GB2606986A - A System and Method for Processing Polypropylene Carpet - Google Patents

A System and Method for Processing Polypropylene Carpet Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2606986A
GB2606986A GB2103463.2A GB202103463A GB2606986A GB 2606986 A GB2606986 A GB 2606986A GB 202103463 A GB202103463 A GB 202103463A GB 2606986 A GB2606986 A GB 2606986A
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GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
carpet
rotary impact
polypropylene
impact separator
shredder
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB2103463.2A
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GB2606986B (en
GB202103463D0 (en
Inventor
Eccleston Joe
Robertson Dave
Pryke Duncan
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Innovate Recycle Ltd
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Innovate Recycle Ltd
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Priority to GB2103463.2A priority Critical patent/GB2606986B/en
Publication of GB202103463D0 publication Critical patent/GB202103463D0/en
Publication of GB2606986A publication Critical patent/GB2606986A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2606986B publication Critical patent/GB2606986B/en
Active legal-status Critical Current
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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B03—SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS OR USING PNEUMATIC TABLES OR JIGS; MAGNETIC OR ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS FROM SOLID MATERIALS OR FLUIDS; SEPARATION BY HIGH-VOLTAGE ELECTRIC FIELDS
    • B03B—SEPARATING SOLID MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS OR USING PNEUMATIC TABLES OR JIGS
    • B03B9/00—General arrangement of separating plant, e.g. flow sheets
    • B03B9/06—General arrangement of separating plant, e.g. flow sheets specially adapted for refuse
    • B03B9/061—General arrangement of separating plant, e.g. flow sheets specially adapted for refuse the refuse being industrial
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/02—Separating plastics from other materials
    • B29B17/0206—Selectively separating reinforcements from matrix material by destroying the interface bound before disintegrating the matrix to particles or powder, e.g. from tires or belts
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B02—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING; PREPARATORY TREATMENT OF GRAIN FOR MILLING
    • B02C—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING IN GENERAL; MILLING GRAIN
    • B02C13/00—Disintegrating by mills having rotary beater elements ; Hammer mills
    • B02C13/26—Details
    • B02C13/288—Ventilating, or influencing air circulation
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B02—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING; PREPARATORY TREATMENT OF GRAIN FOR MILLING
    • B02C—CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING IN GENERAL; MILLING GRAIN
    • B02C19/00—Other disintegrating devices or methods
    • B02C19/0056—Other disintegrating devices or methods specially adapted for specific materials not otherwise provided for
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/0026—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics by agglomeration or compacting
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/02—Separating plastics from other materials
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/04—Disintegrating plastics, e.g. by milling
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B03—SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS OR USING PNEUMATIC TABLES OR JIGS; MAGNETIC OR ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS FROM SOLID MATERIALS OR FLUIDS; SEPARATION BY HIGH-VOLTAGE ELECTRIC FIELDS
    • B03B—SEPARATING SOLID MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS OR USING PNEUMATIC TABLES OR JIGS
    • B03B9/00—General arrangement of separating plant, e.g. flow sheets
    • B03B9/06—General arrangement of separating plant, e.g. flow sheets specially adapted for refuse
    • B03B2009/067—General arrangement of separating plant, e.g. flow sheets specially adapted for refuse the refuse being carpets
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/02—Separating plastics from other materials
    • B29B2017/0213—Specific separating techniques
    • B29B2017/0217—Mechanical separating techniques; devices therefor
    • B29B2017/0224—Screens, sieves
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/02—Separating plastics from other materials
    • B29B2017/0213—Specific separating techniques
    • B29B2017/0279—Optical identification, e.g. cameras or spectroscopy
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/04—Disintegrating plastics, e.g. by milling
    • B29B2017/0424—Specific disintegrating techniques; devices therefor
    • B29B2017/0476—Cutting or tearing members, e.g. spiked or toothed cylinders or intermeshing rollers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/04—Disintegrating plastics, e.g. by milling
    • B29B2017/0424—Specific disintegrating techniques; devices therefor
    • B29B2017/0484—Grinding tools, roller mills or disc mills
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/04—Disintegrating plastics, e.g. by milling
    • B29B2017/0424—Specific disintegrating techniques; devices therefor
    • B29B2017/0488—Hammers or beaters
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29K—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS OR TO MATERIALS FOR MOULDS, REINFORCEMENTS, FILLERS OR PREFORMED PARTS, e.g. INSERTS
    • B29K2023/00—Use of polyalkenes or derivatives thereof as moulding material
    • B29K2023/10—Polymers of propylene
    • B29K2023/12—PP, i.e. polypropylene
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29K—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS OR TO MATERIALS FOR MOULDS, REINFORCEMENTS, FILLERS OR PREFORMED PARTS, e.g. INSERTS
    • B29K2105/00—Condition, form or state of moulded material or of the material to be shaped
    • B29K2105/06—Condition, form or state of moulded material or of the material to be shaped containing reinforcements, fillers or inserts
    • B29K2105/16—Fillers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29L—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASS B29C, RELATING TO PARTICULAR ARTICLES
    • B29L2031/00—Other particular articles
    • B29L2031/732—Floor coverings
    • B29L2031/7322—Carpets
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29L—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASS B29C, RELATING TO PARTICULAR ARTICLES
    • B29L2031/00—Other particular articles
    • B29L2031/765—Articles provided with piles, e g. nap on cloth
    • B29L2031/7652—Pile carpets
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02W—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR WASTE MANAGEMENT
    • Y02W30/00—Technologies for solid waste management
    • Y02W30/50—Reuse, recycling or recovery technologies
    • Y02W30/62—Plastics recycling; Rubber recycling

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Food Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Processing Of Solid Wastes (AREA)

Abstract

An apparatus for processing polypropylene carpet comprises at least one shredder 3, 4 for cutting a carpet into carpet pieces having a shredder air filtration system 8 and at least one rotary impact separator 5, 6, 7 for processing the carpet pieces having a mesh screen at a lower side through which granular material can fall. Preferably a mechanical screening apparatus, such as a trommel screen, may be provided after the rotary impact separator. An outlet of the shredder air filtration unit preferably feeds into the inlet of the rotary impact separator. The apparatus may comprise multiple rotary impact separators in series. The apparatus can efficiently separate polypropylene carpet into polypropylene fibres and calcium carbonate powder from the backing material. The invention also provides a method of processing polypropylene carpet comprising the steps of: shredding the carpet into carpet pieces using at least one shredder; passing the carpet pieces through at least one rotary impact separator; collecting powder material and polypropylene fibres from the at least one rotary impact separator.

Description

A System and Method for Processing Polypropylene Carpet
Field of invention
The present invention relates to the processing of waste carpet. In particular, the processing of waste carpet to obtain useful materials.
Background to the Invention
Carpets generally consist of an upper layer of fibres mounted on a backing. Traditionally, the fibres were formed from wool but many modern carpets have synthetic fibres, including polypropylene fibres. Carpets with polypropylene fibres are typically made by mounting the fibres on a backing material using an adhesive Typically, the backing material includes calcium carbonate, a mineral material.
Currently, on disposal of modern propylene carpets there is no good way to process waste polypropylene carpets to isolate reusable components and the carpets are generally either sent to landfill or burnt for energy. Burning for energy releases dangerous toxins and greenhouse gases that are required to be processed. Burying waste carpet can release dangerous toxins into soil and water supplies and is an unnecessary waste of reusable resources. Therefore, there is a desire for methods and systems of processing waste polypropylene carpet to recover the reusable materials including the polypropylene fibres and the calcium carbonate in the backing.
Currently there arc no such commercially available methods or systems.
Summary of the invention
The present invention provides apparatus for processing polypropylene carpet comprising: at least one shredder for cutting a carpet into carpet pieces having a shredder air filtration system; at least one rotary impact separator, positioned after the at least one shredder, for processing the carpet pieces having a mesh screen at a lower side through which granular material can fall.
In embodiments of the invention the apparatus may further comprise a rotary impact separator air filtration system for extracting polypropylene fibres from the at least one rotary impact separator. Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus may extract polypropylene fibres from the at least one rotary impact separator by means of a conveyor.
The apparatus of the present invention is advantageous in that it provides a simple system for processing polypropylene carpet into reusable polypropylene and a granular material, which will generally substantially consist of reusable calcium carbonate. That is the apparatus can obtain reusable materials from waste polypropylene carpet that previously would have been either buried or burned.
The apparatus can be used in the following manner. Waste polypropylene carpet is fed into the at least one shredder, wherein it is cut into pieces by blade(s) of the at least one shredder. Those pieces are then moved from the at least one shredder into the at least one rotary impact separator which operates to impact the carpet pieces in a rotary manner. The at least one rotary impact separator causes the separation of backing material dust and carpet fibres from the carpet pieces by physically breaking the bonding between the backing and the carpet fibre during rotation of the rotary impact separator. The polypropylene fibre can be extracted from the rotary impact separator by means of a rotary impact separator (R1S) air filtration system or as polypropylene fluff by means of a conveyor. The backing material will drop from the carpet pieces through the mesh screen and can then be collected.
The at least one shredder of the present invention may be any suitable shredder that is capable of processing carpet pieces. This includes, but is not limited to, dual shaft shredders that will be immediately apparent to the person skilled in the art The carpet can be fed into the at least one shredder and from the at least one shredder into the at least one rotary impact separator by means of a conveyor or any other suitable transport means.
Generally, a rotary impact separator will comprise rotating paddles and baffles contained within a chamber that act to physically break the bonding between the backing and carpet fibre as the paddles and/or the chamber are rotated. The at least one rotary impact separator will be designed and controlled to break the backing into a granular fomi without causing any significant heating that would cause the backing and/or the polypropylene fibre to melt. This may be achieved by operating and/or controlling the at least one rotary impact separator appropriately, as will be immediately apparent to the person skilled in the art. The angle and speed of rotation of paddles may be adjustable such that they can be controlled to ensure removal of the backing from the polypropylene fibre is maximised without causing melting of the backing and/or breaking of the fibre.
An apparatus according to the present invention may further comprise a mechanical screening apparatus positioned after the at least one rotary impact separator for further separating powder material. That is, the powder material separated by the at least one rotary impact separator may pass through a mechanical screening apparatus in which the powder material can be further separated. The powder material separated by the at least one rotary impact separator will consist of calcium carbonate and vinyl glue. This can then be further separated by a mechanic& screening apparatus. A mechanical screening apparatus can be any appropriate screening apparatus, including, but not limited to, a trommel screen. The powder material will be collected and material passing through the mechanical screening apparatus without being separated into powder material can either be discarded or can be directed back into the at least one rotary impact separator for further processing. Extracted calcium carbonate powder/vinyl powder can be transported to a silo as a bio-product, bagged, or processed in any other suitable manner, In embodiments of the invention comprising a mechanical screening apparatus after the at least one rotary impact separator the mechanical screening apparatus may have a first outlet for the powder material to be collected and a second outlet for the other carpet material, wherein the second outlet is connected to an input of the at least one rotary impact separator. That is, the apparatus may be formed such that the mechanical screening apparatus feeds carpet material that has not been separated back into the at least one rotary impact separator to undergo further rotary impact separation.
The shredder filtration systcm will collect polypropylene fibres that are dislodged by the cutting process. However, it is possible that other materials are also collected by an air shredder filtration system. Therefore, it may be preferable that an outlet of an shredder air filtration system feeds into an inlet of the at least one rotary impact separator. This can allow the materials collected by the air shredder ventilation system to be further processed by the rotary impact separator and thereby fully separated into powder material and polypropylene fibres.
The apparatus of the present invention may comprise a single rotary impact separator. However, it may be preferable that the apparatus comprises two, three, or more rotary impact separators. In embodiments of the invention the apparatus comprises two, three, or more rotary impact separators positioned one after another such that carpet pieces are passed through each of the rotary impact separators one after another. For example, an apparatus according to the present invention may comprise a first rotary impact separator, a second rotary impact separator, and a third rotary impact separator: the outlet of the first rotary impact separator may be arranged to feed into an inlet of the second rotary impact separator and an outlet of the second rotary impact separator may be arranged to feed into an inlet of the third rotary impact separator.
in embodiments of the invention comprising two or more rotary impact separators provided in series such that carpet pieces pass through two or more rotary impact separators in turn then the rotary impact separators may be provided such that each separator has a decreasing segregation size for the powder material separated from the carpet pieces. That is, a first rotary impact separator may have a larger segregation size than a second rotary impact separator and the second rotary impact separator may have a larger segregation size than any third rotary impact separator, if provided.
As not all carpets have polypropylene fibres the apparatus of the present invention may further comprise an infra-red reader for identifying polypropylene carpet. Advantageously, any such infra-red reader will be positioned at a start of the apparatus such that carpet is assessed to confirm whether it is polypropylene carpet before it is fed into the at least one shredder; carpet that is confirmed to be polypropylene carpet by the infra-red reader can be further processed by the apparatus of the present invention, carpet that is determined not to be polypropylene carpet will be discarded and not further processed by the apparatus.
Apparatus according to the invention may comprise one, two, three or more shredders. If the apparatus comprises more than one shredder it may comprise a first shredder for cutting carpet in a first direction and a second shredder, positioned after the first shredder, for cutting the carpet in a second direction. in such apparatus the carpet may pass through a first shredder to be cut in a first direction to form strips of carpet. The strips of carpet may then pass through the second shredder to be cut in a second direction, which may, for example, be perpendicular to the first direction, thereby producing small carpet pieces. The apparatus may comprise further shredders for further cutting the carpet pieces. Further shredders may cut the carpet pieces in the same direction as previous shredders or may cut them in a different direction. In embodiments of the invention an individual shredder may act to cut the carpet in more than one direction. Advantageously, the or each shredder will together produce approximately uniformly sized carpet pieces for processing by the at least one rotary impact separator.
A rotary impact separator air filtration system can act to collect the polypropylene that is separated from the carpet by the action of the at least one rotary impact separator. An inlet from the rotary impact separator air filtration system is connected to the at least one rotary impact separator, the collected polypropylene may be collected from an outlet of the rotary impact separator air filtration system. This may be done in any manner apparent to the person skilled in the art.
In embodiments of the invention the apparatus may further comprise a pelletiser positioned at an outlet of the rotary impact separator air filtration system for pelletising the polypropylene fibres. Suitable pelletisers will be apparent to the person skilled in the art and, include, but are not limited to heat-based extrusion and pellctisation apparatus.
In alternative embodiments of the invention, rather than pelletising the polypropylene, the rotary impact separator air filtration system will transport the polypropylene to a suitable baling system that can bale the fibres for further processing.
The present invention also provides a method of processing polypropylene carpet comprising the steps of shredding the carpet into carpet pieces using at least one shredder; passing the carpet pieces through at least one rotary impact separator: collecting powder material from the at least one rotary impact separator, and collecting polypropylene fibres from the at least one rotary impact separator The polypropylene fibre can be collected from the at least one rotary impact separator by means of an air filtration system. Additionally or alternatively, the polypropylene fibres can be 30 collected from the at lest one rotary impact separator as polypropylene fluff by means of a conveyor.
The method of the present invention is advantageous in that it provides a simple way to separate polypropylene carpet into reusable polypropylene fibres and calcium carbonate powder. The method of the present invention can be carried out using the apparatus of the present invention.
The carpet can be shredded by at least one shredder to produce small carpet pieces that are capable of processing in the at least one rotary impact separator. In embodiments of the invention the carpet may be shredded by passing the carpet through a first shredder that cuts the carpet in a first direction and then passing the carpet through a second shredder that cuts the carpet in a second direction.
In the method of the present invention polypropylene fibres may be collected from the at least one shredder in addition to collection from the at least one rotary impact separator. Polypropylene fibres will be released by the cutting of the carpet in the at least one shredder and these may be collected in any suitable way, for example polypropylene fibres may be collected from the at least one shredder using a shredder air filtration system. Polypropylene fibres collected from the at least one shredder may be passed into the at least one rotary impact separator or processed in any other suitable manner.
In embodiments of the method the carpet pieces may be passed through one, two, three or more rotary impact separators. Passing through the carpet pieces through more than one rotary impact separator can increase the separation of the carpet pieces meaning that a greater proportion of the polypropylene fibres and calcium carbonate backing can be separated. In embodiments of the method the carpet pieces may be passed through a first rotary impact separator and then a second rotary impact separator. In further embodiments the carpet pieces may be passed through a first rotary impact separator, then a second rotary impact separator, and then a third rotary impact separator.
Powder material may be collected from the at least one rotary impact separator by falling through a mesh screen, or other similar screen, positioned at a lower side of the at least one rotary impact separator. After collection from the at least one rotary impact separator the powder material may be further separated using a trommel screen or other suitable power separating apparatus. This can be used to separate fine polypropylene powder from relatively larger material that might, for example, include adhesive and calcium carbonate. Suitable trommel separators will be readily apparent from the person skilled in the art As discussed above in relation to the apparatus of the present invention, in order to avoid melting of adhesive in the carpet and/or the polypropylene it is advantageous the at least one rotary impact separator is controlled to operate such that the temperature of polypropylene fibres in the carpet pieces is not raised above the melting point of polypropylene and the temperature of backing and adhesive of the carpet pieces is not raised to a temperature that would melt the adhesive. This can be achieved in any manner apparent to the skilled person including, but not limited to, controlling the speed or rotation of the at least one rotary impact separator and/or controlling the size of carpet pieces in the at least one rotary impact separator.
In order to ensure that only polypropylene carpets are processed the method of the present invention may further comprise an initial step of analysing the carpet to ensure it is a polypropylene carpet i.e. a carpet having fibres made of polypropylene. This initial step may comprise using an infra-red scanner to confirm whether a carpet is a polypropylene carpet.
Features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the embodiment shown in the Figures and described below. Unless otherwise indicated by context or by the claims, any individual feature of the embodiment described below can be used in any other embodiment independent of the other features of the embodiment.
Drawings Figure 1 is a schematic of an apparatus according to the present invention; and Figure 2 is a cross-section of the apparatus according to Figure 1.
An apparatus I according to the present invention for the processing of polypropylene carpet (not shown) is shown in the Figures. As shown in Figure 2, the apparatus 1 is set up as a production line located within a warehouse 2.
The operation of the apparatus I is illustrated best in Figure I The carpet first passes through an inspection station 2 in which the carpet is inspected, analysed by an infra-red detector to ensure it is polypropylene carpet and then, providing it is found to be polypropylene carpet, it is fed to a first shredder 3 that shreds the carpet in a first direction into carpet strips. The carpet strips are then fed to a second shredder 4 that shreds the carpet strips in a second direction, perpendicular to the first direction to produce small carpet fragments. The carpet fragments are then fed into a first rotary impact separator 5. The carpet is generally moved between the components of the apparatus 1 by means of conveyors.
As described below, the first rotary impact separator 5 acts to separate the polypropylene fibres of die carpet fragments from the backing. Powder material from the backing falls through a screen formed at a lower side of die first rotary impact separator 5 and is conveyed to trommel separator 11 via an under conveyor 10. The first rotary impact separator 5 is provided with an air filtration system that extracts some polypropylene fibre separated from the carpet fragments and conveys it through air ducts to an air filtration apparatus 8 or to the second rotary impact separator 6. Material that does not fall through the screen and is not extracted via the air filtration system passes through the first rotary impact separator 5 and is conveyed to a second rotary impact separator 6, this material will include polypropylene fibres.
As described below, the second rotary impact separator 6 acts to separate the polypropylene fibres of the carpet fragments from the backing. Powder material from the backing falls through a screen formed at a lower side of the second rotary impact separator 6 and is conveyed to the trommel separator I I via an under conveyor 10. The second rotary impact separator 6 is provided with an air filtration system that extracts polypropylene fibre separated from the carpet fragments and conveys it through air ducts to an air filtration apparatus 8 or to the third rotary impact separator for further separation. Material that does not fall through the screen and is not extracted via the air filtration system passes through the first rotary impact separator 6 and is conveyed to a third rotary impact separator 7, this will material include polypropylene fibres.
As described below, the third rotary impact separator 7 acts to separate the polypropylene fibres of the carpet fragments from the backing. Powder material from the backing falls through a screen formed at a lower side of the third rotary impact separator 7 and is conveyed to the trommel separator 11 via an under conveyor 10. The third rotary impact separator 7 is provided with an air filtration system that extracts polypropylene fibre separated from the carpet fragments mid conveys it through air ducts to an air filtration apparatus 8. Material that does not fall through the screen and is not extracted via the air filtration system passes through the third rotary impact separator 7 and is either discarded or reintroduced into the apparatus 1 via an inspection station 2.
The first, second, and third rotary impact separators 5, 6, 7 comprises rotating paddles and baffles that operate to separate the polypropylene fibres of the carpet fragments from the backing by impacting the carpet fragments. The paddles and baffles sit within the rotary impact separators 5, 6, 7 and impact the carpet fragments as a chamber and/or the baffles rotate.
Powder material removed from the carpet fragments falls through the screen onto a conveyor due to gravitational and centrifugal forces. The screen of the second rotary impact separator 6 has a smaller mesh size than the first rotary impact separators. The screen of the third rotary impact separator 7 has a smaller mesh size than the second rotary impact separator 6. This allows maximum recovery of the powder material from the rotary impact separators 5, 6, 7.
The rotating paddles and baffles are formed to efficiently separate the polypropylene fibres from the backing without excessive heating. In particular, the first, second, and third rotary impact separators 5, 6, 7 are controlled to operate such that none of the components of the carpet melt. That is, the temperature of the polypropylene fibres is not raised above their melting point and the temperature of the backing and adhesive is not raised to a temperature that would melt the adhesive. The first, second, and third rotary impact separators are controlled to break the backing into a granular form without causing any significant heating that would cause the backing and/or the polypropylene fibre to melt.
Powder material that is collected from the first, second, and third rotary impact separators 5,6, 7 will drop onto a conveyor and be passed through the trommcl screening apparatus 11 via the under conveyor 10. This acts to separate the powder material into fine powder material that will substantially consist of calcium carbonate and larger particulate material that will include adhesive. The larger particulate material is then further processed, by passing the larger particulate material back through the first, second, and third rotary impact separators 5. 6. 7 via a particulate conveyor 12. The fine powder material is collected in a silo 13.
As set out above, the polypropylene fibres are collected from the first, second, and third rotary impact separators via air filtration systems 8 that are connected via air ducting 14. After collecting the polypropylene fibres are pelletised in a pelletiser and can then be further processed The embodiment of the invention described above is to be understood as being exemplary only and is not intended to be limiting on the scope of the application The invention is defined in the claims.

Claims (23)

  1. Claims 1. Apparatus for processing polypropylene carpet comprising: at least one shredder for cutting a carpet into carpet pieces having a shredder air filtration system; at least one rotary impact separator for processing the carpet pieces having a mesh screen at a lower side through which granular material can fall.
  2. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one rotary impact separator comprises a RIS air filtration system for extracting polypropylene fibres.
  3. 3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein polypropylene fibres are extracted from the at least one rotary impact separator as fluff by means of a conveyor.
  4. 4. Apparatus according to any preceding claim. further comprising a mechanical screening apparatus positioned after the at least one rotary impact separator for separating powder material from other carpet material.
  5. 5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the mechanical screening apparatus has a first outlet for the powder material to be collected and a second outlet for the other carpet material, wherein the second outlet is connected to an input of the at least one rotary impact separator.
  6. 6. Apparatus according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the mechanical screening apparatus is a trommel screen.
  7. 7. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein an outlet of the shredder air filtration system feeds into an inlet of the at least one rotary impact separator.
  8. 8. Apparatus according to any preceding claim comprising at least two rotary impact separators positioned one after the other.
  9. 9. Apparatus according to claim 8 comprising at least three rotary impact separators positioned one after the other.
  10. 10. Apparatus according to any preceding claim further comprising an infra-red reader for identifying polypropylene carpet.
  11. 1 I. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, comprising a first shredder for cutting carpet in a first direction and a second shredder, positioned after the first shredder, for cutting the carpet in a second direction.
  12. 12. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, further comprising a pelletiser at an outlet of the rotary impact separator air filtration system for pelletising the polypropylene fibres.
  13. 13. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the at least one rotary impact separator are formed to operate without heating the carpet above the melting temperature of polypropylene.
  14. 14. A method of processing polypropylene carpet comprising the steps of: shredding the carpet into carpet pieces using at least one shredder; passing the carpet pieces through at least one rotary impact separator; collecting powder material from the at least one rotary impact separator: and collecting polypropylene fibres from the at least one rotary impact separator
  15. 15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the polypropylene fibres are collected from the at least one rotary impact separator by means of an air filtration system.
  16. 16. A method according to claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the polypropylene fibres are collected from the at least one rotary impact separator as polypropylene fluff by means of a conveyor.
  17. 17. A method according to any of claims 14 to 16, wherein the carpet is shredded by passing the carpet through a first shredder that cuts the carpet in a first direction and then passing the carpet through a second shredder that cuts the carpet in a second direction.
  18. 18. A method according to any of claims 14 to 17, wherein polypropylene fibres arc collected from the at least one shredder using a shredder air filtration system.
  19. 19. A method according to any of claims 14 to 18, wherein the carpet pieces arc passed through a first rotary impact separator and then a second rotary impact separator.
  20. 20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the carpet pieces are passed through a first rotary impact separator, then a second rotary impact separator, and then a third rotary impact separator.
  21. 21. A method according to any of claims 14 to 20, wherein powder material collected from at least one rotary impact separator is passed through a mechanical separator to separate 10 polypropylene dust from the powder material.
  22. 22. A method according to any of claims 14 to 21, wherein the at least one rotary impact separator is controlled to operate such that the temperature of polypropylene fibres in the carpet pieces is not raised above the melting point of polypropylene and the temperature of backing and adhesive of the carpet pieces is not raised to a temperature that would melt the adhesive.
  23. 23 A method according to any of claims 14 to 22 further comprising an initial step of using aninfra-red scanner to confirm whether a carpet is a polypropylene carpet.
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Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5535945A (en) * 1995-02-27 1996-07-16 Basf Corportion Carpet recycling process and system
US20120325943A1 (en) * 2011-06-22 2012-12-27 Frank Levy Apparatus and Process for Separating Carpet Fibers
EP3235615A1 (en) * 2016-04-20 2017-10-25 Paspek Consulting LLC Process for recycling carpet and rotary impact separator

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5535945A (en) * 1995-02-27 1996-07-16 Basf Corportion Carpet recycling process and system
US20120325943A1 (en) * 2011-06-22 2012-12-27 Frank Levy Apparatus and Process for Separating Carpet Fibers
EP3235615A1 (en) * 2016-04-20 2017-10-25 Paspek Consulting LLC Process for recycling carpet and rotary impact separator

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GB202103463D0 (en) 2021-04-28

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