Method and associated plant for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile products

Abstract

The method for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile products comprises the steps of storing discarded textile products (A), such as clothing or industrial textile residues, in a storage station (2), transferring the products (A) towards an analysis station (3), analyzing the products (A) by NIR spectroscopy to detect characteristic parameters of the textile fibers of the products (A), comparing the detected characteristic parameters of each analyzed product (A) with reference characteristic parameters, transferring a selection of the products (A), whose textile fibers have characteristic parameters that meet predetermined acceptance criteria, towards a processing station (5), and processing the selection of products (A) in the processing station (5) to separate rigid or semi-rigid parts of the plastic and / or metal type, such as buttons and zippers, from the textile material of the selection of products (A) and to disentangle the textile material to obtain recovered textile fibers. The method also includes a step of disinfecting the product (A) by moving the product (A) into an ozone disinfection station (4) before it is moved to the analysis station (3). The disinfecting step includes a sub-step of rotating an ozone disinfection cabin (4a) in which the product (A) to be disinfected is placed.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and a plant for recovering textile fibres from discarded textile products.

[0002] In particular, the present invention relates to a method and plant for recovering textile fibres from discarded textile products for the textile, nonwoven (TNT), clothing, PPE, automotive and construction industries. [Background technology]

[0003] As used herein, the term "discarded textile products" refers to discarded textile products of various origins, including, for example: - urban collection through waste bins for used products (clothing that has been worn out, has reached the end of its life, or cannot be reused); - Unsold products (unsold clothing and inventory), culls / discards already selected for the vintage and second-hand market, and - Includes industrial textile residues (mattress scraps, mould scraps, negatives, fabric selvedge).

[0004] While the delamination of industrial textile residues to obtain TNT (and sometimes staple material) is well known, recovery from urban collections and unsold / discarded products is not practiced today, as it is both complex to implement and economically unsustainable.

[0005] Indeed, sorting by material type and manual removal of nonwoven materials (i.e., hard parts of steel, synthetic and natural materials such as buttons, zippers, sliders, fasteners, etc.) makes the process time-consuming, complicated and expensive.

[0006] To verify the composition of the garments and carry out the rigorous sorting process, workers need to read the attached labels, if they are present and understandable (people often remove them because they are irritating or they discolour over time and become unreadable).It is therefore clear that in order to be efficient in terms of production volume, the collection process requires long lead times and high labour costs.

[0007] Furthermore, even if the workers are experienced and have the expertise, they cannot process garments whose origin and composition cannot be guaranteed.

[0008] Additionally, the product cannot be de-laid without first removing the hard parts, otherwise sparks generated by friction between the de-laid head and the hard metal parts could burn the textile material during de-laid. During manual sorting of garments, removal of the hard parts is done by hand.

[0009] Therefore, to date, not all discarded textile products can be properly treated and recovered due to their heterogeneous composition, the presence of hard elements, high sorting costs, and lack of technology. Many discarded products therefore end up in landfills or converted into secondary fuels, releasing environmentally harmful microplastic particles into the atmosphere.

[0010] However, due to several regulations, in the coming years it will no longer be permissible to send textile waste to waste-to-energy plants, landfills or plants that produce secondary solid fuels, so that textiles that cannot be salvaged for the vintage or second-hand market (because they are worn and worn) and production waste will have to be treated / recovered in other ways. Summary of the Invention

[0011] In this context, the technical problem underlying the present invention is therefore to propose a method and a plant for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile products, which overcomes one or more of the drawbacks of the prior art mentioned above.

[0012] In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile products that allows for the effective and efficient recovery of various types of discarded textile products in a cost-effective and sustainable manner.

[0013] A further object of the present invention is to propose a method for recovering textile fibres from discarded textile products, which makes it possible to automate the sorting and processing of the products in a fast, precise and efficient manner.

[0014] The object of the present invention is also to propose a plant for recovering textile fibres from discarded textile products, which makes it possible to automatically manage the entire recovery process, improving the efficiency of the production process and producing quickly and efficiently recovered staple material to be used as yarn in industrial processes.

[0015] The stated technical problem and the stated object are substantially achieved by a method and a plant for recovering textile fibres from discarded textile products, which method and plant comprise the technical features set out in one or more of the appended claims.

[0016] In particular, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for recovering textile fibres from discarded textile products, the method comprising: - storing discarded textile products, such as clothing or industrial textile residues, in a storage station; - transferring the product to an analysis station; - analyzing the product by NIR (near infrared) spectroscopy to detect characteristic parameters of the textile fibers of the product; - comparing the characteristic parameters detected from each analyzed product with reference characteristic parameters; - moving a selection of products, the textile fibers of which have characteristic parameters that meet predetermined acceptance criteria, towards a processing station; - treating said selection of products in a processing station so as to separate rigid or semi-rigid parts of the plastic and / or metal type, such as buttons and zippers, from the textile material of the selection of products and to disentangle the textile material to obtain recovered textile fibers.

[0017] Advantageously, the product is then automatically analyzed in order to identify with high accuracy and precision the types of textile fibers present, and consequently sorted according to pre-established principles for processing. In particular, mechanized and automated processing includes the sub-step of removing the rigid or semi-rigid parts from the product and the subsequent step of loosening the remaining textile material, this last operation being able to be carried out efficiently and safely.

[0018] The principle of selection and sorting based on the analyzed characteristic parameters of textile fibers makes it possible to efficiently and automatically recover all discarded textile products stored according to pre-established operational principles based on a recovery campaign in order to create new recovered textile fibers that can be used for new industrial applications.

[0019] Advantageously, the method allows for the recovery of discarded textile products, used clothing and production / warehouse waste, avoiding their disposal in landfills and waste-to-energy plants.

[0020] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a plant for recovering textile fibres from discarded textile products, the plant comprising: a storage station suitable for receiving discarded textile products such as clothing or industrial textile residues; an analysis station equipped with at least one NIR spectrometer configured to detect characteristic parameters of the textile fibers of the product; a processing station comprising a separation unit configured to separate rigid or semi-rigid parts of the plastic and / or metal type, such as buttons and zippers, from the textile material of the product, and a disentangling unit configured to mechanically disentangle the separated textile material to obtain recovered textile fibres; - handling means configured to move the product from a storage station to a processing station via an analysis station; a management and control unit configured to compare the characteristic parameters detected from each analyzed product with reference characteristic parameters and to command the movement of a selection of products, the textile fibers of which have characteristic parameters that meet predetermined acceptance criteria, towards a processing station.

[0021] Advantageously, the presence of the analysis station allows for rapid and precise analysis of the product, and the management and control unit can efficiently sort the analyzed product to produce a preferably homogeneous selection of products to be processed, and to obtain preferably homogeneous recovered textile fibers according to pre-established principles and specific recovery requirements.

[0022] Advantageously, the plant therefore makes it possible to process any textile waste from any source in a single solution, without the need for manual sorting before or after storage, and to automatically manage the products that can be processed at the same time.

[0023] The processing station mechanically processes the selected products in a cascade manner, with suitable separating and defibering devices that make it possible to reduce processing times and costs without the need for manual intervention by workers, first removing the hard or semi-hard parts for the defined recovery campaign, and then defibering them to obtain recovered fibers ready for further processing.

[0024] The dependent claims, which are incorporated herein by reference, correspond to various embodiments of the invention.

[0025] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the illustrative, and therefore non-limiting, description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a method and plant for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile products, as shown in the diagram of FIG. 1. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0026] [Figure 1] 1 is an operational diagram of a method and plant for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile products according to the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027] With reference to the accompanying drawings, a plant for recovering textile fibres from discarded textile products A is generally designated 1.

[0028] Discarded textile products A may include clothing that is worn out, defective, worn out, or non-reusable, inventory, or industrial textile residues such as off-cuts, scraps, negatives, fabric selvage, etc.

[0029] Product A may comprise a portion of textile material and a portion of rigid or semi-rigid plastic and / or metal parts, such as buttons, zippers, fasteners, sliders, etc.

[0030] The subject of the method of the present invention is the recovery of textile fibres from the textile part of product A, preferably by using a plant 1 as described below.

[0031] The method first comprises the step of storing product A in storage station 2. The product A stored in storage station 2 may have different origins, but the method advantageously does not require manual sorting of the incoming IN product A and therefore can also be stored indiscriminately.

[0032] However, preferably, the method may provide a step of manually pre-sorting product A in order to separate product A to be used as second-hand goods.

[0033] The method includes the step of moving product A to analysis station 3.

[0034] Preferably, the method may include a step of disinfecting product A before it is moved towards the analysis station 3, and more preferably product A is moved into an ozone disinfection station 4.

[0035] Ozone disinfection is advantageously carried out to eliminate odors such as smoke, sweat, and moisture, or to eradicate insects, mites, viruses, and bacteria present in the product A.

[0036] The disinfecting step also preferably includes a sub-step of rotating the ozone disinfection cabin 4a in which the products A to be disinfected are placed.

[0037] The rotation of the cabin 4a can increase the ozone exposure surface area of ​​each product A, so as to effectively decompose impurities on the product A. This is because the product A is continuously shaken / tilted due to the rotation of the cabin 4a.

[0038] The method comprises a step of analysing the product (coming from storage station 2 or disinfection station 4) by NIR spectroscopy to detect characteristic parameters of the textile fibres of product A.

[0039] NIR spectroscopy is essentially based on the physical phenomenon of absorption of electromagnetic radiation by the analyte matrix. The resulting analytical signal is generated by the interaction of the analyte sample with the incident radiation.

[0040] The use of such technology allows for faster analysis of products, replacing traditional analytical / manual sorting techniques, improving the accuracy, precision and speed of the process and significantly reducing costs.

[0041] The method provides for comparing the measured characteristic parameters from each analyzed product A with reference characteristic parameters.

[0042] Preferably, the detectable characteristic parameter is the chemical composition of the material and / or the color code of the material, preferably both.

[0043] The method therefore comprises the step of moving a selection of products A, the selection of products A having characteristic parameters whose textile fibres meet predetermined acceptance criteria (e.g. corresponding to the identification of a "white cotton" product in which cotton must be present in an amount of 95% or more and the shade of white must be within a particular colour code range), to a processing station 5.

[0044] The method then includes processing the selection of product A in two substeps, namely: - separating rigid or semi-rigid plastic and / or metal parts from the textile material of the selection of products A; - A sub-step of disentangling the separated textile material to obtain recovered textile fibres.

[0045] Advantageously, thanks to the present invention, it is not only possible to efficiently recover any product A by separation and cascade disentanglement, but also to select homogeneous products A and process them simultaneously to obtain high-quality homogeneous textile fibers based on the required recovery campaign.

[0046] Indeed, the method preferably comprises a step of collecting in a collection station 6 a plurality of selections of different products A, the textile fibres of which have characteristic parameters that meet respective predetermined acceptance criteria according to pre-established principles.

[0047] This allows one selection of product A to be processed first, then another selection, depending on production requirements.

[0048] Furthermore, preferably, the accumulation is carried out until the accumulated product A of at least one selection of product A intended for the production of recovered textile fibers with homogeneous properties reaches a certain quantity (e.g., a certain weight or volume).

[0049] After the accumulating step, a subsequent step is provided of transferring at least one selection of the accumulated products A to a processing station 5, preferably when the accumulated products reach a certain quantity.

[0050] Advantageously, this makes it possible to guarantee a continuous recovery method, so that the processing of product A is never interrupted, regardless of its origin, by processing one or more accumulated selections, for example if the first selection is not in sufficient quantity to guarantee continuous processing without stopping the production process.

[0051] The presence of the accumulation station 6 makes it possible to provide a lung / buffer of analyzed and sorted products A when there are not enough processing lines to accommodate all types of analyzed products A simultaneously.

[0052] Thus, for example, it is possible to accumulate white cotton until the capacity of the storage container 6a is reached, while the remaining analyzed product A, which is not white cotton, is processed. When the white cotton products accumulated in the container 6a reach their limit capacity, they can be sent to the processing station 5 and processed simultaneously.

[0053] Preferably, the method further comprises the step of cleaning the processing station 5 to remove residues of previously processed products A before moving the accumulated products A towards said processing station 5.

[0054] Advantageously, the washing step avoids possible contamination of materials other than those being treated, with the aim of ensuring a final product (recovered textile fibres) that is able to meet necessary production requirements.

[0055] Preferably, the method may further comprise the step of blending the recovered textile fibers, more preferably the recovered textile fibers from the method according to the invention, after disentanglement with further recovered textile fibers to obtain a mixture of recovered textile fibers corresponding to specific tolerance requirements.

[0056] According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plant 1 for recovering textile fibres from discarded textile products A, said plant 1 comprising: a storage station 2 suitable for receiving a product A of discarded textile material such as clothing or industrial textile residues; an analysis station 3 equipped with at least one NIR spectrometer 3a configured to detect characteristic parameters of the textile fibers of product A; a processing station 5 comprising a separation unit 5a configured to separate rigid or semi-rigid parts of the plastic and / or metal type, such as buttons and zippers (hereinafter simply referred to as "rigid parts"), from the textile material of the product A, and a disentangling unit 5b configured to disentangle the separated textile material and recover the textile fibres; - handling means configured to move product A from storage station 2 via analysis station 3 to processing station 5; a management and control unit 7 configured to compare the characteristic parameters detected from each analyzed product A with reference characteristic parameters and to command the movement towards the processing station 5 of a selection of products A whose textile fibres have characteristic parameters that meet predetermined acceptance criteria.

[0057] Preferably, the storage station 2 comprises a plurality of storage containers 2a.

[0058] Preferably, the NIR spectrometer 3a is located inside a flight cabin (not shown) to which the product A to be analyzed is supplied, and comprises at least two detection lenses (or scanners, sensors) arranged in a cascade manner, each lens being capable of detecting a specific characteristic parameter (e.g., the chemical composition and color of the textile material).

[0059] According to a possible embodiment of the plant, the analysis station 3 preferably comprises a number of NIR spectrometers 3a arranged to simultaneously analyze different characteristic parameters.

[0060] Advantageously, the management and control unit 7 is provided with a database of characteristic reference parameters in which a wide range of materials and colors are registered.

[0061] Preferably, the analysis station 3 comprises a sorting unit 3b configured to sort the analyzed products A according to pre-established principles based on predetermined acceptance criteria.

[0062] The sorting unit 3b may preferably comprise a compressed air ejector configured to eject the analysed products A that meet certain acceptance criteria with a jet of compressed air and send them directly to the processing station 5 or to the accumulation station 6, depending on the operating principle of the plant, as will become clear later.

[0063] Preferably, the separation unit 5a comprises a rotating drum having spikes distributed on its inner surface configured to interfere with the hard parts of the product A during rotation / centrifugation of the product A in the drum and to mechanically separate the hard parts from the textile material.

[0064] Preferably, the processing station 5 may comprise, upstream of the separation unit 5a, a shredder (not shown) configured to perform a first shredding step of the products A to reduce their volume.

[0065] Preferably, the handling means also comprise a pneumatic vacuum cleaner (not shown) adapted to suck the textile material from the separating unit 5a and transfer it to the disentangling unit 5b.

[0066] Preferably, the disentangling unit 5b comprises a plurality of rotating drums equipped with staves and spikes (not shown) configured to interfere with the textile material of the product A received from the separation unit 5a during rotation / centrifugation to open the textile material and thereby mechanically disentangle the textile fibers contained therein.

[0067] Depending on the type of product A and textile material to be treated and the quality of the textile fibres to be obtained, n cycles can be carried out on the drum of the disentangling unit 5b.

[0068] Preferably, the plant 1 comprises a disinfection station 4 arranged between the storage station 2 and the analysis station 3, in which a disinfection cabin 4a is arranged for disinfecting the product A and comprises a receiving drum suitable for receiving the product A to be disinfected, said disinfection being carried out by means of ozone.

[0069] Preferably, the handling means is configured to move the product A from the storage station 2 to the disinfection station 4 and from the disinfection station 4 to the processing station 3.

[0070] Preferably, the storage drum is rotatable about an axis of rotation X which coincides with its main axis of deployment.

[0071] Unlike known sterilization cabins which are fixed, the sterilization cabin 4a of the present invention is of a dynamic type and is therefore able to sterilize better the products A which move during the rotation of the receiving drum.

[0072] Preferably, the plant comprises an accumulation station 6 arranged between the analysis station 3 and the processing station 5, in which a plurality of accumulation containers 6a are arranged configured to receive different selections of analyzed products A, the textile fibers of which have characteristic parameters that meet respective predetermined acceptance criteria according to pre-established principles.

[0073] Advantageously, the management and control unit 7 is configured to selectively control the movement of each selection of product A to the processing station 3, for example when a certain quantity of product A in the storage container 6a is reached, as explained above.

[0074] Furthermore, preferably, the management and control unit 7 is configured to control and manage the operation of the sorting device 3b and to automatically move the selected products A into the respective collection containers 6a according to pre-established principles.

[0075] Preferably, the system comprises a washing device, not shown in the accompanying drawings, configured to remove product residues from the separating unit 5a and the loosening unit 5b.

[0076] Preferably, the processing station 5 comprises a mixer 5c arranged downstream of the disentangling unit 5b and configured to mix the recovered textile fibres after disentangling with additional recovered textile fibres to obtain a mixture of recovered textile fibres that meets predetermined tolerance requirements.

[0077] The mixer 5c makes it possible to mix the fibers together to obtain a high quality and reproducible yarn complying with the records and parameters dictated by the specific production requirements.

[0078] The present invention achieves the proposed objectives and overcomes the drawbacks complained of in the prior art, providing an innovative method and plant in the field of waste recovery of textile fibres to recover part of the discarded textile material contained in product A, which is normally intended for mixing with other plastics, shredding or disposal to create secondary solid fuel RDF for cement and waste-to-energy plants, to obtain instead staple fibre for use as yarn in industrial processes, or TNT for lower value uses.

Claims

1. 1. A method for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile products, comprising: - storing discarded textile products (A), such as clothing or industrial textile residues, in a storage station (2); - moving said product (A) towards an analysis station (3); - analyzing said product (A) by NIR spectroscopy to detect characteristic parameters of said textile fibers of said product (A); - comparing said characteristic parameters detected from each analyzed product (A) with reference characteristic parameters; - moving a selection of products (A), the textile fibers of which have characteristic parameters that meet predetermined acceptance criteria, towards a processing station (5); - processing said selection of products (A) in said processing station (5) in order to separate rigid or semi-rigid parts of the plastic and / or metal type, such as buttons and zippers, from the textile material of said selection of products (A) and to open said textile material to obtain recovered textile fibres, The method includes a step of disinfecting the product (A) before it is transferred to the analysis station (3), the disinfecting step being carried out by transferring the product (A) into an ozone disinfection station (4), The method, wherein the disinfecting step comprises the sub-step of rotating an ozone disinfection cabin (4a) in which the products (A) to be disinfected are placed.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the characteristic parameter is an identification code of the chemical composition of the material and / or the color of the material.

3. 3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, comprising the steps of: accumulating in an accumulation station (6) various selections of products (A), the textile fibres of which have characteristic parameters that meet respective predetermined acceptance criteria according to pre-established principles, preferably until at least one selection of products (A) reaches a predetermined accumulation amount of products (A), and a subsequent step of moving said at least one accumulated selection of products (A) towards said processing station (5), preferably once said predetermined amount of products (A) has been reached.

4. 4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of cleaning the processing station (5) to remove residues of previously processed products (A) before moving the accumulated products (A) towards the processing station (5).

5. 5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising mixing the recovered textile fibers after disentanglement with additional recovered textile fibers to obtain a mixture of recovered textile fibers that meets predetermined tolerance requirements.

6. A plant (1) for recovering textile fibers from discarded textile products, comprising: a storage station (2) suitable for receiving products (A) of discarded textile materials such as clothing or industrial textile residues; an analysis station (3) equipped with at least one NIR spectrometer (3a) adapted to detect characteristic parameters of the textile fibers of said product (A); a processing station (5) comprising a separation unit (5a) adapted to separate rigid or semi-rigid parts of the plastic and / or metal type, such as buttons and zippers, from the textile material of said product (A), and a disentangling unit (5b) adapted to disentangle said separated textile material to obtain recovered textile fibres; - handling means configured to move said products (A) from said storage station (2) via said analysis station (3) to said processing station (5); a management and control unit (7) configured to compare said characteristic parameters detected from each analyzed product (A) with reference characteristic parameters and to command the movement towards said processing station (5) of a selection of products (A) whose textile fibres have characteristic parameters that meet predetermined acceptance criteria, The plant (1) comprises a disinfection station (4) arranged between the storage station (2) and the analysis station (3), in which a disinfection cabin (4a) is arranged for disinfecting the product (A), comprising a receiving drum suitable for receiving the product (A) to be disinfected, the disinfection being carried out by ozone, The plant (1) is rotatable about an axis of rotation (X) which coincides with its main axis of deployment.

7. The plant (1) according to claim 6, wherein the characteristic parameter is an identification code of the chemical composition of the material and / or the color of the material.

8. 8. The plant (1) according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising an accumulation station (6) arranged between the analysis station (3) and the processing station (5), wherein a plurality of accumulation containers (6a) are arranged in the accumulation station (6), the plurality of accumulation containers (6a) being configured to receive various selections of analyzed products (A), the textile fibers of which have characteristic parameters that meet respective predetermined acceptance criteria according to pre-established principles, and wherein the management and control unit (7) is configured to selectively command the various selections of products (A) to be moved towards the processing station (5).

9. 9. The plant (1) according to any one or more of claims 6 to 8, comprising a device (5) for cleaning the processing station, configured to remove product residues from the separating unit (5a) and the disintegrating unit (5b).

10. 10. The plant (1) according to any one or more of claims 6 to 9, wherein the processing station (5) comprises a mixer (5c) arranged downstream of the disentangling unit (5b) and configured to mix the recovered textile fibres after disentangling with additional recovered textile fibres to obtain a mixture of recovered textile fibres corresponding to predetermined tolerance requirements.

11. 11. The plant (1) according to any one or more of claims 6 to 10, wherein the analysis station (3) comprises a sorting unit (3b) configured to sort the analyzed product (A) according to pre-established principles based on the predetermined acceptance criteria, the sorting unit (3b) preferably comprising a compressed air ejector.

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