Artificial Turf Cracking Process for Composite Recycling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The limited options for recycling artificial turf are hindered by its composite nature, including thermoplastic and thermoset components, and contamination with inorganic fillers, making mechanical recycling inefficient and unsuitable.
Innovation Solution
Chemical recycling of artificial turf through cracking processes, such as coking and fluidized bed coking, to produce valuable products like gases, naphtha, and coke, while segregating inorganic fillers into coke.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If mechanical recycling is used for artificial turf, then recycling process is simple, but recycling efficiency is low and product value is limited due to composite nature and inorganic filler contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical recycling processes with chemical recycling processes. Specifically, it uses thermal cracking and coking processes to decompose the artificial turf composite materials into chemical components, thereby overcoming the limitations of mechanical recycling in handling composite materials with inorganic fillers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental approach from mechanical processing to chemical processing by altering the processing parameters (temperature, pressure, chemical environment) to enable decomposition of the composite structure. The thermal cracking process operates at elevated temperatures to break chemical bonds, transforming the material from a mechanical mixture to chemical components.
2Ease of operation
If mechanical recycling is used for artificial turf with inorganic filler, then processing is straightforward, but contamination makes conventional processes unsuitable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes mechanical separation methods with chemical processing methods. The thermal cracking process chemically decomposes the thermoplastic components while leaving inorganic fillers as solid residues, enabling effective separation without requiring complex mechanical separation systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful effect of inorganic filler contamination into a beneficial separation mechanism. During thermal cracking, the inorganic fillers remain as solid residues while the thermoplastic components vaporize and crack into useful chemical products, thereby using the contamination to facilitate separation rather than hindering it.
3Productivity
If chemical recycling through cracking is used for artificial turf, then valuable hydrocarbons are produced and inorganic fillers are segregated, but the process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universal thermal cracking and coking processes that can handle multiple components of the artificial turf composite simultaneously. The same process conditions effectively process thermoplastic fibers, thermoset materials, and inorganic fillers together, eliminating the need for separate processing lines for each material type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses controlled changes in thermal and pressure parameters to achieve selective decomposition. By adjusting temperature, pressure, and residence time, the process optimizes the separation of hydrocarbon products from inorganic residues, managing process complexity through parameter optimization rather than adding more equipment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Chemical recycling effectively processes artificial turf into desirable products, overcoming the challenges of mechanical recycling by producing valuable hydrocarbons and segregating inorganic fillers, thus enhancing recycling efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
cracking at least the turf feed to produce at least a cracking product comprising hydrocarbons
Implementation Method 2
coking and fluidized bed coking, to produce valuable products like gases, naphtha, and coke
Implementation Method 3
fluidized bed coking
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for chemical recycling of artificial turf, including, in one embodiment, a method comprising: providing a turf feed comprising a sized carpet composition; and cracking at least the turf feed to produce at least a cracking product comprising hydrocarbons.