Latex that enables carpet recycling

Typical latex that is used to bind textile fibers to the carpet backing is based on Styrene Butadien (SB). SB has favourable properties because of it’s flexibility and crosslinking, but exactly the crosslinking is makeing itself a polymer that is hard to recycle and furthermore, harder to seperate valueable pure carpet fibers (PP, PET, PE, PA/Nylon) for mechanical and chemical purposes. For both recycling processes, a more pure raw material source, will be favourable for high quality recycled material as an output.

Seperation of Carpet materials

Intercol has made various carpet precoat and secondary coating compounds, with and without filler, based on vinyl polymers. Carpets like these are already on the market and often to be recognized as “thermoplastic vinyl backing” and or “low odour” carpets. These vinyl polymers are waterbased, after drying it stays uncrosslinked, highly uv stable and water resistant, but in the end it is solluble in some mild solvents. Seperation of carpets based on vinyl adhesive polymers are therefor expected to support recycling methods that already exist, like PA 6 recycling with more, and more pure materials, as well as new recycling initiatives for other yarns like PE, PET and PP. Furthermore it enables the recycling of all the other materials as well, such as the filler, backing-screen and adhesive polymer.

For mechanical recycling

Mechanical recycling processes can benefit here from pure and clean material entry. For example just the clean separated carpet fibers. Or the filler that is likely to be processed again to new filler. Mechanical recycling becomes more economic as the input stream is more stable and does not contain other material pollutions.

For Chemical recycling

For Chemical recycling an input stream without contamination of other materials (e.g. pure PET, or pure PA) is favourable for the most efficient recycle process. The risk with contamination can effect the efficiency of the process or damage (corrode) the chemical recycling installation.

Carpet fibers are textiles

Most carpet fibers are textiles. Therfor the fibers could benefit from a recycle industry that is build for the Textile industry in general.