Composite Panels from Reclaimed Textile Waste, 1995 Nonwovens Conference Proceedings

Christopher M. Pastore

North Carolina State University, College of Textiles

Alberto Morales

E. Skott Greenhalgh

Virtesco, Inc.

Textile waste is widely available from many sources. Post-consumer PET accounts for 5 billion leg per year. There is an estimated 100 million kg annually of pm-consumer PET waste fiber. Pre- and post-consumer carpet waste is reported at a level of 3 billion kg per year. In total, there is an estimated 230 billion kg of waste fiber generated annually. Currently only 33% of this waste is used for products. The transformation of textile waste into useful products will extend the life of the polymeric material from which the fibers are made. In this paper, the conversion of waste textile materials into solid panels is presented. The applications of the panels are for secondary load bearing members. Additional benefits are realized in terms of the potential for improved indoor air quality. As a potential replacment material, the panels are compared with pressed wood products. Pressed wood products are commonly used as low cost building materials in the housing industry. They are inexpensive because over two thirds of the material is the waste from sawmills. A comparison of physical and mechanical properties is made between currently available pressed wood building materials and composites made with virgin and reclaimed waste fibers. The comparison is made in terms of volatile organic compound release, moisture absorption, tensile strength, J-point bend, and screw holding ability.