Method of reusing a textile material which comprises cellulose

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11519104-B2
Application number	US-201916962504-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 14, 2019
Priority date	Jan 15, 2018
Publication date	Dec 6, 2022
Grant date	Dec 6, 2022

Abstract

Method of recycling a textile material which comprises cellulose for manufacturing regenerated cellulosic molded bodies, wherein in the method the textile material is comminuted, at least a part of non-fiber-constituents of the comminuted textile material is separated from fiber-constituents of the comminuted textile material, at least a part of non-cellulosic fibers of the fiber-constituents is mechanically separated from cellulosic fibers of the fiber-constituents, at least a further part of the non-cellulosic fibers is chemically separated from the cellulosic fibers, and the molded bodies are generated based on the cellulosic fibers after mechanically separating and chemically separating.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Method of recycling a textile material which comprises cellulose for manufacturing regenerated cellulosic molded bodies, wherein the method comprises:
comminuting the textile material;
separating at least a part of non-fiber-constituents of the comminuted textile material from fiber-constituents of the comminuted textile material;
mechanically separating at least a part of non-cellulosic fibers of the fiber-constituents from cellulosic fibers of the fiber-constituents, and subsequently
chemically separating at least a further part of the non-cellulosic fibers from the cellulosic fibers;
generating the molded bodies based on the cellulosic fibers after the mechanically separating and the chemically separating.

2. Method according to claim 1 , comprising at least one of the following features:
wherein comminuting the textile material comprises shredding;
wherein in separating the at least a part of non-fiber-constituents, foreign matters of a group are separated from the rest of the textile material, which group is consisting of buttons, zip fasteners, seams, and textile print;
wherein separating the non-fiber-constituents from the fiber-constituents is performed due to different physical properties;
wherein mechanically separating is performed based on density differences between the non-cellulosic fibers and the cellulosic fibers;
wherein mechanically separating is performed based on different electrostatic properties between the non-cellulosic fibers and the cellulosic fibers.

3. Method according to claim 1 , wherein mechanically separating comprises:
suspending the fiber-constituents in a liquid medium;
separating the non-cellulosic fibers from the cellulosic fibers due to different physical properties in the liquid medium centrifugal force-related, flotational and/or electrostatic properties.

4. Method according to claim 3 , wherein the liquid medium comprises at least one additive for increasing the different physical properties of non-cellulosic fibers and cellulosic fibers.

5. Method according to claim 1 , wherein chemically separating comprises:
selectively solving only at least a part of the non-cellulosic fibers or only at least a part of the cellulosic fibers in a solvent;
separating at least a part of the non-solved fiber-constituents.

6. Method according to claim 1 , wherein chemically separating comprises:
supplying an alkaline solution.

7. Method according to claim 6 , wherein supplying the alkaline solution is performed for degrading non-cellulosic fibers.

8. Method according to claim 1 , comprising at least one of the following features:
wherein chemically separating comprises:
converting at least a part of the non-cellulosic fibers to soluble substances,
solving the soluble substances in a solvent, and
separating non-solved cellulosic fibers from the solved substances;
wherein mechanically separating and/or chemically separating comprises separating synthetic fibers as non-cellulosic fibers;
wherein generating the molded bodies is performed based on the cellulosic fibers by the lyocell-method or by the viscose-method.

9. Method according to claim 1 , wherein generating the molded bodies comprises:
solving the cellulosic fibers in a solvent and transferring the solved cellulosic fibers in a spinning mass;
extruding the spinning mass through spinning nozzles and subsequently precipitating in a spinning bath.

10. Method according to claim 9 , comprising at least one of the following features:
wherein solving the cellulosic fibers is performed by a direct solving method and/or by tertiary amine oxides as solvent;
wherein precipitating in a spinning bath is caused by an aqueous milieu.

11. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the method comprises bleaching the chemically separated cellulosic fibers.

12. Method according to claim 11 , wherein bleaching comprises at least one of a group which is consisting of an oxidative bleaching, a reductive bleaching, and an enzymatic bleaching.

13. Method according to claim 11 , wherein the bleaching comprises performing acidic washing.

14. Method of recycling a textile material which comprises cellulose for manufacturing regenerated cellulosic molded bodies, wherein the method comprises:
comminuting the textile material;
separating at least a part of non-fiber-constituents of the comminuted textile material from fiber-constituents of the comminuted textile material;
mechanically separating at least a part of non-cellulosic fibers of the fiber-constituents from cellulosic fibers of the fiber-constituents, and subsequently
chemically separating at least a further part of the non-cellulosic fibers from the cellulosic fibers;
generating the molded bodies based on the cellulosic fibers after the mechanically separating and the chemically separating;
wherein after separating at least a part of the non-fiber-constituents, further comprises:
further comminuting the separated non-fiber-constituents;
recovering fiber residues from the further comminuted non-fiber-constituents; and
supplying the recovered fiber residues to the fiber-constituents and/or to mechanically separating.

15. Method according to claim 1 , comprising at least one of the following features:
wherein the method, prior to mechanically separating, comprises separating the fiber-constituents to single fibers;
wherein the method comprises postprocessing the precipitated molded bodies;
wherein in the method at most a part of the non-cellulosic fibers from the textile material is co-used for manufacturing the molded bodies;
wherein an inhomogeneous textile material is used as textile material;
wherein the textile material comprises or consists of remains from a clothing manufacture and/or old clothes;
wherein a molded body is a fiber, a foil, a sponge, a sphere or a bead;
wherein the method comprises further processing the molded bodies to a product.

Assignees

• Chemiefaser Lenzing Ag

Inventors

• Klaus-Nietrost Christoph
• Herchl Richard
• Weilach Christian

Classifications

• Y02P70/62

  related technologies for production or treatment of textile or flexible materials or products thereof, including footwear · CPC title

• B29B2017/0424

  Specific disintegrating techniques; devices therefor · CPC title

• B29B2017/0255

  using different melting or softening temperatures of the materials to be separated · CPC title

• B29B2017/0265

  Electrostatic separation · CPC title

• B29B2017/0224

  Screens, sieves · CPC title