Capsule containing crushed articles

Abstract

Capsule comprising ground-up material embedded in a support matrix, the ground-up material being composed of a mix of elastomeric and non-elastomeric materials. Figure for the abbreviation: Fig. 1

Description

Title of the invention: Capsule comprising crushed articles

[0001] The present invention relates to capsules and a method of manufacturing them.

[0002] The invention relates to capsules made from ground products, the ground products being composed of a mix of materials of different natures.

[0003] Document WO2020201370 describes a method for recycling shoes composed of elements made with the same family of materials and having different densities. The method proposes grinding these shoes, mixing the ground material obtained with a non-recycled material and extruding this mixture to form injection granules.

[0004] This method requires the use of shoes mainly made from the same family of material in order to facilitate the recycling process. This method therefore requires knowing the composition of the shoes to be recycled and carrying out a preliminary sorting step, in the case where it is necessary to recycle a batch of shoes not all made with the same family of material. However, in order to best respond to comfort of use, a majority of shoes are composed of different families of materials in order to obtain physical and mechanical properties adapted to the places where it is necessary. Consequently, these shoes composed of a mixture of families of material cannot be recycled according to the aforementioned method. Indeed, as indicated by the applicant of the aforementioned application, when a shoe is composed of different families of material, the shoe is not recycled but stored in a landfill or incinerated.

[0005] The aim of the invention is to simplify the process of total or partial recycling of articles.

[0006] The aim of the invention is to propose a process for recycling articles with a view to reusing the material composing them which is economical, with a reduced number of steps, without sorting the articles to be treated.

[0007] Another aim is the production of capsules from crushed articles in a process of total or partial recycling of an article.

[0008] The invention provides a capsule comprising ground articles integrated into a support matrix. The ground articles are composed of a mix of elastomeric materials and non-elastomeric materials.

[0009] Thus, the capsules are obtained from a particularly simplified process since there is no need to sort the article according to the nature of the material composing it. Indeed, it is not easy to identify in a simple manner the nature of the material of the components of the articles that one wishes to treat. This process therefore makes it possible to envisage an easily achievable economical treatment, without a prior sorting step.

[0010] According to advantageous but not mandatory aspects of the invention, such capsules may incorporate one or more of the following features, taken in any technically admissible combination: - The elastomer material is one of: • natural rubber (NR), • a synthetic rubber such as Isoprene (IR), Butadiene (BR), Styrene-Butadiene (SBR), Nitrile (NBR), • an Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate (EVA). - The non-elastomeric material is one of: • a thermoplastic such as PolyAmide (PA), PolyEthylene (PE), PolyCarbonate (PC), PolyPropylene (PP), PolyESter (PES), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Thermoplastic PolyUrethane (TPU), • a Polyurethane (PU, PUR), • a natural material other than rubber such as cork, wool, leather, seaweed, • a so-called “bio-manufactured” material, material made from biological organisms (mycelium, bacteria, etc.). - the support matrix is ​​the following material: • an elastomeric material such as natural rubber (NR), synthetic rubber such as Isoprene (IR), Butadiene (BR), Styrene-Butadiene (SBR), Nitrile (NBR), or Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate (EVA). • a thermoplastic material such as PolyAmide (PA), PolyEthylene (PE), PolyCarbonate (PC), PolyPropylene (PP), PolyESter (PES), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Thermoplastic PolyUrethane (TPU), • a Polyurethane (PU, PUR)

[0011] The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing capsules as defined above. The method may incorporate one or more of the following features, taken in any technically admissible combination: - The method comprising at least: a. a step of grinding several articles composed of various materials so that the ground materials obtained incorporate at least a mix of elastomeric materials and non-elastomeric materials, b. a step of mixing the ground articles with a support matrix, c. an encapsulation step allowing the ground articles to be integrated into the support matrix in the form of a capsule exhibiting structural cohesion.

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[0019] - At least one article ground in step a) is composed of a mix of elastomeric materials and non-elastomeric materials. - Said ground article does not include any family of material greater than 50% by weight of said ground article. - Encapsulation step c) consists of extruding the mixture from step b) to form a profile and then cutting the extruded profile into injection granules. - The method comprises a step d) consisting of removing metal parts from the article or from the ground material, • either before step a) of grinding, • either before step b) of mixing the ground material of the article with a support matrix. The invention also relates to an article comprising at least one component made from capsules as defined above. Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be better understood with the aid of the description which follows, with reference to the appended drawing illustrating, according to a non-limiting embodiment, how the invention can be implemented, and in which: [Fig.l] [Fig.l] is a schematic view describing the main steps of the capsule manufacturing process according to the invention. [Fig.2] [Fig.2] is a flowchart of the steps of a method for producing capsules according to the invention. The articles 20 treated according to the invention are composed of various materials. According to the invention, the process provides for obtaining ground material 2 incorporating at least one elastomeric material 21 and one material 22 other than an elastomeric material. Consequently, this results in the use of: - either articles 20 comprising at least one component made with an elastomeric material 21 and at least one component 22 made with a non-elastomeric material, - either at least two articles 20 composed of different materials, one article being composed of an elastomeric material 21 and the other article being composed of a non-elastomeric material 22, - either a combination of the two previous configurations, For example, an elastomeric material 21 is one of the following: - natural rubber (NR), - a synthetic rubber such as Isoprene (IR), Butadiene (BR), Styrene-Butadiene (SBR), Nitrile (NBR), - an Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate (EVA). These aforementioned materials 21 can be used individually or combined with each other to form compounds. These elastomeric materials 21 are often in the composition of shoe soles where there is a need for “elastic” properties.

[0020] By way of example, a non-elastomeric material 22 is one of the following materials: - a thermoplastic such as PolyAmide (PA), PolyEthylene (PE), Poly-Carbonate (PC), PolyPropylene (PP), PolyESter (PES), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Thermoplastic PolyUrethane (TPU), - a Polyurethane (PU, PUR), - a natural material other than rubber such as cork, wool, leather, seaweed, - a so-called “bio-manufactured” material, a material made from biological organisms (mycelium, bacteria, etc.)

[0021] These non-elastomeric materials 22 are often in the composition of shoe uppers where there is a need for properties of adaptation to the morphology of the foot and its support.

[0022] The invention relates to capsules 1 obtained from ground materials 2 of articles 20.

[0023] For the purposes of the invention, a capsule 1 is a compound incorporating ground materials 2 of articles 22 and a support matrix 3 with structural cohesion.

[0024] According to one embodiment, a capsule 1 is an intermediate product that will be used for the manufacture of a component of a new article. This intermediate product is designed to allow better packaging, less volatile than ground materials, better feeding into the various processing machines, faster and simpler processes allowing for homogeneous mixtures. For example, a capsule 1 may be an injection granule, obtained by extrusion or another process. These injection granules will then be injected, combined with other complementary granules composed of non-recycled materials, in order to produce a shoe component such as a sole or a chassis. Alternatively, the capsule 1 may be obtained by coating.

[0025] According to another embodiment, a capsule 1 can be directly a component of the shoe, such as a sole or a chassis. For example, the ground materials 2 and the support matrix 3 are mixed directly then shaped by thermocompression.

[0026] Within the meaning of the invention, an article 20 may be composed of a single component or of several components. According to the claimed process, articles 20 of different categories may be used, such as shoes, clothing items, bags, helmets, masks, etc. In the process to be described, different types of articles 20 may very well be treated together, for example, shoes with clothing and / or bags.

[0027] According to an exemplary embodiment, the process is intended to treat only shoes. This makes it possible to have homogeneous articles and to simplify the sizing of the process equipment, in particular the crusher. In addition, the materials constituting the article are more homogeneous. The nature of the materials can be similar, which makes it possible to have less variation in the mechanical characteristics of the capsules obtained from the crushed shoes.

[0028] According to the invention, as illustrated in [Fig.l], the capsules 1 are obtained according to a manufacturing method comprising at least: a. a step of grinding several articles 20 composed of various materials so that the ground materials 2 obtained incorporate at least one elastomer material 21 and non-elastomer materials 22, b. a step of mixing the crushed articles with a support matrix 3, c. an encapsulation step allowing the integration of the ground materials 2 into the matrix support 3 in the form of a capsule 1 having structural cohesion.

[0029] During the grinding step a), the different articles 20 of the same or different categories are introduced into the hopper of a cutting equipment such as a grinder, a shredder, a micronizer, etc. The articles 20 are then ground / shredded by a cutting tool in order to produce grinds 2. Advantageously, the grinder is designed to generate grinds 2 of small dimensions, the largest dimension of which grind 2 is greater than one millimeter. Advantageously, the largest dimension of grind 2 is less than seven millimeters. Alternatively, grind 2 may be a powder resulting from a micronization operation. In this case, the largest dimension of grind 2 is less than one millimeter. The reduction into powder makes it possible to consider incorporating a greater proportion of ground material 2 into capsule 1 more easily in the process.We then increase the recycling rate.

[0030] According to the invention, the process is suitable for treating articles 20 composed of a mix of materials of different nature. For example, as indicated previously, a shoe generally comprises a sole incorporating an elastomeric material 21 and an upper composed of a non-elastomeric material 22. Thus, the claimed process allows treatment of any type of shoe without worrying about the composition of the shoe. This simplifies the process because there is no need for a step of identifying the materials used in the shoe and a sorting step following this identification.

[0031] Alternatively, the invention also relates to a process treating shoes each composed of the same type of material. However, in this case, at least two shoes not made of the same type of material will be introduced into the hopper.

[0032] Alternatively, the two previous configurations can be mixed.

[0033] The advantage of these three configurations is that they do not have to worry about the nature of the material of the articles being treated, in this case shoes, which saves a sorting step prior to the process.

[0034] At the end of grinding step a), a ground material 2 is therefore obtained, composed of a mix of materials of different natures.

[0035] According to one embodiment, at least one ground article 20 does not comprise any family of material greater than 50% by weight.

[0036] According to one embodiment, the process may comprise a step, prior to step a), consisting of removing the metallic or too hard to grind parts from the article. Indeed, the metallic or hard parts can damage the cutting tool. In addition, these metallic parts risk polluting the capsules for which it is not desirable to incorporate portions of metal into these capsules. For example, this removal can be done by mechanical cutting.

[0037] According to one embodiment, the process may comprise a step, subsequent to step a), consisting of removing the metallic parts from the ground material obtained, before step b) of mixing the ground material with a support matrix. It is possible, for example, to envisage the use of magnets or eddy currents to separate the metallic components and non-metallic components of the ground material.

[0038] According to the invention, the process comprises a step b) of mixing the ground material 2 of articles with a support matrix 3 in order to obtain a mixture 4.

[0039] During this step, the support matrix 3 used is advantageously composed of one of the following materials: - an elastomeric material such as natural rubber (NR), synthetic rubber such as Isoprene (IR), Butadiene (BR), Styrene-Butadiene (SBR), Nitrile (NBR), or Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate (EVA), - a thermoplastic such as PolyAmide (PA), PolyEthylene (PE), Poly-Carbonate (PC), PolyPropylene (PP), PolyESter (PES), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Thermoplastic PolyUrethane (TPU), - a Polyurethane (PU, PUR),

[0040] Advantageously, the support matrix 3 is made up of the majority material in the articles 20 used to produce the ground materials 2. Indeed, this allows for better cohesion when mixing materials of the same nature.

[0041] The support matrix 3 makes it possible to encapsulate the ground materials 2 in order to give them a structure taking the form of a capsule 1. This structuring will facilitate the handling, storage and use of the ground materials, integrated into the capsules, in a subsequent manufacturing process with a view to reusing the material of the ground materials in a new product. The support matrix 3 will therefore provide structural cohesion sufficient to the mixture 4 of the ground materials 2 and the support matrix 3 to achieve these objectives. The higher the proportion of matrix 3, the better the structural cohesion of the capsule 1 as well as its inherent mechanical characteristics. Conversely, the higher the proportion of ground materials 2, the better the ecological impact of the process on the recycling of products since we will have a better ratio of reuse of ground materials. However, in the latter case, the inherent mechanical characteristics of the capsule 1 will be less good. It is therefore necessary to find the right compromise depending on the recycling objective and the performance of the components that we wish to manufacture from these capsules.

[0042] During a final transformation step, these capsules 1 will be reused to manufacture new products. They will then be mixed with other “virgin” materials, i.e. non-recycled materials, then this new mixture will be shaped to obtain the component of the new product.

[0043] For a component that will be used in low demand, we can aim for a rate of use of ground materials 2 of between 20 and 60% for the final stage of transformation of the capsules 1. This means that the rate of ground materials in the capsule will depend on the rate of capsules used during the final stage of transformation. For example, if we aim for a rate of ground material of 30% in the final component with a use of 60% of capsules, then we must aim for a rate of ground material of 50% for the capsules.

[0044] For a component that may be in demand, we can aim for a rate of use of ground material 2 of less than 15% for the final stage of transformation of the capsules 1 in order to maintain the mechanical characteristics of the correct part. This will result in a very low rate of ground material for the capsules if virgin material has to be added. In this case, the recycling rate will be very low.

[0045] According to one embodiment, the encapsulation step c) consists of extruding the mixture 4 from step b). This operation is conventional. The mixture 4 is introduced into a sheath. The material of the mixture is then plasticized by the simultaneous action of the rotation of a worm screw and a system of heating collars. This means that the plastic material is heated and kneaded until a homogeneous and moldable texture is obtained. The rotation of the worm screw then pushes the material through the extrusion head of the machine. Then the specific extrusion tool, the die, comes into play, which will give the material its final shape.

[0046] According to one embodiment, the die makes it possible to extrude a circular wire with a diameter of between three and six millimeters, this dimension making it possible to obtain an extrusion profile 11 having good resistance due to the nature of the ground material used.

[0047] According to the invention, the process comprises a step d) of cutting the extruded profile 11 into injection granules 12.

[0048] The extruded profile 11 or the injection granules are both examples of capsule 1.

[0049] Other extrusion processes or other settings can be envisaged to obtain these injection granules 12 with ground materials 2 as defined previously.

[0050] Once the injection granules 12 have been made, they can then be used to inject other components of a new shoe or another category of consumer articles.

[0051] The invention is not limited to the embodiments previously described. It is also possible to combine these embodiments. The invention extends to all embodiments covered by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims

1. Capsule (1) comprising ground materials (2) of articles (20) integrated in a support matrix (3), the ground materials being composed of a mix of elastomeric materials (21) and non-elastomeric materials (22).

2. Capsule (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elastomer material (21) is one of: - natural rubber (NR), - a synthetic rubber such as Isoprene (IR), Butadiene (BR), Styrene-Butadiene (SBR), Nitrile (NBR), - an Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate (EVA).

3. Capsule (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the non-elastomeric material (22) is one of: - a thermoplastic such as PolyAmide (PA), PolyEthylene (PE), PolyCarbonate (PC), PolyPropylene (PP), PolyESter (PES), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Thermoplastic PolyUrethane (TPU), - a PolyUrethane (PU, PUR), - a natural material other than rubber such as cork, wool, leather, algae, - a so-called "bio-manufactured" material, a material made from biological organisms (mycelium, bacteria, etc.).

4. Capsule (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support matrix (3) is a following material: - an elastomeric material such as natural rubber (NR), synthetic rubber such as Isoprene (IR), Butadiene (BR), Styrene-Butadiene (SBR), Nitrile (NBR), or Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate (EVA). - a thermoplastic material such as PolyAmide (PA), PolyEthylene (PE), PolyCarbonate (PC), PolyPropylene (PP), PolyESter (PES), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Thermoplastic PolyUrethane (TPU), - a PolyUrethane (PU, PUR)

5. A method of manufacturing a capsule (1) as defined in claims 1 to 4, the method comprising at least: a. a step of grinding several articles (20) composed of various materials so that the ground materials (2) obtained incorporate at least a mix of elastomeric materials (21) and non-elastomeric materials (22), b. a step of mixing the ground materials (2) of articles with a support matrix (3), c. an encapsulation step making it possible to integrate the ground materials (2) into the support matrix (3) in the form of a capsule (1) having structural cohesion.

6. Method for manufacturing a capsule (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that at least one article ground in step a) is composed of a mix of elastomeric materials and non-elastomeric materials.

7. Method of manufacturing a capsule (1) according to the preceding claim characterized in that said ground article does not comprise any family of material greater than 50% by weight of said ground article.

8. Method for manufacturing a capsule (1) according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the encapsulation step c) consists of extruding the mixture from step b) to form a profile (11) and then cutting the extruded profile into injection granules (12).

9. Method for manufacturing a capsule (1) according to one of claims 5 to 8 comprising a step d) consisting of removing metal parts from the article or from the ground material, - either before step a) of grinding, - or before step b) of mixing the ground material of the article with a support matrix.

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