Patent Grant
12110613
The present invention relates to technology of recycling nonwoven fabrics, and more particularly, to a method for producing a recycling nonwoven fabric by using a waste nonwoven fabric.
As a prior-art patent document related to the technology of producing recycling nonwoven fabrics by using waste nonwoven fabrics, Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0974173 discloses a process, whereby waste nonwoven fabrics are cut to a certain size in a cutting device and then the cut waste nonwoven fabrics are temporarily stored in a storage unit, the waste nonwoven fabrics are sprayed with a certain thickness and a certain amount by using an airlaid and in this case, low melting point fibers and short fibers forming a surface layer are stacked by a carding machine via an additional conveying conveyor, the low melting point fibers and the short fibers are needle punched using a needle punching device to apply pressure with a pressurizing unit having a high temperature and to press, thereby producing recycling nonwoven fabrics.
The present invention provides a method for recycling a nonwoven fabric so as to produce a recycling nonwoven fabric by using a waste nonwoven fabric.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for recycling a nonwoven fabric, the method including: a waste nonwoven fabric pulverization operation of pulverizing a waste nonwoven fabric to obtain pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles; a material mixing operation of dispersing and mixing the pulverized nonwoven fabric particles and a filler in water to obtain a nonwoven fabric mixture; a raw material mixing operation of adding a fixing agent for agglomeration of the pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles and the filler to the nonwoven fabric mixture, followed by mixing, to form a raw material; a draining operation of separating and removing water from the raw material to form a recycled nonwoven fabric sheet; a first lamination operation of laminating the plurality of recycled nonwoven fabric sheets to form a laminate; and a compressing/dehydrating operation of compressing and dehydrating the laminate.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of recycling a nonwoven fabric, the method including: a waste nonwoven fabric pulverization operation of pulverizing a plurality of different types of waste nonwoven fabrics to obtain a plurality of different types of waste nonwoven fabric particles; a material mixing operation of dispersing and mixing the plurality of different types of pulverized nonwoven fabric particles and a filler in water to obtain a plurality of different types of nonwoven fabric mixtures; a raw material mixing operation of adding a fixing agent for agglomeration of the pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles and the filler to the plurality of different types of nonwoven fabric mixtures, followed by mixing, to form a plurality of different types of raw materials; a draining operation of separating and removing water from the plurality of different types of raw materials to form a plurality of different types of recycled nonwoven fabric sheets; a first lamination operation of laminating the plurality of different types of recycled nonwoven fabric sheets to form a laminate; and a compressing/dehydrating operation of compressing and dehydrating the laminate.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of recycling a nonwoven fabric, the method including: a waste nonwoven fabric pulverization operation of pulverizing a waste nonwoven fabric to obtain pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles; a material mixing operation of dispersing and mixing the pulverized nonwoven fabric particles and a filler in water to obtain a nonwoven fabric mixture; a raw material mixing operation of adding a fixing agent for agglomeration of the pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles and the filler to the nonwoven fabric mixture, followed by mixing, to form a raw material; a raw material feeding operation of spraying the raw material into an upper space by using a raw material discharging nozzle and supplying the raw material; a raw material settling operation of settling the raw material filled in the upper space into an intermediate space, which is located below the upper space and in which a filter net for passing water downward is installed on a bottom; a draining operation of draining water from a lower space located below the intermediate space to form a nonwoven fabric recycling sheet on the filter net; and a first lamination operation of laminating a plurality of nonwoven fabric recycling sheets to form a laminate, wherein the raw material discharging nozzle includes a plurality of spray holes through which the raw material is discharged, formed therein and a raw material discharging surface convexly formed in a downward direction, and the raw material is uniformly sprayed into the upper space.
According to the present invention, all the objectives of the present invention described above can be achieved. Specifically, since a fixing agent is added to a nonwoven fabric mixture formed by mixing pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles and a filler in water with each other and then supplied to a filter tank to obtain a nonwoven fabric recycling sheet through a primary dispersion process, a secondary dispersion process and a drainage process, the process can be simplified compared to the related art and as such, the effects of cost reduction and productivity improvement can be expected.
Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The configuration of an apparatus for recycling a nonwoven fabric used in a method for recycling a nonwoven fabric according to an embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown in
In the mixing tank 110, the pulverized waste nonwoven bodies and the filler are dispersed in water and mixed with each other to form a waste nonwoven fabric mixture A. To this end, the mixing tank 110 includes an agitating unit 111. The pulverized waste nonwoven bodies are obtained by finely pulverizing a nonwoven fabric scrap or nonwoven fabric waste generated in the manufacturing process of a nonwoven fabric product by using a pulverizer, and it is preferable that the pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles having the same properties are used. The nonwoven fabric used in the present invention includes various fiber materials, for example, natural fibers such as wool, synthetic fibers such as aramid fibers or carbon fibers, inorganic fibers such as ceramic fibers, and metal fibers. It is preferable that the pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles have a length of 10 mm or less. As the filler, various functional fillers including resin materials for bonding and controlling properties of the pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles are used. In the mixing tank 110, the pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles and the filler are supplied in a state in which the mixing tank 110 is filled with water, and the pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles and the filler supplied to water are evenly dispersed and mixed in water by the agitating unit 111. In the present embodiment, the pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles and the filler in the waste nonwoven fabric mixture A have a weight ratio of 8:2. Water used in the mixing tank 110 is water obtained by recycling water drained through the drainage pipe 170 by the water recycling unit 190. The waste nonwoven fabric mixture A stored in the mixing tank 110 is discharged downward by its own weight and is supplied to the raw material mixing tank 130. A first opening/closing valve 113 that controls the flow of the waste nonwoven fabric mixture A is installed on a first transfer line 112 in which the waste nonwoven fabric mixture A discharged from the mixing tank 110 is guided to the raw material mixing tank 130. The mixing tank 110, the first transfer line 112, and the first opening/closing valve 113 constitute a waste nonwoven fabric mixture supplying unit.
A fixing agent mixed solution C in which the fixing agent is mixed, is stored in the fixing agent mixture storage tank 120. The agitating unit 121 is installed in the fixing agent mixture storage tank 120 so that the fixing agent is uniformly dispersed in the fixing agent mixed solution C and mixed with each other. The fixing agent mixed solution C stored in the fixing agent mixture storage tank 120 is discharged downward by its own weight and is supplied to the raw material mixing tank 130. A second opening/closing valve 123 that controls the flow of the waste nonwoven fabric mixture A installed on a second transfer line 122 in which the fixing agent mixed solution C discharged from the fixing agent mixture storage tank 120 is guided to the raw material mixing tank 130. The pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles included in the waste nonwoven fabric mixture Z may be structurally agglomerated and fixed to each other by the fixing agent mixed in the fixing agent mixed solution C. The fixing agent may be one commonly used, such as polyvinyl acetate resin and sodium thiosulfate. The fixing agent mixture storage tank 120, the second transfer line 122, and the second opening/closing valve 123 constitute a fixing agent supplying unit.
A raw material D formed by mixing the waste nonwoven fabric mixture A supplied from the mixing tank 110 and the fixing agent mixed solution C supplied from the fixing agent mixture storage tank 120 with each other, is stored in the raw material mixing tank 130. The agitating unit 131 is installed in the raw material mixing tank 130 so that elements that constitute the raw material D are uniformly dispersed and mixed with each other. The raw material D stored in the raw material mixing tank 130 is discharged through an outlet 132 formed on the bottom of the raw material mixing tank 130, and the raw material D discharged through the outlet 132 flows downward by its own weight through an extension pipe 135 that extends from the outlet 132 downward and is moved to the raw material discharging nozzle 140. A control valve 136 for controlling the movement of the raw material D to the raw material discharging nozzle 140 through the extension pipe 135 is installed on the extension pipe 135.
The raw material discharging nozzle 140 sprays and discharges the raw material D stored in the raw material mixing tank 130 to the filter tank 150. The raw material discharging nozzle 140 is located on the bottom end of the extension pipe 135 that extends from the raw material mixing tank 130. Referring to
In the filter tank 150, the recycling sheet is manufactured by using the raw material D discharged through the raw material discharging nozzle 140. The filter tank 150 includes a filter tank main body 151, a raw material settling unit 160 that is installed inside the filter tank main body 151 and settles the raw material D downward, and a filter unit 165 installed inside the filter tank main body 151.
The filter tank main body 151 includes a bottom 152 and a sidewall 154 extending upwardly from the bottom 152. The bottom 152 is provided with a drainage port 153 for drainage. The sidewall 154 includes a lower sidewall 155 that is formed integrally with the bottom 152, an upper sidewall 156 that is spaced apart from the lower sidewall 155 and located above the lower sidewall 155, and an intermediate sidewall 157 that is located between the lower sidewall 155 and the upper sidewall 156. The raw material settling unit 160 is installed between the intermediate sidewall 157 and the lower sidewall 155, and the filter unit 165 is installed between the intermediate sidewall 157 and the lower sidewall 155. The inner space of the filter tank main body 151 is divided into an intermediate space 151a located between the raw material settling unit 160 and the filter unit 165, an upper space 151b located above the raw material settling unit 160, and a lower space 151c located below the filter unit 165.
The raw material settling unit 160 is installed between the upper space 151b and the intermediate space 151a and settles the raw material D accommodated in the upper space 151b into the intermediate space 151a. The raw material settling unit 160 includes a fixed plate material 161, a moving plate material 163 that is movably installed in a state stacked on the fixed plate material 161, and an actuator 165a that moves the moving plate material 163.
The fixed plate material 161 is installed to be horizontally arranged between the upper space 151b and the intermediate space 151a. A plurality of first through holes 162 are formed and uniformly distributed in the fixed plate material 161.
The moving plate material 163 is slidably installed in a horizontal direction with respect to the fixed plate material 161 in a state stacked on the fixed plate material 161. A plurality of second through holes 164 are formed and uniformly distributed in the moving plate material 163. Depending on the moving position of the moving plate material 163, the plurality of first through holes 162 may be clogged by the moving plate material 163 or may be aligned so that each of the positions of the plurality of first through holes 162 coincides with each of the positions of the plurality of second through holes 164, and may be opened. When the plurality of first through holes 162 are aligned so that each of the positions of the plurality of first through holes 162 coincides with each of the positions of the plurality of second through holes 164, the raw material D accommodated in the upper space 151b is settled downward toward the intermediate space 151a through the first through holes 162 and the second through holes 164. The moving plate material 163 may slide and reciprocate by the actuator 165a. In the present embodiment, the moving plate material 163 is located on the fixed plate material 161. However, unlike this, the moving plate material 163 may also be located under the fixed plate material 161, and this also belongs to the scope of the present invention.
The actuator 165a slidably reciprocates the moving plate material 163 in the horizontal direction and adjusts the moving position with respect to the fixed plate material 161 of the moving plate material 163.
The filter unit 165 includes a filter net 166 and a net support body 167 for supporting the filter net 166.
The filter net 166 is installed so as to be horizontally disposed inside the filter tank main body 151. Specifically, the filter net 166 is detachably coupled between the upper sidewall 157 and the lower sidewall 155. The filter net 166 allows water that is the rest of the raw material D accommodated in the intermediate space 151a to pass downward toward the lower space 151c, except for the aggregate of the pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles and the filler. Water is drained downwardly by the filter net 166, and a recycling sheet made of the aggregate of the pulverized waste nonwoven fabric bodes and the filler remains on the top that is the intermediate space 151a. The filter net 166 is structurally supported by the net support body 167.
The net body support 167 is installed inside the filter tank main body 151 to support the filter net 166. Specifically, the net support body 167 is detachably coupled between the upper side wall 157 and the lower side wall 155 and is positioned under the filter net 166 to structurally support the filter net 166.
The drainage pipe 170 extends from the drainage port 153 formed in the bottom 152 of the filter tank main body 151. Water is discharged to the outside from the inner space of the filter tank main body 151 through the drainage pipe 170. A drainage valve 171 for opening and closing the drainage pipe 150 is installed in the drainage pipe 170. In the present embodiment, it is described that water is drained through the drainage pipe 170 by its own weight. Unlike this, a drainage pump may be installed so that water may be drained by the drainage pump. The vacuum forming unit 180 and a water recycling unit 190 are connected to the drainage pipe 170.
The vacuum forming unit 180 discharges air inside the filter tank 150 to the outside through the drainage pipe 170 to form a vacuum in the lower space 151c of the filter tank 150. The vacuum forming unit 180 includes a vacuum pump 181 and a connection pipe 182 connecting the vacuum pump 181 and the drainage pipe 170. A portion to which the connection pipe 182 and the drainage pipe 170 are connected, is located upstream of the drainage valve 171. The vacuum pump 181 operates to form a vacuum state in the lower space 151c of the filter tank 150, thereby reducing moisture in the recycling sheet formed on the filter net 166.
The water recycling unit 190 includes a water storage tank 191 in which water drained through the drainage pipe 170 is stored, a water supply line 192 that extends between the water storage tank 191 and the mixing tank 110, and a water supply pump 193 installed on the water supply line 192. When the water supply pump 193 operates, water stored in the water storage tank 191 is supplied to the mixing tank 110 through the water supply line 192 and thus, water is recycled.
In the waste nonwoven fabric pulverizing operation (S10), the nonwoven scrap or nonwoven waste generated in the manufacturing process of the nonwoven fabric product is pulverized by a pulverizer to form pulverized waste nonwoven fabric. In the waste nonwoven fabric pulverizing operation (S10), the pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles may be preferably pulverized to have a length of 10 mm or less.
In the material mixing operation (S20), the pulverized waste nonwoven fabric particles obtained through the waste nonwoven fabric pulverizing operation (S10) and a filler are dispersed in water and mixed with each other to obtain a nonwoven fabric mixture. The material mixing operation (S20) is performed in the mixing tank 110 of the apparatus 100 for recycling a nonwoven fabric shown in
In the raw material mixing operation (S30), the fixing agent is added to the nonwoven fabric mixture A obtained through the material mixing operation (S20) to prepare a raw material. The raw material mixing operation (S30) is performed in the raw material mixing tank 130 shown in
In the raw material feeding operation (S40), the raw material D stored in the raw material mixing tank 130 is fed into the filter tank 150. When the raw material feeding operation (S40) is described in more detail with reference to
In the draining operation (S60), water is drained from the filter tank 150 through the drainage port 171. The draining operation S50 is performed by opening the drainage valve 171 installed in the drainage pipe 170.
In the vacuum-dehydration operation (S70), a vacuum is formed in the filter tank 150 to reduce moisture in the recycling sheet B.
In the method for recycling the nonwoven fabric shown in
In the first lamination operation (S80), a plurality of recycling sheets B that have undergone the vacuum-dehydration operation (S70) are stacked to form a laminate.
In the compressing/dehydrating operation (S90), the laminate E including the plurality of recycling sheets B formed through the first lamination operation (S80) is compressed by a press 199 to be additionally dehydrated, as shown in
In the drying operation (S100), the laminate E that has undergone the compressing/dehydrating operation (S90) is heat-treated and dried in a high-temperature furnace. By performing the drying operation (S100), the moisture content of the recycling sheet B is lowered to a level of about 3% compared to the recycling sheet B. Although not shown, a shape blanking operation of punching the recycling sheet B that has undergone the compressing/dehydrating operation (S90) before the drying operation (S100) is performed into a shape close to a finished product may be further performed.
In the second lamination operation (S110), at least one of separately-prepared different nonwoven fabric sheets is stacked on the laminate E that has undergone the drying operation (S100) to form a laminate.
In the molding operation (S120), the additional laminate E formed in the second lamination operation (S110) is molded into the finished product by using a mold.
The first recycling sheet manufacturing operation (S11′), the second recycling sheet manufacturing operation (S11″), and the third recycling sheet manufacturing operation (S11′″) are substantially the same as the recycling sheet manufacturing operation (S11) shown in
In the lamination operation (S81), the plurality of different types of nonwoven fabric recycling sheets B1, B2, and B3 manufactured through each of the plurality of recycling sheet manufacturing operations (S11′, S11″, and S11′″) are stacked to form a laminate.
The compressing/dehydrating operation (S90), the drying operation (S100), and the molding operation (S120) are the same as the compressing/dehydrating operation (S90), the drying operation (S100), and the molding operation (S120) described with reference to
The plurality of recycling sheet manufacturing operations (S11′, S11″, and S11′″) and the first lamination operation (S81) are the same as the plurality of recycling sheet manufacturing operations (S11′, S11″, and S11′″) of the embodiment shown in
The compressing/dehydrating operation (S90), the drying operation (S100), the second lamination operation (S110), and the molding operation (S120) are the same as the compressing/dehydrating operation (S90), the drying operation (S100), the second lamination operation (S110), and the molding operation (S120) of the embodiment shown in
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2019-0005907 | Jan 2019 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2020/000315 | 1/8/2020 | WO |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2020/149562 | 7/23/2020 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5616408 | Oleszczuk | Apr 1997 | A |
| 6037282 | Milding | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6520425 | Reneker | Feb 2003 | B1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 10-504613 | May 1998 | JP |
| 10-1996-0002054 | Feb 1996 | KR |
| 10-2001-0070734 | Jul 2001 | KR |
| 100866648 | Jul 2006 | KR |
| 10-0974173 | Aug 2010 | KR |
| 10-2017-0045498 | Apr 2017 | KR |
| 101941264 | Aug 2018 | KR |
| Entry |
|---|
| Translation of KR100866648B1 (Year: 2024). |
| International Search Report for PCT/KR2020/000315 mailed Apr. 14, 2020 from Korean Intellectual Property Office. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20220010464 A1 | Jan 2022 | US |
