037] The dependent claims incorporated herein by reference correspond to different embodiments of the present invention.
[0038] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the indicative and thus non-limiting description of a preferred but non-exclusive embodiment of a method and a device for recycling textile fibers from waste textile articles, as Figure 1 shown in the diagrams. Description of the Drawings
[0039] Figure 1 is an operating diagram of a method and a device for recycling textile fibers from waste textile articles according to the present invention. Detailed Description of the Invention
[0040] Referring to the drawings, the device for recycling textile fibers from waste textile articles A is generally designated as 1.
[0041] The waste textile articles A can include clothing, such as: used clothing, defective clothing, worn-out clothing, non-reusable clothing, stock or industrial textile residues such as: cuttings, scraps, defective products, selvedges, etc.
[0042] The articles A include a portion of textile material and can include a portion of rigid or semi-rigid plastic and / or metal components, such as buttons, zippers, zipper assemblies, pull tabs, etc.
[0043] The method subject matter of the present invention relates to the recovery of textile fibers from the textile part of article A, preferably by using device 1, which will be described hereinafter.
[0044] The method first includes the step of storing article A in storage station 2. Article A stored in storage station 2 can have different origins, but the method advantageously does not require manual sorting of incoming article A and can thus be stored without discrimination.
[0045] However, preferably, the method can provide a step of manually pre-sorting article A to separate any article A for second-hand use.
[0046] The method includes the step of moving article A to analysis station 3.
[0047] Preferably, the method can include a step of disinfecting article A before moving it towards analysis station 3, and even more preferably, moving article A inside ozone disinfection station 4.
[0048] Ozone disinfection is advantageously carried out to remove unpleasant odors such as cigarette smell, sweat smell, musty smell, or to eliminate moths, mites, viruses and bacteria present in article A.
[0049] The disinfection step preferably further includes a sub-step of rotating ozone disinfection chamber 4a, in which the article A to be disinfected is arranged.
[0050] Due to the rotation of chamber 4a, the ozone exposure surface area of each article A can be increased in order to effectively decompose the impurities on article A, because article A will constantly shake / tip due to the rotation of chamber 4a.
[0051] The method includes the step of analyzing the article (from storage station 2 or disinfection station 4) by NIR spectroscopy to detect the characteristic parameters of the textile fibers of article A.
[0052] NIR spectroscopy is essentially based on the physical phenomenon of the absorption of electromagnetic radiation by the matrix being analyzed. The resulting analysis signal is generated by the interaction between the analysis sample and the radiation incident thereon.
[0053] Using this technology, articles can be analyzed in a shorter time, replacing conventional analysis / manual sorting techniques, significantly improving the precision, accuracy and speed of the process and significantly reducing costs.
[0054] The method provides a step of comparing the characteristic parameters measured from each analyzed article A with reference characteristic parameters.
[0055] Preferably, the detectable characteristic parameters are the chemical composition of the material and / or the material color coding, preferably both.
[0056] Thus, the method includes the step of moving a selected article A to the processing station 5, the textile fibers of the selected article A having characteristic parameters that meet predetermined acceptable criteria (e.g., corresponding to the identification of a "white cotton" article, where, for example, the cotton content must be at least 95% and the white hue must belong to a specific color-coding range).
[0057] Then, the method includes the step of processing the selected article A, which has two sub-steps:
[0058] - Separating any rigid or semi-rigid plastic and / or metal parts from the textile material of the selected article A, and
[0059] - Fluffing the separated textile material to obtain recycled textile fibers.
[0060] Advantageously, due to the present invention, not only can any article A be efficiently recycled by separation and cascading fluffing, but also articles A of the same type can be selected and processed simultaneously to obtain high-quality textile fibers of the same type based on the required recycling activities.
[0061] In fact, the method preferably includes the step of accumulating different selected articles A in the accumulation station 6 according to a preset logic, the textile fibers of the selected articles A having characteristic parameters that meet the corresponding predetermined acceptable criteria.
[0062] Thus, one selected article A can be processed first according to production requirements, and then another.
[0063] Furthermore, preferably, the accumulation is carried out until a certain quantity of accumulated articles A (e.g., a certain weight or volume) of at least one selected article A for producing recycled textile fibers with the same type of characteristics is reached.
[0064] After the accumulation step, a subsequent step of moving at least the selected accumulated articles A to the processing station 5 is provided, preferably after reaching the specified quantity of accumulated articles.
[0065] Advantageously, for example, if the first selected quantity is not sufficient to ensure continuous processing without stopping the production process, one or more of the accumulated selections are processed. This can ensure a continuous recycling method such that the processing of article A is not interrupted regardless of the source of article A.
[0066] If there are not enough processing lines to accommodate all types of analyzed articles A simultaneously, the presence of the accumulation station 6 enables a staging area / buffer (lung / buffer) for the analyzed and sorted articles A to be available.
[0067] Thus, for example, white cotton can be accumulated until the capacity of the storage container 6a is reached, while processing the remaining non-white cotton analyzed article A. When the limit volume of the white cotton articles accumulated in the container 6a is reached, they can be sent to the processing station 5 for processing simultaneously.
[0068] Preferably, the method further includes the step of cleaning the processing station 5 to remove residues of the previously processed article A before moving the accumulated article A towards the processing station 5.
[0069] Advantageously, the cleaning step avoids the possible contamination of other materials other than the material to be processed, to ensure that the final product (recycled textile fibers) can meet the required production requirements.
[0070] Preferably, the method may further include the step of mixing the loosened recycled textile fibers (even more preferably, textile fibers recycled by the method according to the present invention) with other recycled textile fibers to obtain a mixture of recycled textile fibers corresponding to specific acceptable requirements.
[0071] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus 1 for recycling textile fibers from waste textile articles A, comprising:
[0072] - a storage station 2, which is adapted to receive waste textile material articles A, such as clothing or industrial textile residues,
[0073] - an analysis station 3, which includes at least one NIR spectrometer 3a configured to detect characteristic parameters of the textile fibers of the article A,
[0074] - a processing station 5, which includes a separation unit 5a and a loosening unit 5b, the separation unit 5a being configured to separate any rigid or semi-rigid components of plastic and / or metal type, such as buttons and zippers (hereinafter referred to as "rigid components") from the textile material of the article A, and the loosening unit 5b being configured to loosen the separated textile material to obtain recycled textile fibers,
[0075] - a handling device configured to move the article A from the storage station 2 via the analysis station 3 to the processing station 5, and
[0076] - a management and control unit 7 configured to compare the characteristic parameters detected from each analyzed article A with reference characteristic parameters and indicate the movement of the selected article A towards the processing station 5, the textile fibers of the selected article A having characteristic parameters that meet a predetermined acceptable standard.
[0077] Preferably, the storage station 2 includes a plurality of storage containers 2a.
[0078] Preferably, the NIR spectrometer 3a is arranged inside a flight cabin (not shown), the item A to be analyzed is sent into the flight cabin, and the flight cabin is provided with at least two detection lenses (or scanners, sensors) arranged in cascade, and each detection lens can detect specific characteristic parameters (for example, the chemical composition and color of textile materials).
[0079] According to a possible implementation of the device, the analysis station 3 preferably includes a plurality of NIR spectrometers 3a configured to analyze different characteristic parameters simultaneously.
[0080] Advantageously, the management and control unit 7 is provided with a database of characteristic reference parameters, and this database registers various materials and colors.
[0081] Preferably, the analysis station 3 includes a sorting unit 3b, which is configured to sort the analyzed item A according to a preset logic based on a predetermined acceptable standard.
[0082] The sorting unit 3b may preferably include a compressed air ejector, which is configured to eject the analyzed item A that meets specific acceptable standards by using a compressed air jet and send it directly to the processing station 5 or the accumulation station 6 according to the operation logic of the device, which will become clear later.
[0083] Preferably, the separation unit 5a includes a rotating drum, and spikes are distributed on the inner surface of the rotating drum. The spikes are configured to interact (interfere with) with the rigid components of the item A during the rotation / centrifugation of the item A inside the drum, so as to mechanically separate the rigid components from the textile material.
[0084] Preferably, upstream of the separation unit 5a, the processing station 5 may include a shredder (not shown), which is configured to perform a first shredding step to reduce the volume of the item A.
[0085] Preferably, the processing device further includes a pneumatic vacuum cleaner (not shown), which is configured to suck the textile material from the separation unit 5a and convey it to the fluffing unit 5b.
[0086] Preferably, the fluffing unit 5b includes a plurality of rotating drums (not shown) with slats and spikes, which are configured to interact with the textile material of the item A received from the separation unit 5a during rotation / centrifugation to unfold the textile material, thereby mechanically fluffing the textile fibers contained therein.
[0087] According to the type of the item A and the textile material to be processed and the quality of the textile fibers to be obtained, n cycles can be performed on the drums of the fluffing unit 5b.
[0088] Preferably, the device 1 includes a disinfection station 4 located between the storage station 2 and the analysis station 3, in which a disinfection chamber 4a for disinfecting the article A is arranged. The disinfection chamber 4a includes a receiving drum suitable for receiving the article A to be disinfected, and the disinfection is carried out by ozone.
[0089] Preferably, the processing device is configured to move the article A from the storage station 2 to the disinfection station 4 and from the disinfection station 4 to the processing station 3.
[0090] Preferably, the receiving drum is rotatable about a rotation axis X coinciding with its main extension axis.
[0091] Therefore, different from the known static disinfection chamber, the present disinfection chamber 4a belongs to the dynamic type, so that the article A moving during the rotation of the receiving drum can be better disinfected.
[0092] Preferably, the device includes an accumulation station 6 located between the analysis station 3 and the processing station 5, in which a plurality of accumulation containers 6a are arranged. The plurality of accumulation containers 6a are configured to receive different selected analysis articles A according to a preset logic, and the textile fibers of the selected analysis articles A have characteristic parameters conforming to corresponding predetermined acceptable standards.
[0093] Advantageously, the management and control unit 7 is configured to selectively control the movement of the corresponding selected article A to the processing station 3, for example when a certain amount of the article A is reached in the storage container 6a, as described above.
[0094] Preferably, in addition, the management and control unit 7 is configured to control and manage the operation of the sorting device 3b to automatically move the selected article A into the corresponding accumulation container 6a according to a preset logic.
[0095] Preferably, the system includes a cleaning device (not shown in the drawings), which is configured to remove the article residues from the separation unit 5a and the teasing unit 5b.
[0096] Preferably, the processing station 5 includes a mixer 5c arranged downstream of the teasing unit 5b, which is configured to mix the teased recycled textile fibers with additional recycled textile fibers to obtain a mixture of recycled textile fibers corresponding to predetermined acceptable requirements.
[0097] The mixer 5c allows the fibers to be mixed together to obtain a high-quality and reproducible yarn that meets the technical specifications and parameters specified by specific production requirements.
[0098] The present invention achieves the proposed objectives, overcomes the drawbacks complained of in the prior art, and provides innovative processes and equipment in the field of textile waste recycling to recover the discarded textile material portion contained in article A (which is usually disposed of, shredded, or mixed with other plastics to produce secondary solid fuel RDF for cement plants and waste incineration power plants), and obtain short fibers used as yarns in industrial processes or TNT for lower-value applications.
Claims
1. A method for recovering textile fibers from waste textile articles, comprising the following steps: - storing waste textile articles (A), such as clothing or industrial textile residues, in a storage station (2), - moving the articles (A) towards an analysis station (3), - analyzing the articles (A) by NIR spectroscopy to detect characteristic parameters of the textile fibers of the articles (A), - comparing the detected characteristic parameters from each analyzed article (A) with reference characteristic parameters, - moving selected articles (A) whose characteristic parameters of the textile fibers meet a predetermined acceptable standard towards a processing station (5), - processing the selected articles (A) in the processing station (5) to separate any rigid or semi-rigid components of plastic and / or metal type, such as buttons and zippers, from the textile material of the selected articles (A), and opening up the textile material to obtain recovered textile fibers; wherein the method includes a step of disinfecting the articles (A) before moving the articles (A) to the analysis station (3), the disinfecting step being carried out by moving the articles (A) inside an ozone disinfection station (4), wherein the disinfecting step includes a sub-step of rotating an ozone disinfection chamber (4a) in which the articles (A) to be disinfected are arranged.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic parameters are: the chemical composition of the material and / or the identification code of the color of the material.
3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising: a step of accumulating, in a cumulative station (6), selected articles (A) whose characteristic parameters of different textile fibers meet corresponding predetermined acceptable standards according to a preset logic, preferably until a cumulative quantity of articles (A) of at least one selected article (A) is reached; and a subsequent step of moving the at least one cumulative selected article (A) towards the processing station (5), preferably after the quantity of articles (A) is reached.
4. The method according to claim 3, including a step of cleaning the processing station (5) to remove residues of previously processed article A before moving the cumulative articles (A) towards the processing station (5).
5. The method according to one or more of the preceding claims, including a step of mixing the loosened recovered textile fibers with additional recovered textile fibers to obtain a mixture of recovered textile fibers corresponding to predetermined acceptable requirements.
6. An apparatus (1) for recovering textile fibers from waste textile articles, comprising: - a storage station (2) adapted to receive waste textile material articles (A), such as clothing or industrial textile residues, - an analysis station (3) including at least one NIR spectrometer (3a) configured to detect characteristic parameters of the textile fibers of the articles (A), - A processing station (5), said processing station (5) comprising a separating unit (5a) and a loosening unit (5b), said separating unit (5a) being configured to separate any rigid or semi-rigid components of plastic and / or metal type, such as buttons and zippers, from the textile material of the article (A), and said loosening unit (5b) being configured to loosen the separated textile material to obtain recycled textile fibers, - A handling device configured to move the article (A) from the storage station (2) via the analysis station (3) to the processing station (5), and - A management and control unit (7), said management and control unit (7) being configured to compare the characteristic parameters detected from each analyzed article (A) with reference characteristic parameters and to indicate the movement of selected articles (A) whose textile fiber characteristic parameters comply with a predetermined acceptable standard to the processing station (5); wherein the apparatus (1) includes a disinfection station (4) located between the storage station (2) and the analysis station (3), in which a disinfection chamber (4a) for disinfecting the article (A) is arranged, said disinfection chamber (4a) including a receiving drum adapted to receive the article (A) to be disinfected, and the disinfection is carried out by ozone, wherein the receiving drum is rotatable about a rotation axis (X) coinciding with its main extension axis.
7. The apparatus (1) according to claim 6, wherein the characteristic parameters are: the chemical composition of the material and / or the identification code of the color of the material.
8. The apparatus (1) according to any one of claims 6 to 7, including an accumulation station (6) located between the analysis station (3) and the processing station (5), in which a plurality of accumulation containers (6a) are arranged and configured to receive different selected articles (A) analyzed according to a preset logic, the textile fibers of the selected articles (A) having characteristic parameters that comply with corresponding predetermined acceptable standards; the management and control unit (7) is configured to selectively indicate the movement of the corresponding selected articles (A) to the processing station (5).
9. The apparatus (1) according to one or more of claims 6 to 8, including means (5) for cleaning the processing station, said means (5) being configured to remove article residues from the separating unit (5a) and the loosening unit (5b).
10. The apparatus (1) according to one or more of claims 6 to 9, wherein the processing station (5) includes a mixer (5c) arranged downstream of the loosening unit (5b), said mixer (5c) being configured to mix the loosened recycled textile fibers with additional recycled textile fibers to obtain a mixture of recycled textile fibers corresponding to predetermined acceptable requirements.
11. The apparatus (1) according to any one or more of claims 6 to 10, wherein the analysis station (3) includes a sorting unit (3b), said sorting unit (3b) being configured to sort the analyzed articles (A) according to a preset logic based on predetermined acceptable standards; the sorting unit (3b) preferably includes a compressed air ejector.