How to dispose of carpet waste

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for processing a carpet product comprising face yarns and a backing material that embeds the lower part of the face yarns, using an apparatus comprising a container for containing at least a portion of the carpet product, the container having a bottom wall and a top wall connected to an upright wall, and at least one rotating crank disposed within the container, the upright wall having a de-laminating device disposed around the rotating crank, the de-laminating device having protrusions on the upright wall that extend from the wall toward the rotating crank inside the container, the method comprising: feeding at least a portion of the carpet product into the container; and rotating the rotating crank to cause at least a portion of the carpet product to advance along the protrusions to de-laminate the carpet product into a first piece comprising at least a portion of the face yarns and a second piece comprising at least a portion of the backing material.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a method for treating carpet product waste to enable recycling of its constituent materials, particularly at least its face yarns and backing material. In particular, the present invention relates to the treatment of post-consumer carpet products, but does not exclude the treatment of newly manufactured but surplus (and therefore unused) carpet products (also referred to as post-manufacturing waste or pre-consumer types). [Background technology]

[0002] Carpet products (also simply referred to as "carpet"), such as broadloom carpets, carpet tiles, mats, rugs, and runners, are commonly used to cover floors, walls, and the interiors of cars, airplanes, boats, etc., to provide a comfortable feel and pleasing appearance. Machine-made carpet products typically comprise, as their basic component, a textile (fabric) sheet as a primary backing to which polymer yarns are (loosely) bonded, the yarns constituting the surface of the product. For example, most carpets are manufactured by sewing (which term includes weaving) polymer yarns to a primary backing to form a pile of polymer yarns that protrude from the top surface of the backing. These yarns, called surface fibers, can be cut into shorter lengths or inserted uncut. In the latter case, the carpet has a looped appearance, with the fibers being of infinite length throughout the entire length of the carpet. In the former case, the carpet has a velour-like appearance, with the surface fibers having a limited length of a few millimeters to a few centimeters. The opposite side of the carpet surface typically contains a polymer adhesive or other embedded backing material, such as latex, cross-linkable polymer, or hot melt adhesive, to durably bond the yarns to the primary (often fabric) backing and simultaneously form a durable carpet backing. Regarding secondary backings, also known as "backcoatings" or "heavy layers," such backings are typically used to improve the carpet's mechanical properties, such as its dimensional stability. The secondary backing may be, for example, a bituminous layer; a layer of a melt-soluble polymer, such as PVC, PU, ​​or PO; a plastic sheet; a polymer foam; or a fibrous sheet containing polymer yarns (such as a high-density felt layer); or various rubber types, such as, but not limited to, SBR or NBR rubber.

[0003] Carpet products are used everywhere, including homes, offices, cars, airplanes, and schools. Thus, post-consumer carpet is one of the largest sources of waste streams in the world. Therefore, proper recycling of carpet products (carpets and carpet parts) is of utmost importance to provide new carpet products in a sustainable manner. Numerous methods for manufacturing carpets with the aim of making them recyclable have been mentioned in the art.

[0004] EP 747525 (BASF) describes a recyclable carpet product made from a backing with protruding tufts (preferably made of the same material as the backing), where a thermoplastic substrate carrier is bonded to the backside of the primary backing with a hot melt adhesive (HMA). The backing and tufts are made from materials such as nylon, polyolefin, and / or polyester, and the thermoplastic carrier is made from materials such as polyolefin, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), and / or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The HMA is applied to the backside of the primary backing to hold the tufts in place and act as a buffer between the backing and the carrier, and is therefore selected to be compatible with the polymers of the backing and carrier. The carpet can be recycled by heating it to a temperature sufficient to soften the HMA again, but below the melting point of the polymers of the tufted backing and carrier substrate, so that the carpet separates into its two constituent layers.

[0005] U.S. Patent No. 5,538,776 (Hoechst Celanese) describes a recyclable thermoplastic tufted carpet made of a primary backing with tufts and a secondary backing attached to the primary backing with a layer of polyester hot melt adhesive. The HMA replaces the latex adhesive (see column 2, lines 50-51), and the tufts, primary backing, HMA, and secondary backing are made from a single thermoplastic polymer, preferably polyester. Therefore, the carpet can be recycled by known methods, such as processes for recycling polyester by glycolysis or methanolysis and / or extrusion, and the specific recycling process for doing so depends on the type of polyester.

[0006] EP 1598476 (Klieverik Heli) describes a method for producing a backing as an intermediate for making carpet, in which the backing does not use latex to secure the fibers (yarns) in place. The backing comprises a sheet having a pile of thermoplastic fibers sewn through its thickness and protruding from its upper surface. The backing is fed along a heated roller surface (fibers facing upward), and its underside is pressed against the roller to melt the fibers. This method offers the advantage that the intermediate backing can be easily recycled, since the fibers and backing sheet can be made from the same polymer. There is no incompatible latex penetrating the fiber pile (see paragraph

[0003] ). However, this method still has some drawbacks. The fibers are not yet sufficiently fixed to the backing for use in many applications, for example, where the fibers are subjected to high mechanical loads (e.g., inside cars, trains, airplanes, offices, stores, etc.). Thus, actually producing carpet from the intermediate backing described by Klieverik still requires the application of additional (incompatible) adhesives or latexes to the underside of the backing and / or extensive impregnation of the HMA into the carpet pile and backing to provide sufficient adhesion with the HMA alone. The presence of such incompatible materials and / or embedded HMA means that such carpet products are difficult to recycle.

[0007] WO 2012 / 076348 (Niaga) describes a method for producing carpets with improved yarn anchorage strength. In this method, the relative speed of a first yarn-supporting sheet is adjusted to apply additional mechanical force in the machine direction between the sheet and the surface as it is pressed against a heated surface. This stretches the yarn material while it is still molten, resulting in a stronger bond between the first sheet and the yarn. The use of reactive adhesives has also been proposed. However, while reactive adhesives provide strong bonds and can be recycled (unlike latex), their use results in textile products with suboptimal mechanical properties. A further drawback of using chemically reactive adhesives is that both the components to be joined and the adhesive must share reactive groups. Therefore, the polymers used to make the primary backing and / or tufts likely require additional chemical modification, as standard commercially available polymers may not contain the necessary functional groups suitable for use with reactive adhesives.

[0008] WO 2014 / 198731 (DSM IP Assets BV) describes a method for producing carpets based on known technology from WO 2012 / 076348 (Niaga), with the proviso that a hot-melt adhesive is used on the back of the primary backing, primarily to bond the primary backing to a secondary backing to form a laminate. The patent publication recognizes that this opens the door to using the same (chemical) type of polymer for the yarn and the adhesive (page 22, first two paragraphs). It states that if the melting points of these materials are comparable, the materials can be recycled together and no separation is necessary. However, in carpet products, the yarns of the fiber sheet generally must fully meet other requirements (high durability, resilience, stain resistance, etc.) that differ from those of the polymer used in the adhesive (good adhesive properties and easy application at relatively low temperatures). This means that the polymer used for the fibers typically has a high molecular weight (Mw > 50,000 g / mol, thus 5 × 10 4This explains why these adhesives have a molecular weight (Mw) of over 35,000 g / mol, or even over 75,000 g / mol, and a melting point in the range of 180-300°C (typically 220-280°C). The polymers used as adhesives are a completely different class of polyesters. These adhesives are low molecular weight materials (Mw less than 35,000 g / mol, typically between 15,000 and 30,000 g / mol) and have melting points in the range of 50-150°C. Their viscosity is typically very low, at temperatures of around 100-160°C, allowing the adhesive to be applied at temperatures well below the melting point of the yarn material. Following the teachings of WO 2014 / 198731, these materials cannot be recycled together; separation is required, making the recycling process relatively complex.

[0009] In summary, the art describes several methods for producing carpets that can be easily recycled, but this means that complex new manufacturing techniques must be applied, and does not provide a solution for recycling the millions of square meters of carpet products produced by conventional methods.

[0010] Thus, methods are available in the art for treating carpet waste, which aim to separate the various constituent materials, particularly the face yarns and (secondary) backing materials, to the greatest extent possible, resulting in a waste stream of relatively pure material that can be used as starting material for new applications.

[0011] WO 2018 / 035565 (Collins) provides a method for recycling carpet products, which includes contacting a polymer composite with a composition containing an organic solvent that is absorbed into one or both of the polymer and the substrate, wherein the organic solvent-containing composition does not dissolve either the polymer or the substrate, and contacting the polymer composite with a liquid that has a temperature higher than the boiling point of the organic solvent-containing composition used in the process, does not dissolve either the polymer or the substrate, and whose action promotes separation between the polymer and the substrate. The use of organic solvents and high temperatures complicates the process, but is not disadvantageous from an environmental point of view.

[0012] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017 / 0305038 (Broadview Group International LLC) discloses a process for recovering various components from waste carpet products, which involves applying mechanical force to the carpet product to break the bond between the carpet adhesive and the surface fiber material. A centrifugal screening device is then used to separate the surface fiber material from the adhesive, recovering a low-ash fiber product from the carpet product. This method has the disadvantage that the separation between the face yarn and the secondary backing is relatively incomplete and the process cannot be performed continuously due to the need for periodic cleaning of the screen.

[0013] US Patent Application Publication No. 20190233609 (Fraunhofer Gesellschaft) discloses a method for recycling carpet products containing polyolefin-containing waste by using a solvent with specific Hansen parameters and contacting the mixture with a liquid filter aid before separating the polyolefin from the mixture. Again, the use of solvents is undesirable from an environmental point of view, and this method is only suitable for processing very specific carpet products, i.e., those based on polyolefin polymers. A similar method is known, for example, from US Patent No. 9,284,431.

[0014] U.S. Patent No. 6,752,336 (Johnsonville Acquisition) discloses a method for recovering carpet material by breaking down carpet products into reduced-size fibers, slurrying the reduced-size fibers in a liquid medium, and then selectively separating the reduced-size fibers in a centrifuge. This method has very limited applicability, namely, for recovering nylon or polyester face fibers from post-manufacturing and pre-consumer carpet waste.

[0015] U.S. Patent No. 5,535,945 (Shred-Tech Ltd.) discloses a process for recovering a portion of the polymeric fibers from post-consumer carpet products, which process involves shredding the post-consumer carpet into strips, disintegrating the carpet strips to produce a mixture of recovered fibers and discarded backing material, and then separating a majority of the fibers from the backing material. The carpet strips are disintegrated by impacting the carpet strips against an anvil structure having hammer elements using a hammer mill. Separation into the various component materials is relatively incomplete.

[0016] EP 3816345 (New Wave by Innovations BV) discloses a process for breaking down waste materials such as flooring using a chamber with an upright wall provided with sieve openings and at least two upright shafts with at least one arm extending transversely of each axis into the chamber. The arms rotate to cut the product introduced into the chamber, thereby separating the composite material and reducing the product to a pure waste stream. However, this process is not well suited to processing carpet products. Apparently, the embedding of the lower (inner) portions of the face yarns by the backing material (the yarns form loops within the primary backing) does not allow for sufficient separation of these face yarns from the backing material using the simple "kitchen blender-like" technique of EP 3816345. Another drawback of the known method is that while the carpet is mostly fragmented, the different components are not sufficiently separated from each other. This is particularly problematic for carpets backed with an elastic layer, such as dust control carpets or loop-pile carpet tiles in which the yarns are essentially endless. Another disadvantage of carpet processing is the presence of a sieve, which simultaneously removes the short face yarns, backing adhesive, and small pieces from the carpet and mixes them together in the chamber, requiring periodic cleaning due to material buildup. Another disadvantage is that large carpet fragments and bundles of loop-pile carpet fibers are generated that cannot be extracted with the sieve. Therefore, another disadvantage is that the process cannot be run continuously and the machine must be opened each time to extract the resulting mixture of materials, significantly affecting process costs.

[0017] Therefore, there remains a need for improved processes for treating carpet products to attempt to separate a greater portion of the face yarns from the (secondary) backing material. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0018] [Patent Document 1] European Patent Application Publication No. 747525 [Patent Document 2] U.S. Patent No. 5,538,776 [Patent Document 3] European Patent Application Publication No. 1598476 [Patent Document 4] International Publication No. 2012 / 076348 [Patent Document 5] International Publication No. 2014 / 198731 [Patent Document 6] International Publication No. 2018 / 035565 [Patent Document 7] US Patent Application Publication No. 2017 / 0305038 [Patent Document 8] US Patent Application Publication No. 2019 / 0233609 [Patent Document 9] U.S. Patent No. 9,284,431 [Patent Document 10] U.S. Patent No. 6,752,336 [Patent Document 11] U.S. Patent No. 5,535,945 [Patent Document 12] European Patent Application Publication No. 3816345 Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0019] In order to achieve the objects of the present invention, a method has been devised for processing a carpet product comprising face yarns and a backing material that embeds the lower part of the face yarns, using an apparatus comprising a container for containing at least a portion of the carpet product, the container having a bottom wall and a top wall connected to an upright wall, and at least one rotating crank disposed within the container, the upright wall having a de-laminating device disposed around the rotating crank, the de-laminating device having protrusions on the upright wall extending from the wall toward the at least one rotating crank inside the container, the method comprising: feeding at least a portion of the carpet product into the container; and rotating the rotating crank to cause the carpet product to advance along the protrusions to de-laminate the carpet product into a first piece comprising at least a portion of the face yarns and a second piece comprising at least a portion of the backing material.

[0020] Surprisingly, it has been found that carpet products can be processed to sufficiently separate the face yarn from the heavy backing material by adding a delaminating device with protrusions mounted on the upright wall of the apparatus's container, as disclosed in EP-A-3816345. Clearly, in the case of carpet products, the delaminating action between the two rotating cranks known from EP-A-3816345 is very insufficient. By adding the protrusions, a very good delaminating action is induced around the cranks, particularly in the space between the protrusions and the end of the crank (usually provided with a knife or knife-like structure). A concomitant advantage is that only one crank is required for the delaminating action, which means that a less complex apparatus can be constructed. It was quite surprising to find that a less complex apparatus can process more complex materials more effectively.

[0021] definition A carpet product is a product that has as its basic component a typically fibrous primary backing into which the face yarns are sewn (i.e., tufted, woven, or by any other means) to mechanically bond the face yarns to the primary backing, and the lower (rear) ends of the face yarns at the locations where they are bonded to the primary backing (and thus opposite the surface visible from the outside of the carpet) are embedded in a secondary backing (commonly referred to in the art as a "backing") to securely fasten the face yarns to the carpet product. The backing is often made of a heavy, durable material, such as a bituminous layer, a rubber layer, a layer in the form of a thermoplastic polymer or foam, or a fabric material impregnated with an adhesive.

[0022] Cut pile carpet products are essentially carpet products in which the pile yarns are cut at the top surface so that the yarns form loops in the backing and the two cut ends terminate at the top surface of the carpet.

[0023] A protrusion is an extension from a normal surface, and refers to a shape that protrudes or projects from the surface so that the extension appears to be a deformation of the underlying surface itself.

[0024] The cutting edge is a sharp edge suitable for cutting material by contacting and advancing the material along the cutting edge. Typically, a sharp edge has an acute angle (thus, 90° or less), preferably 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20° or less. The BESS (Brubacher Edge Sharpness Scale) value is preferably less than 2000 grams, preferably less than 1000 grams, or even less than 500 grams.

[0025] A semi-continuously run process means that the process is designed to run continuously in principle, so that no interruptions are necessary to run the process continuously, but the process can be stopped or interrupted, for example for maintenance, repairs or voluntary interruptions, for example due to a shortage of input material or a sufficiency of produced end material.

[0026] Further embodiments of the present invention In a first further embodiment of the method of the present invention, the wall is impermeable to the first fragments at least in the portion adjacent to the rotating crank. In EP 3816345 A1, sieves are used at the crank height, through which light fragments of the product being treated are removed from the chamber. However, when treating carpet material, it has been found that small portions of the heavy backing material also pass through these sieves, posing a serious risk of being mixed in with the light (yarn) fragments. Using sieves with smaller mesh sizes could be a solution, but at a level where the backing material no longer passes through the sieve, there is an increased risk of the sieve becoming clogged with accumulated yarn material in front of the sieve. This means that the process must be periodically interrupted to clean the sieve, which can be prevented in this embodiment. By removing yarn fragments at a higher height in the chamber, and therefore no longer passing through the sieve at crank height, the risk of parts of the backing material moving along with the lighter fragments is reduced or even eliminated, and therefore configurations less prone to clogging (e.g., sieves with larger mesh sizes, or simple vacuum tubes, etc.) can be used. Preferably, the entire upright wall is impermeable to the first fragments, thus eliminating the need for any sieve (in the wall). This completely solves the problem of sieve clogging and / or parts of the backing becoming mixed in with the yarn fragments.

[0027] In one embodiment, the projections extend into the container to a length of 2 to 40 mm, preferably 5 to 30 mm, such as 10 to 20 mm. It has been found that a length of 2 to 40 mm is ideally suited for treating carpet products, although longer projections up to 20 or 30 cm in length can be used, for example 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 or 30 cm.

[0028] In yet another embodiment of the method according to the present invention, the first fragments are removed from the container by using a first suction unit having an inlet opening above the rotating crank to suck the air containing the first fragments through the inlet opening of the first suction unit, thereby removing the first fragments from the container. If turbulence is kept low by using a simple suction unit, such as a suction tube positioned above the rotating crank, i.e., by preventing the crank from rotating at a very high speed, the first fragments remain (almost completely) unmixed with the secondary backing, which, due to their typical weight, remains at the bottom of the container. The critical crank speed depends on the type of carpet product (heavier backings allow for higher speeds) and can be easily found by routine experimentation. In a further embodiment, the inlet opening of the suction unit is located at the end of the suction tube extending from the wall of the chamber toward its center. This minimizes the risk of secondary backing becoming entrained in the yarn fragments and minimizes the need to control the crank speed to adjust the air turbulence.

[0029] Correspondingly, a second suction unit having an inlet opening below the rotating crank is used to remove the second fragments from the container by sucking the air containing the second fragments through the inlet opening of the second suction unit, thereby removing the second fragments from the container. In the prior art (EP 3816345 A1), heavy fragments that cannot be removed by sieving must be removed from the top of the container by a suction tube. This requires very high turbulence within the container; otherwise, the heavy fragments would not move to the top of the chamber. However, high turbulence can lead to the mixing of different fragments, which is detrimental to ease of recycling. By having an arrangement in which part of the backing can be removed from the bottom, much less turbulence is required, thus reducing the risk of mixing various fragments. Furthermore, the need for intermittent cleaning of the bottom of the container is eliminated, thus allowing the process to be run semi-continuously.

[0030] In yet a further embodiment, the projections comprise cutting devices, in particular cutting edges, and the carpet product is delaminated by cutting the carpet product as it moves along the cutting device. Although blunt projections will also provide delamination of the carpet product, it has been found that cutting devices, in particular cutting edges, are advantageous in significantly increasing the efficiency of the process.

[0031] In yet another embodiment, the protrusions are arranged in rows perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the container, in rows parallel to the circumferential direction of the container, both perpendicular and parallel to the circumferential direction, and / or at an angle to the circumferential direction, and the protrusions are optionally arranged equidistant from each other.

[0032] In yet another embodiment, the loosening device is provided on the upright wall at a height of the upright wall, at least substantially between 1 / 4 and 3 / 4 of the height of the upright wall, preferably at least substantially between 1 / 3 and 2 / 3 of the height of the upright wall.

[0033] Preferably, during rotation of the rotating crank, the rotating crank passes from the protrusion at a distance ranging from 0.5 cm to 25 cm, for example, from 1 cm to 20 cm, or from 1 to 10 cm, or from 2 cm to 5 cm. Above 25 cm, the de-laminating efficiency decreases to a level that is unfavorable for the economy of use of the process. Below 0.5 cm, the carpet product needs to be shredded into very small pieces before entering the chamber to prevent the crank from clogging. Shredding into small pieces is energetically unfavorable and poses the risk of overheating (and partially melting) the carpet product.

[0034] In one embodiment, the rotating crank is substantially flat to minimize turbulence at the bottom of the vessel to avoid mixing of different portions of the loosened carpet. Flat in this sense means that the height (or thickness) is less than 15%, preferably less than 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1% of the maximum length and width dimensions (length and width extending in a two-dimensional plane).

[0035] In another embodiment, two rotating cranks are disposed within the container, which are rotated in the same plane. It has been found that by disposing the two rotating cranks in the same plane, the cranks can be used to shred the carpet product into smaller pieces. In this way, the shredding operation can be performed on all or most of the product within the container itself, as needed, rather than at a remote processing station before the product is fed into the container. Preferably, the rotating cranks rotate in the same direction. The latter has been found to result in an improved shredding operation.

[0036] In yet another embodiment of the method according to the invention, each protrusion has substantially the same distance to the rotating crank facing said protrusion.

[0037] Preferably, the process is semi-continuous, so that carpet product is substantially continuously fed into the chamber (e.g., broadloom carpet, or pieces of mats, runners, etc.) and the first and second pieces are continuously removed from the chamber, although the second piece may also be removed for a defined period of time.

[0038] While this method can still be effective at high humidity percentages, such as 50, 60, 70% by weight or even higher, it has been found to be advantageous to provide the carpet product while having a humidity of up to 40% by weight, such as 35, 30, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1% by weight or less.

[0039] In one embodiment, the carpet product is supplied with a longest dimension of up to 50 cm, preferably up to 40, 30, 25, 20, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 cm or less.

[0040] In yet another embodiment, the carpet product is a cut pile carpet product. It has been found that the present method is ideally suited to treating cut pile carpet, and therefore carpet in which the face yarns are cut and not endless as is the case with woven carpet.

[0041] Further aspects of the method and apparatus for treating carpet products are described in this application as follows.

[0042] As mentioned above, a method and apparatus for treating waste materials in general is disclosed in EP 3816345 A1. The apparatus includes a chamber having an upright wall, the upright wall being provided with a plurality of sieve sections. The sieve sections are distributed on the upright wall and disposed at an inclined angle relative to the circumferential direction of the chamber. The apparatus further includes at least two rotating arms disposed at a lower portion of the chamber. A portion of the waste material containing a plurality of materials is torn by placing the portion of the waste material between the at least two rotating arms. The torn portion of the waste material is then thrown by the at least two rotating arms against the plurality of sieve sections to separate a first stream containing a first material of the plurality of materials from the torn portion of the waste material.

[0043]

[0006] Apparatuses for treating waste known from the state of the art can be further optimized by improving the separation of a first material from a plurality of materials, further reducing the flow of residue of the first material that is not separated from the plurality of materials and remains inside the chamber and needs to be removed. This results in non-separable waste that needs to be burned or collected as a waste pile, for example. Therefore, improved methods and apparatuses for treating waste are needed, and more specifically, one object of the present invention is to provide improved methods and apparatuses for treating waste that reduce non-separated waste in the apparatus for treating waste.

[0044] In a first further aspect, an apparatus for treating waste is disclosed, the waste comprising a plurality of materials, the apparatus comprising: a container for receiving a portion of the waste, the container having an upright wall, the upright wall comprising a sieving device and a disintegrating device; and at least two rotating cranks located adjacent to each other at a lower portion of the container and arranged to rotate in a common plane of rotation, the at least two rotating cranks for disintegrating the portion of the waste into disintegrated portions of waste by placing the portion of the waste between the at least two rotating cranks, the disintegrating device disintegrating the disintegrated portions of waste into disintegrated portions of waste. and a sieving device is positioned around the rotating crank to disintegrate the waste into pieces, the disintegrating device being arranged in a pattern on the upright walls, extending into the inside of the container and having protrusions for disintegrating the torn pieces of waste; the sieving device is positioned around the rotating crank, the sieving device having a plurality of sieve sections, the sieve sections being distributed on the upright walls and arranged at an inclined angle with respect to the circumferential direction of the container, and arranged so that the first stream containing a first material of the plurality of materials is separated from the torn and disintegrated pieces of waste by throwing the torn and disintegrated pieces of waste against the plurality of sieve sections by the at least two rotating cranks.

[0045] The waste materials processed by the device according to the present disclosure can include multiple materials. Thus, the device can be configured to process a chemical mixture of multiple materials, which may be the same or different, may have different densities, specific weights, and / or different surface-to-weight ratios. For example, two or more of the multiple materials include components attached to each other. For example, the device can be configured or designed to process multi-layered waste. An example of this is a laminate. The waste is composed of one or more layers selected from, for example, plastic flakes, rubber, foam, cellulose fibers, and / or fabrics. In a further example, a first material of the multiple materials includes fibers, and the fibers are synthetic fibers such as polyethylene fibers and / or natural fibers such as paper, cotton, hemp, or jute. Furthermore, the multiple materials can include a low specific weight material and a high specific weight component fluid. The high specific weight component typically includes rigid plastic (PVC) and / or rubber. The low specific weight component typically includes plastic flakes such as polyethylene or polyethylene terephthalate flakes. Additionally, waste materials may typically contain high specific weight impurities such as stone and / or metal parts.

[0046] The container has a lower bottom for receiving a portion of the waste, an upright wall, and an upper portion that can be opened and closed by a cover. When viewed from above, the container may be hexagonal and / or made of steel.

[0047] The upright wall of the container may include a sieving device having multiple sieving sections adjacent to the refining device having multiple refining sections. In one embodiment, the upright wall includes wall sections, each of which is removably connected to the upright wall, and each wall section includes a sieving section and / or a refining section. In particular, each wall section includes a steel plate, and the sieving section and / or the refining section is housed thereon or therein. The size of the wall section is typically, but not limited to, 200 x 200 mm.

[0048] The rotating cranks, particularly one, two, or three, are located in the lower portion of the container. The rotating cranks are located adjacent to one another and are arranged to rotate in a common rotation plane at least substantially parallel to the bottom of the container. Each rotating crank is rotatably coupled to an upright shaft, and each upright shaft extends into the container at least substantially parallel to the upright wall. The rotating cranks extend into the container transversely to their respective upright shafts.

[0049] A set of two (or more) rotating cranks is arranged to tear the waste portion into torn waste portions by placing the waste portion between at least two rotating cranks. The two rotating cranks of a pair tear large components apart, and the friction created between the rotating cranks tears various interconnected components, such as multiple materials including fibers attached to each other to other materials, including low specific weight materials such as plastic flakes and high specific weight materials such as rubber.

[0050] Preferably, each rotating crank comprises a fixed crank element and a disposable chopping tip or chopping knife, the chopping tips being preferably configurable in position on the crank so that the mutual distance between the free ends of the tips of two adjacent rotating cranks can be in the range of 1 cm to 10 cm, preferably 1 cm to 5 cm, although in a preferred configuration the mutual distance is set to about 5 cm.

[0051] Furthermore, during the waste disposal process, the larger components of the interconnected material are torn into smaller components, and the longer the components of the interconnected material are placed between the at least two rotating cranks, the smaller the components become in size, and upon tearing, the first material, such as fibers, is separated from the plurality of materials.

[0052] The inventor's idea was to provide the apparatus with an additional disentangling device that is located around the rotating crank and includes protrusions arranged in a pattern on the upright wall and extending inside the container to disentangle the torn portions of the waste into torn and disentangled portions of the waste. The disentangling device is arranged to generate friction on the torn portions of the waste by swinging the torn portions of the waste against the protrusions by at least two rotating cranks to disentangle the torn portions of the waste. The protrusions extend inside the container, for example, but not limited to, a distance of 5 mm to 30 mm.

[0053] The main function of the disintegrating device is to further disintegrate mutually attached components of material into smaller components of mutually attached material and / or to separate the first material from the plurality of materials during the waste treatment process. It was discovered that the waste treatment process can be made much more efficient by using a disintegrating device to further disintegrate the torn portions of the waste in addition to a rotating crank to tear portions of the waste. The advantage of the device according to the present invention is that, compared to arrangements known in the state of the art, the first material is more effectively and efficiently separated from the plurality of materials, leaving less inseparable waste that needs to be burned or collected in a waste pile.

[0054] A further advantage of the device is that less energy is transferred from the rotating crank to the material than in arrangements known from the state of the art. Advantageously, less power is required to drive the rotating crank and less heat is generated (due to friction) in the vessel compared to arrangements known from the state of the art. This results in a more energy-efficient arrangement, less degradation due to heat generated in the vessel and improved fire resistance in the waste treatment process.

[0055] The sieving device may be located around the rotating crank, with the sieving portions of the sieving device being distributed on the upright wall and preferably arranged at an inclination angle of up to 5 degrees relative to the circumferential direction of the container.

[0056] Rotation of the rotating crank generates an air flow around the rotating crank, defining an air flow direction within the container. Each sieve section has a downstream portion downstream in the air flow direction and an upstream portion upstream in the air flow direction, with the downstream edge of each sieve section extending further into the container than the upstream edge of each sieve section. This reduces the risk of material being trapped and / or accumulating in the sieve sections.

[0057] The first material, such as fibers, passes through a sieve in the sieving device and is collected outside the container, thereby separating the first stream of the first material from the shredded and defibrated portions of the waste. The remaining materials of the plurality of materials, including low specific weight materials and high specific weight materials, remain inside the container. Impurities typically present in the high specific weight waste also remain inside the container.

[0058] In one example, at least two cranks are arranged to generate thermal turbulence for separating additional materials from the plurality of materials into a second stream of low specific gravity materials and a third stream of high specific gravity materials. The third stream of high specific gravity materials can advantageously be collected at and removed from the bottom of the vessel. By dispersing the remaining materials from the plurality of materials with the turbulence generated by the at least two rotating cranks, the second stream of low specific gravity materials can swirl and rise within the vessel and be collected at and removed from the top of the vessel.

[0059] In one example, the protrusion comprises a rod extending into the interior of the container. The rod, preferably made of metal, is fixedly or removably attached to the loosening portion and extends into the interior of the container at least substantially perpendicular to the upright wall, for example, in the range of 15 mm to 30 mm. For example, the rod is cylindrical. In another example, the protrusion comprises a welded protrusion extending into the interior of the container. The welded protrusion is adapted to roughen the surface of the sieve portion inside the container, and extends into the interior of the container for example, in the range of 5 mm to 15 mm.

[0060] In one example, the protrusion comprises a cutting device. For example, the protrusion is one of a knife having a cutting edge or blade extending inside the container and a rod extending inside the container, at least one longitudinal edge of the protrusion comprising a cutting edge or blade, the cutting edge or blade being positioned to receive the torn portions of the waste, and the cutting edge or blade being oriented upstream in the airflow direction to break up the torn portions of the waste by cutting them into smaller components. This is particularly useful, for example, for breaking up large, dense components contained in the waste, such as shoes, especially safety shoes with steel toe caps, into smaller components.

[0061] In one example, the protrusions are arranged in rows perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the container, in rows parallel to the circumferential direction of the container, or both, and it is optional for the protrusions to be arranged equidistant from one another.

[0062] In a further example, the disintegration device comprises a plurality of disintegration sections, the protrusions are removably coupled to the plurality of disintegration sections, and / or the length of the protrusions is adjustable. This can be beneficial as the disintegration device can be adjusted for different types of waste, thereby adjusting the amount of friction on the torn sections of waste, the number of protrusions on each disintegration section can be adjusted, the protrusions on each disintegration section can be arranged in different patterns, for example in a row or a matrix, the distance between the next protrusions can be adjusted, and / or the length of each protrusion can be adjusted.

[0063] In one example, the sieving section and the loosening section can be provided at different positions within the upright wall and / or at different heights of the upright wall. The loosening device can be provided, for example, at a corner of the container, for example a corner of a hexagonal container.

[0064] In one example, the sieving device is provided on the upright wall at a height at least substantially between 1 / 4 and 3 / 4 of the upright wall's height, preferably at least substantially between 1 / 3 and 2 / 3 of the upright wall's height, and / or the disintegrating device is provided on the upright wall at a height at least substantially between 1 / 4 and 3 / 4 of the upright wall's height, preferably at least substantially between 1 / 3 and 2 / 3 of the upright wall's height. In one example, the mesh diameter of the sieve is in the range of about 1 mm to 20 mm, for example, about 2 mm to 12 mm, about 2 mm to 6 mm, etc., for example, about 2 mm.

[0065] In one example, when there are multiple cranks, two of these rotating cranks are positioned at a mutual distance such that said at least two rotating cranks pass each other at a distance ranging from about 1 cm to 25 cm, preferably from about 2 cm to 20 cm, more preferably from about 3 cm to 15 cm, and most preferably from about 5 cm to 10 cm, which is advantageous for effectively tearing apart the waste material.

[0066] In one example, the rotation frequency of the rotating crank is in the range of about 100 rpm to 3000 rpm, for example about 400 rpm to 1600 rpm, particularly about 800 rpm to 1200 rpm, for example 900 rpm, which is advantageous for the crank to generate turbulence in order to effectively tear apart portions of the waste material and / or separate additional materials with a low specific weight from the plurality of materials.

[0067] In one example, at least one upright air guide element is provided inside the container to cooperate with the upright wall to define a passage for air along the upright wall, the passage tapering in the air flow direction, the air flow direction being defined as the direction of air flow around the at least two rotating cranks generated by the at least two rotating cranks. The at least one upright air guide element is provided outside the rotation space of the at least two rotating cranks and is at least partially higher than the rotation space of the at least two rotating cranks. The at least one upright air guide element cooperates with the upright wall to define a passage for air along the upright wall, the passage tapering in the flow direction. This is advantageous for guiding shredded portions of waste toward a sieving device and / or a disintegrating device and / or for guiding shredded and disintegrated portions of waste toward a sieving device and / or a disintegrating device.

[0068] In one example, the device further comprises at least one motor for driving the at least two rotating cranks and a power source for supplying power to the at least one motor. The device may comprise one motor for separately driving each rotating crank. Preferably, the device comprises one motor for driving the at least two rotating cranks, which is advantageous for the power consumption of the device.

[0069] In one example, the apparatus further comprises an air pump for generating an air flow to remove the flux of low specific gravity components from the container, the low specific gravity components swirling up within the container and can be advantageously removed from the top of the container by the air pump.

[0070] In one example, the portion of the waste has a humidity of up to 40% by weight. The process for treating waste is most effective for waste with a humidity of up to 40% by weight. If the humidity exceeds 40% by weight, waste will accumulate inside the container, particularly on and around the sieving and loosening sections, which is undesirable. If the initial humidity of the waste exceeds 40% by weight, then an additional drying process can be undertaken, for example, by heating, centrifuging, squeezing, or rolling. If the humidity of the waste is less than 40% by weight, then water can be added, for example, by a spray nozzle in the container, to control and maintain the humidity at a constant level.

[0071] In a second further aspect, a method for treating waste is disclosed, said method comprising: providing the portion of the waste material to the container; tearing the portion of the waste material into torn pieces of waste material by placing the at least portion between the at least two rotating cranks; disintegrating the torn portions of waste material into the torn and disintegrated portions of waste material with the disintegrating device; separating a first stream including a first material of the plurality of materials from the shredded portions of waste by impacting the shredded portions of waste against the plurality of sieving devices; Includes.

[0072] In one example, the method comprises: generating thermal turbulence with the at least two cranks to separate additional material from the plurality of materials into a second flow of low specific gravity material and a third flow of high specific gravity material. Further includes:

[0073] Embodiments of the method according to the invention are described with reference to the following figures and examples. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0074] [Figure 1] 1 shows a top view of one embodiment of an apparatus for treating carpet waste. [Figure 2] 2 shows a side view of the device of FIG. 1. [Figure 3A] 10 shows various embodiments of the loosening section. [Figure 3B] 10 shows various embodiments of the loosening section. [Figure 4A] Various arrangements of protrusions are shown. [Figure 4B] Various arrangements of protrusions are shown. [Figure 4C] Various arrangements of protrusions are shown. [Figure 4D] Various arrangements of protrusions are shown. [Figure 5A] 1 shows various shapes of protrusions with sharp edges. [Figure 5B] 1 shows various shapes of protrusions with sharp edges. [Figure 5C] 1 shows various shapes of protrusions with sharp edges. [Figure 5D] 1 shows various shapes of protrusions with sharp edges. [Figure 6A] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a device with a partially closed upright wall. [Figure 6B] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a device with a partially closed upright wall. [Figure 7A] FIG. 1 shows a side view of the device with a fully closed upright wall. [Figure 7B] FIG. 1 shows a side view of the device with a fully closed upright wall. [Figure 8A] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a single crank device with a fully closed upright wall. [Figure 8B] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a single crank device with a fully closed upright wall. [Figure 9] 1 illustrates one embodiment of a method for treating carpet products. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0075] Example 1 describes various tests for treating carpet products.

[0076] Figures 1 to 9 1 and 2 show a top view and a side view, respectively, of one embodiment of an apparatus 100 for processing waste carpet products. The basic configuration is known from EP 3 816 345 A1 and comprises a vessel 101 with upright walls 103 and, in this particular embodiment, a sieve device 105 arranged around two rotating cranks 111', 111". The sieve device 105 comprises sieve sections 105' provided with sieves having a mesh diameter of, for example, 2 mm, selected depending on the type of carpet product to be processed (cut pile or loop pile, length of face yarn, type of backing material, type of primary backing, etc.). The sieve sections 105' are arranged on the upright walls 103 and are arranged at an inclination angle of 4 degrees to the circumferential direction of the vessel 101. Each sieve section 105' has a downstream part downstream in the air flow direction D and an upstream part upstream in the air flow direction D, the downstream edge of each sieve section extending further inside the vessel 103 than the upstream edge of the respective sieve section 105'.

[0077] The upright wall 103 further comprises an defibering device 107 arranged around two rotating cranks 111', 111". The defibering device 107 comprises an defibering section 107' provided with protrusions 109. The type, length and pattern of the protrusions 109 on each defibering section 107' also depend on the type of carpet product to be treated. In this embodiment, the protrusions 109 are cylindrical metal rods 20 mm long arranged in a matrix pattern and extending inside the container 101.

[0078] The sieving section 105' and the refining section 107' are provided in or on a metal wall plate measuring 200 x 200 mm and removably attached to the upright wall 103. Both the sieving section 105' and the refining section 107' can be easily replaced or rearranged depending on the type of waste being processed. Furthermore, protrusions are removably connected to the refining section and the length of the protrusions is adjustable.

[0079] A portion of the waste material (such as roughly shredded broadloom carpet) is fed continuously or in stages through the top of the container 101 to the bottom of the container 101, for example, using one or more conveyor belts positioned above the container 101. The carpet pieces are preferably about 0.1 to 0.5 m long so that the carpet pieces can be easily fed into the device 100. 2 The carpet is pre-cut into pieces. The carpet has a top layer of cut pile face yarns and is securely attached using a secondary backing (heavy weight) such as a bituminous backing or rubber layer that embeds the bottom (facing away from the top) of the yarns sewn into a fabric sheet used as the primary backing. When post-consumer carpet products are processed, the products may contain dust or even impurities such as pebbles, metal parts, and plastic flakes.

[0080] The container 101 is provided with two upright shafts 109', 109". The first upright shaft 109' is provided with a rotating crank 111' having an end 113'. The second upright shaft 109" is provided with a rotating crank 111" having an end 113". The end 113', 113" is equipped with a fixed crank element and a disposable chopping tip or chopping knife. The upright shafts 109', 109" are driven by a motor 121 and both rotate in the same direction, in this embodiment counterclockwise when viewed from above, thereby defining an air flow direction D around the top wall 103. The ends 113', 113" of the two rotating arms 111', 111" simultaneously pass over a line extending between the two upright shafts 109', 109" in order to tear off pieces of carpet introduced into the lower part of the container 101. Both rotating cranks 111', 111" define a rotation space. Two upright air guiding elements 115 are provided above said rotation space of the rotating cranks 111', 111". The upright air guiding elements 115 have a conical profile with rounded ends in order to prevent material from adhering to the upright air guiding elements 115 instead of being discharged from the container 101. The upright air guiding elements 115 cooperate with the upright wall 103 to define an air passage 117 along the upright wall 103, which passage 117 tapers in the air flow direction D.

[0081] The torn pieces of carpet are thrown against the sieving device 105 and the defibering device 107 by two rotating cranks 111', 111". Fibres that have already been separated from the carpet are thrown through the sieve openings of the sieving device 105 and discharged by the screw conveyor 123. Carpet pieces from which the fibres have not yet been separated are thrown against the protrusions 107' of the defibering device 107 to further loosen the fibres from the carpet.

[0082] The torn and disaggregated portions of the carpet are further torn apart by placing the torn and disaggregated portions of the carpet between two rotating cranks 111', 111" and throwing the torn and disaggregated portions of the carpet against the disaggregating device 107 by the two rotating cranks 111', 111" thereby tearing and disaggregating the torn and disaggregated portions of the carpet into smaller portions and separating the fibers (yarns) from the carpet. The upright air guiding elements 115 guide the torn and disaggregated portions of the carpet towards the sieving device 105 and the disaggregating device, and finally the fibers are separated from the carpet and thrown through the sieve openings of the sieving device 105.

[0083] Materials with a high specific weight, especially backing, stones and metal parts, remain at the bottom of the container 101 and can be discharged from the container 101 after the process of treating the waste is finished. In an alternative embodiment, as will be explained in further examples, a suction device can be used to remove these materials from the bottom. Materials with a low specific weight, especially plastic flakes, swirl and rise within the container 101 due to thermal turbulence created by the two rotating cranks 111', 111" and by the heat generated within the container 101 and can be discharged from the top of the container 101 using an air pump 125.

[0084] 3A shows an embodiment of the reeling section comprising two cylindrical metal rods 109 adjustably attached to a metal plate of the reeling section 107'. The two rods are adjustable in length by a rod-receiving device 127. By rotating the screw 129 clockwise, the rods 109 are moved inside the rod-receiving device 127, thereby decreasing the length of the rods 109 extending inside the container 101. By rotating the screw 129 counterclockwise, the rods 109 are moved out of the rod-receiving device 127, thereby increasing the length of the rods 109 extending inside the container 101.

[0085] FIG. 3B shows another embodiment of the refining section, which comprises two knives 109 having cutting edges that extend inside the container 101, the cutting edges of the knives 109 being positioned upstream of the air flow D and arranged to receive the torn portions of the waste in order to refining the torn portions of the waste by cutting them into smaller components.

[0086] 4A-4D show various disentangling portions 107 with different arrangements of the protrusions 109. In FIG. 4A, the protrusions are elongated triangles (see FIG. 5A) with sharp upper edges extending parallel to the vertical direction. The protrusions in FIG. 4B are smaller elongated triangles (see FIG. 5B for their shape) arranged in an oblique direction. The protrusions in FIG. 4C (see FIG. 5C for their shape) are inclined in a different direction compared to FIG. 4B. The protrusions in FIG. 5D extend in the same upward direction as the protrusions in FIG. 4B, but have a longer shape (see FIG. 5D for their shape).

[0087] 5A-5D show various shapes of the protrusions of FIG. 4, each having at least one sharp edge 190. The figures are top views of elongated protrusions along their length (thus showing a cross section of each protrusion 109 present on section 107). FIG. 5C shows a protrusion with two sharp edges 190.

[0088] 6A and 6B show side views of two apparatuses 100 each having a partially closed upright wall 103. Also shown are hoppers 130 for dispensing carpet product into a central container. In FIG. 6A, the upper portion of wall 103 is provided with a sieve portion 105. The lower portion of the wall is closed, thereby making it impermeable to the yarn containing the (first) fragment. This yarn-containing fragment is removed from the container by using a suction unit 132. The second fragment, containing the heavy backing particles, remains at the bottom of the apparatus and is removed by a suction unit 131. FIG. 6B shows an apparatus 100 essentially the same as FIG. 6A, but now with a suction unit 132 emerging from the top instead of the side wall 103.

[0089] Figures 7A and 7B show side views of two devices with fully closed upright walls, which are in fact nearly identical to the one shown in Figures 6A and 6B, except that the upright walls 103 are fully closed and therefore impermeable to the first section containing the treated carpet yarn throughout their entire height.

[0090] Figures 8A and 8B show side views of two single-crank devices with fully enclosed upright walls equivalent to the devices shown in Figures 7A and 7B. The devices of Figures 8A and 8B differ in that they are single-crank devices. While still suitable for processing carpet products, the carpet pieces fed through hopper 130 preferably have relatively small dimensions (e.g., 2-5 cm in length) to keep the time required to process the product low.

[0091] Figure 9 illustrates one embodiment of a method 200 for treating waste carpet products according to the second aspect of the present disclosure. The method 200 for treating carpet products includes using an apparatus 100 as described above with respect to Figure 7B, and in step 201, feeding the waste carpet pieces (having dimensions of approximately 15 x 15 cm) into a container 101 via a hopper 130. Then, in step 203, the carpet piece is torn into torn pieces of carpet having smaller dimensions by placing the carpet piece between two rotating cranks 111', 111". Next, in step 205, the torn pieces of waste carpet are torn into torn and torn pieces of carpet by the dismantling device 107. Next, in step 207, a first stream (i.e., first fragments) containing at least a portion of the carpet face yarn is separated from the torn and torn pieces of waste by sucking the light fragments with suction unit 132. Next, in step 209, a second stream (i.e., second fragments) of high specific weight material is separated by sucking the heavy fragments from the bottom with suction unit 131.

[0092] Example 1 Several tests were conducted to separate the fabric (yarn) portion of industrial dust control mats from the rubber portion. These mats are very difficult to recycle because the yarns are embedded in the heavy rubber, and therefore their recycling represents the worst case scenario for recycling actual carpet products. The dust control mats used in the experiments had a nonwoven PET (polyester) fabric sheet as a primary backing, a cut pile of nylon yarn, and a secondary backing of rubber that embeds the primary backing and the pile yarns sewn into it by tufting. The rubber layer of the mat had a weight of approximately 1.65 kg / m. 2 The primary backing was a relatively dense layer with a weight of 125 g / m and was made using a standard vulcanized nitrile-rubber compound (approximately 50% NBR rubber, 35% carbon black and 15% plasticizers, zinc oxide and other ingredients). 2 Nonwoven PET sheet of nylon 675g / m 2 This means that approximately 67% of the dust control mat is made from rubber compounds, while the remaining 33% is fabric.

[0093] The quality of the separation process was evaluated by measuring the weight of the fabric fraction separated and removed from the rubber by treatment with the disentangler. This was evaluated in various discharge streams from the suction unit and the sieve. Finally, the fraction remaining in the central container (also called the "chamber") was also evaluated. If some rubber pieces were also present in the fraction containing yarn (also called "fabric fluff"), separation after disentanglement was performed using a state-of-the-art cyclone to evaluate the quality of the test.

[0094] The final assessment of the quality of separation was made by calculating the total fabric portion (pile and primary backing) removed from the rubber substrate. Additionally, the presence of rubber pieces inside the released fabric fluff was also observed and indicated as a poor result.

[0095] The machine used was very similar to the machine disclosed in EP 3816345 A1 (manufactured by NewWave Engineering BV, Echt, The Netherlands), as shown in Figure 1 hereinabove, and consisted of two cranks, both rotating counterclockwise at a frequency of 50 Hz. The rotating part was L-shaped. As a de-laminating device, several steel rods (see Figure 1) with various shapes were welded to the surface of the rotating shaft in front of it. Experiments were carried out in the presence of a sieve (also called a "grid") (as shown in Figure 1), and alternatively, in the presence of a closed container whose walls were impermeable to fabric fluff fragments.

[0096] In the configuration with two rotating cranks, the mat was fed without pre-shredding. The treatment cycle consisted of the following steps:

[0097] 1. 15 kg of dust control mat is loaded into the chamber through the top opening of the chamber using a low rotation speed (30 Hz) of the two shafts.

[0098] 2. Close the top opening of the chamber, increase the rotation speed to 60 Hz, and start fluff suction from the side unit (see Figure 6A) for 240 seconds.

[0099] 3. Reduce engine speed and open the side door to remove any remaining material inside.

[0100] In this way, a series of tests were carried out as follows:

[0101] Tests were performed using a machine containing a set of grids on the chamber walls as described in EP 3816345. In different tests, different mash sizes of grids were tested.

[0102] Test with no grid on the wall (wall completely closed) with an upper suction unit to remove fabric fluff fragments and a lower suction unit to remove fragments containing high density rubber parts.

[0103] In the closed-wall tests, the placement of the upper suction unit was varied to achieve different vertical and lateral positions within the chamber.

[0104] The results showed that the grid configuration could separate approximately 50-55% of the fabric yarns from the mat, largely independent of the sieve mesh size (5, 10, and 15 mesh). However, it had some significant drawbacks: some of the fabric fluff clogged the sieve, making it necessary to open the chamber to remove the fabric fluff. Furthermore, the fluffed fragments contained small rubber particles, which had to be removed by additional cyclone treatment of the fabric fluff fragments.

[0105] In a configuration with closed walls and suction openings in the top and / or side walls of the chamber, approximately 80% of the textile yarns could be separated from the mat. This was largely independent of the number (one or two) or location (top, side, or top and side walls) of suction openings. However, some rubber particles were still present in the textile fluff fragments, requiring post-processing.

[0106] The best results were obtained in the configuration with the suction tube extending into the chamber, i.e., approximately 90% of the fabric yarns were separated from the mat and there were no rubber particles in the fabric fluff fragments.

Claims

1. A method for processing a carpet product comprising face yarns and a backing material that embeds the lower part of the face yarns, using an apparatus comprising a container for containing at least a portion of the carpet product, wherein the container comprises a bottom wall and an upper wall connected to an upright wall, and at least one rotating crank disposed within the container, the upright wall comprising a loosening device disposed around the rotating crank, the loosening device comprising a projection provided on the upright wall that extends inward from the wall toward the rotating crank toward the rotating crank, and the method is, To supply at least a portion of the carpet product into a container, To separate the carpet product into a first piece containing at least a portion of the surface yarn and a second piece containing at least a portion of the backing material, a rotary crank is rotated so that at least a portion of the carpet product moves along the projection. Methods that include...

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the wall is impermeable to the first fragment at least in the vicinity of the rotating crank.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the entire wall is impermeable to the first fragment.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the projection extends into the container with a length of 2 to 50 mm, preferably 5 to 30 mm, for example 10 to 20 mm.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first fragment is removed from the container by using a first suction unit having an inlet opening provided above a rotating crank, and by sucking air containing the first fragment through the inlet opening of the first suction unit, thereby removing the first fragment from the container.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the inlet opening of the suction unit is located at the end of a suction tube extending from the wall of the chamber toward its center.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the second fragment is removed from the container by using a second suction unit having an inlet opening below a rotating crank, and by sucking air containing the second fragment through the inlet opening of the second suction unit, thereby removing the second fragment from the container.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the projection is equipped with a cutting device, particularly a cutting edge, and the carpet product is unraveled by cutting the carpet product as it moves along the cutting device.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the projections are arranged in rows perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the container, in rows parallel to the circumferential direction of the container, both perpendicular and parallel to the circumferential direction, and / or inclined with respect to the circumferential direction, and optionally the projections are arranged at equal distances from one another.

10. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the loosening device is provided on the upright wall at a certain height, at least substantially between 1 / 4 and 3 / 4 of the height of the upright wall, preferably at least substantially between 1 / 3 and 2 / 3 of the height of the upright wall.

11. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that while the rotating crank rotates, the rotating crank passes over the projection by a distance of 0.5 cm to 25 cm, for example, 1 cm to 20 cm, or 2 cm to 15 cm.

12. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the rotating crank is substantially flat to minimize turbulence at the bottom of the container.

13. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that two rotating cranks that rotate in the same plane are arranged inside the container.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that the rotating cranks rotate in the same direction.

15. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the distance from each projection to the rotating crank facing the projection is substantially the same.

16. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the process is executed semi-continuously.

17. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the carpet product is supplied with a maximum humidity of 40% by weight.

18. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the carpet product is supplied having a maximum length of 25 cm, preferably 20, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 cm or less.

19. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the carpet product is a cut pile carpet product.

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