Method for making a composite granule from recycled textile material and relative composite granule

Abstract

Described is a method for making a composite granule from recycled textile material, comprising the steps of preparing waste textile material; selecting said waste textile material in such a way as to obtain selected groups of fabrics; forming a plurality of portions of homogeneous size from each of said selected groups of fabrics in such a way as to obtain a homogeneous mix; feeding said mix of homogeneous composition to an extruder; processing said homogeneous mix at a temperature of between 180°C and 280°C to obtain said composite granule from recycled textile material.

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] METHOD FOR MAKING A COMPOSITE GRANULE FROM RECYCLED TEXTILE MATERIAL AND RELATIVE COMPOSITE GRANULE

[0003] Technical field

[0004] This invention relates to a method of making a composite granule from recycled textile material .

[0005] In particular, the invention relates to a method of making a composite granule from textile material recycled from industrial processing textile waste, or from waste obtained from end-of-life products ( such as garments or furnishings ) .

[0006] The invention also relates to a relative composite granule .

[0007] The term "composite granule" means a compact body of reduced dimensions obtained by combining materials of different types , in order to obtain a material having new or improved mechanical and technical characteristics compared to those of the starting materials .

[0008] Background art

[0009] As is known, the problem related to the environmental impact deriving from industrial processing textile waste and waste generated by garments or furnishings thrown away after use, becomes increasingly current and leaves obvious marks on our planet .

[0010] In fact , there is more and more textile waste deriving from industries or post-consumption, and its disposal is an increasingly evident problem .

[0011] For this reason, the recycling of such textile waste adopts an increasingly important role . Various methods are currently known for recycling such textile waste .

[0012] Such textile waste is often mixed, following a careful relative selection .

[0013] These methods are often very expensive and complicated to implement .

[0014] Methods of extruding such textile waste are also currently known, in which a grinding is firstly carried out with an addition of non-textile thermoplastic granules .

[0015] These known extrusion methods substantially comprise the feeding of the extruder with materials with very different densities from each other .

[0016] These known methods are a good solution but certainly not without drawbacks .

[0017] A major drawback is that such known methods do not always guarantee an efficient and rapid production of granules . This is often due to the fact that the non-homogeneous nature of the components fed to the extruder means that the latter is not put in ideal working conditions .

[0018] In particular, the introduction of thermoplastic granules adversely alters the homogeneity of the mix .

[0019] Another drawback of the known methods is that they are often expensive and complicated to implement .

[0020] This is due, for example, to the fact that in order to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks , it is sometimes chosen to perform densif ication processes , using binders such as starch or polymeric latex, which make the method more complex and expensive .

[0021] Aim of the invention The aim of the invention to therefore to provide a method for making a composite granule from recycled textile material and a relative composite granule which are able to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art .

[0022] Another aim of the method for making a composite granule from recycled textile material and the relative composite granule is to ensure a simple and practical formation of the granule .

[0023] Another aim of the method for making a composite granule from recycled textile material and the relative composite granule is to provide a method and a product that are simple to implement and economical to make . Another aim of the method for making a composite granule from recycled textile material and the relative composite granule is to provide a method and a product which are able to significantly optimise the environmental impact by favouring a circular economy based on the reuse of discarded material .

[0024] Another aim of the method for making a composite granule from recycled textile material and the relative composite granule is to make available a product such as to guarantee optimised technical and mechanical characteristics .

[0025] According to the invention, these aims and others are achieved by a method of making a composite granule from recycled textile material and a relative granule, comprising the technical characteristics described in the appended claims .

[0026] The technical features of the invention, with reference to the above-mentioned aims , are clearly described in the accompanying claims and its advantages are apparent from the detailed description which follows .

[0027] Detailed description

[0028] The method of making a composite granule from recycled textile material, hereinafter also referred to simply as the method, comprises the step of preparing waste textile material .

[0029] The term "waste textile material" means all material from industrial waste or from garments and furniture discarded after use .

[0030] In particular, the term "waste textile material" means fabrics of various kinds starting from natural fibre fabrics such as wool, cotton, silk, linen, up to synthetic materials such as , for example, polyester, polyurethane, polyamide and elastane .

[0031] The method according to the invention comprises a step of selecting the waste textile material in such a way as to obtain groups of selected fabric .

[0032] Advantageously, this selection step is carried out on the basis of the chemical composition of the waste textile material .

[0033] Advantageously also, the selection step is carried out on the basis of the colour of the waste textile material . This makes it pos sible to optimise subsequent operations and to homogenise the final colour of the finished product .

[0034] The selection step comprises the step of selecting textile waste made of cellulosic natural fibre, polyester fibres , polyamide fibres and polyurethane fibres , amongst the above-mentioned waste material . Advantageously, moreover, the selection step comprises the step of discarding impurities and harmful materials . In particular, the discarding step allows to impurities to be discarded such as , for example, zips and buttons , and harmful materials such as , for example, acrylic, which, when treated at high temperatures ( such as those necessary for the processing steps of the present method, described below) can release very harmful toxic gases .

[0035] The method according to the invention comprises a step of forming a plurality of portions of homogeneous size from each of the selected groups of fabrics , in such a way as to obtain a homogeneous mix .

[0036] Advantageously, this forming step allows portions to be obtained of between 1cm and 5cm in width and between 1cm and 5cm in length .

[0037] This allows a mix with a homogeneous density to be made available in order to optimise the quality and speed of success of the subsequent steps of the method .

[0038] The forming step allows a homogeneous mix to be obtained comprising from 10% by weight to 40% by weight of natural fibres , from 40% by weight to 80% by weight of polyester, from 5% by weight to 40% by weight of polyamide and from 2% by weight to 15% by weight of elastane .

[0039] Advantageously, the above-mentioned natural fibres include cotton .

[0040] Also, advantageously, the cotton component can be made from pure cotton or polycotton, that is to say, a mix of polyester and cotton .

[0041] Alternatively to cotton, the homogeneous mix may also comprise other natural fibres such as silk, linen or wool . The quantities and percentages of the components can advantageously vary according to the technical and mechanical characteristics that are intended to be conferred to the final product .

[0042] For example, the presence of elastane makes it possible to optimise elasticity and impact resistance .

[0043] The method according to the invention comprises a step of feeding the mix of homogeneous composition to an extruder .

[0044] According to an embodiment found to be particularly effective, the extruder is of the twin-screw type .

[0045] That is to say, according to this embodiment , the extruder comprises a heated cylindrical body and a pair of worm screws configured to rotate ( in a concordant or discordant direction) inside it .

[0046] According to a further embodiment , the extruder is of the single-screw type .

[0047] That is to say, according to this embodiment , the extruder comprises a heated cylindrical body and a single worm screw configured to rotate therein .

[0048] The fact that the mix has substantially homogeneous density facilitates the action of the extruder as stratifications within the extruder body are avoided and the extrusion quality and speed are consequently optimised .

[0049] Advantageously, the feeding step comprises a step of adding a colourant in the extruder, in such a way as to further homogenise the colour of the mix .

[0050] The method according to the invention comprises a step of processing the homogeneous mix at a temperature of between 180 ° C and 280 ° C, to obtain the composite granule from recycled textile material .

[0051] Advantageously, the step of processing the homogeneous mix is carried out at a temperature between 240 ° C and 280 ° C .

[0052] Advantageously, the step of processing the homogeneous mix is carried out at a temperature of about 260 ° C .

[0053] The invention also relates to a composite granule made using the method described above .

[0054] The granule according to the invention comprises a mix of natural fibres , polyester fibres , polyamide fibres and polyurethane fibres .

[0055] The granule according to the invention comprises from 10% by weight to 40% by weight of natural fibres , from 40% by weight to 80% by weight of polyester, from 5% by weight to 40% by weight of polyamide and from 2% by weight to 15% by weight of elastane .

[0056] Advantageously, the above-mentioned natural fibres include cotton .

[0057] Alternatively the natural fibres comprise linen, silk or wool .

[0058] The percentages of the components vary according to the technical and mechanical characteristics that are intended to be conferred to the final product made by means of these composite granules .

[0059] The possibility of implementing various types of material allows these technical and mechanical characteristics to be optimised .

[0060] For this reason, depending on the field of use of the final recycled product , the percentages of cellulosic natural fibre ( for example cotton, but alternatively also wool, silk, linen or the like ) , and of polyurethane, polyamide and polyester fibres are varied, in such a way as to optimise characteristics such as lightness , thermal resistance, degree of thermal insulation, resistance to impacts or tears , and / or flexibility .

[0061] The method of making a composite granule from recycled textile material and a relative composite granule according to the invention allows the drawbacks of the prior art to be overcome and to bring important advantages .

[0062] A first advantage of the method for making a composite granule from recycled textile material and a relative composite granule is given by the fact that it allows the recycling of waste materials , significantly optimising the environmental impact .

[0063] Another advantage of the method for making a composite granule from recycled textile material and a relative composite granule is given by the fact of optimising the formation of such granules , guaranteeing high quality operations and rapid performance .

[0064] Another advantage of the method for making a composite granule from recycled textile material and a relative composite granule is given by the fact that it guarantees a simple implementation process and low costs .

[0065] Another advantage of the method for making a composite granule from recycled textile material and a relative composite granule is given by the fact that it allows the granule to be made without the need to add components such as thermoplastic granules , adhesive resins and / or binders . This makes it possible to further optimise the containment of costs , and to optimise the quality relating to the production of the granule itself .

[0066] The fact of not introducing thermoplastic granules actually allows the homogeneity ( for example from a density point of view) of the mixt to be optimised, with consequent practical advantages in the extrusion step .

[0067] Another advantage of the method for making a composite granule from recycled textile material and a relative composite granule is given by the fact that it provides a material with optimised mechanical and technical characteristics .

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A method for making a composite granule from recycled textile material, comprising the steps of :- preparing waste textile material ;- selecting said waste textile material in such a way as to obtain groups of selected fabrics ;- obtaining a plurality of portions of fabric having homogeneous quantities from each of said groups of fabrics selected in such a way as to obtain a homogeneous mix; said homogeneous mix comprising :- from 10% by weight to 40% by weight of natural fibres ;- from 40% by weight to 80% by weight of polyester;- from 5% by weight to 40% by weight of polyamide ;- from 2% by weight to 15% by weight of Elastan .- feeding said homogeneous mix to an extruder;- processing said homogeneous mix at a temperature of between 180 ° C and 280 ° C to obtain said composite granule from recycled textile material .2 . The method according to claim 1 , characterised in that said selecting step is performed on the basis of the chemical composition of the waste textile material .3 . The method according to any one of the preceding claims , characterised in that said selecting step is carried out based on the colour of the waste textile material .4 . The method according to any one of the precedingclaims , characterised in that said selecting step comprises the step of selecting waste textile material made of natural cellulose fibre, polyester fibres , polyamide fibres and polyurethane fibres amongst said waste textile material .

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims , characterised in that said selecting step also comprises the step of re jecting impurities and harmful materials .

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims , characterised in that said step of obtaining portions allows portions to be obtained with a width of between 1 cm and 5 cm and a length of between 1 cm and 5 cm .7 . The method according to any one of the preceding claims , characterised in that said step of feeding said mix comprises a step of adding a dye to homogenise the colour of said homogeneous mix .

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims , characterised in that said step of processing said homogeneous mix is carried out at a temperature of between 240 ° C and 280 ° C .

9. A composite granule made using the method according to claims 1 to 8 , comprising- from 10% by weight to 40% by weight of natural fibres ;- from 40% by weight to 80% by weight of polyester;- from 5% by weight to 40% by weight of polyamide ;- from 2% by weight to 15% by weight of Elastan .

10. The granule according to the preceding claim, characterised in that said natural fibres comprise cotton .