Use of waste carpet as filler

Abstract

By utilizing specially processed waste carpeting as a filler in the production of carpet backcoating, roofing materials, or other similar products, the amount of waste carpeting that is landfilled or otherwise disposed of is significantly reduced as is the need for mining the mineral fillers. Waste carpeting (post-consumer and/or waste from new carpet manufacture) containing calcium carbonate and a thermoplastic resin is collected and size-reduced to a size corresponding to the size of calcium carbonate typically used as a filler. The size-reduced waste carpeting is added as filler to at least one other material, such as polymers in standard latex, EVA, or PVC carpet backcoatings, to provide a composite used in the manufacture of a useful product (like carpet backcoating), and then the composite material is used to make the useful product (such as carpet backcoating, which is used as a primary or secondary backcoating in the manufacture of new carpeting). The waste carpeting may provide between 0-100% of the filler of carpet backcoating, with any remainder made up by conventional fillers, such as calcium carbonate.

1 - 14 . (Canceled)  
   
   
       15 . A method of recycling waste carpeting and forming a new carpet containing the recycled waste carpeting comprising: 
 (a) collecting waste carpeting containing calcium carbonate and thermoplastic materials;    (b) processing the waste carpeting to provide a first material from the waste carpeting containing a first filler including the calcium carbonate and the thermoplastic materials and reducing the first material to a predetermined size in a range of 50-100 to 95-325 wherein the first number represents the percentage of the first material which will pass through a mesh screen having a mesh size corresponding to the second number;    (c) adding the first material to a second material to provide a composite material useful in the manufacture of the new carpet; and    (d) making the new carpet containing the composite material.    
   
   
       16 . A method according to  claim 15  wherein step (b) includes reducing the first material to a predetermined size in a range of 50-100 to 95-325 wherein the first number represents the percentage of the first material which will pass through a mesh screen having a mesh size corresponding to the second number.  
   
   
       17 . A method according to  claim 16  wherein the step of reducing includes grinding the first material.  
   
   
       18 . A method according to  claim 15  wherein the filler comprises calcium carbonate.  
   
   
       19 . A method according to  claim 15  including adding the first material to the second material to comprise a carpet backcoating and where step (c) is practiced by making a carpet backcoating.  
   
   
       20 . A method according to  claim 19  including processing the composite material of step (c) into molten form having a viscosity in a range of 10,000-30,000 CPS.  
   
   
       21 . A method according to  claim 20  wherein step (c) is practiced to produce a carpet backcoating with about 3-30% EVA copolymer, about 15-65% resin and 30-70% of a second filler wherein the second filler comprises calcium carbonate and a predetermined percentage of the composite material.  
   
   
       22 . A method according to  claim 15  wherein steps (c) and (d) are practiced to produce thermoplastic or thermoset products.  
   
   
       23 . A method according to  claim 15  wherein steps (c) and (d) are practiced to produce PVC products.  
   
   
       24 . A method of recycling waste carpeting comprising: 
 (a) collecting waste carpeting;    (b) processing the waste carpeting to provide a first material from the waste carpeting containing a filler and thermoplastic materials:    (c) heating the first material to a temperature enabling the first material to flow; and    (d) flowing the first material onto a second material to bond the first material and second material to one another to form a useful product.    
   
   
       25 . A method according to  claim 24  wherein step (d) includes flowing the first material onto the second material wherein the second material is formed of fiberglass and making new carpeting with the first and second materials and fiberglass.  
   
   
       26 . Carpeting having a face, primary backing, primary backcoating and at least one secondary backcoating; and wherein at least one of said primary and secondary backcoatings comprise a latex compound and a filler and wherein about 20-50% of said filler is size-reduced waste carpeting.  
   
   
       27 . Carpeting according to  claim 26  wherein said size-reduced waste carpeting comprises size-reduced post-consumer waste carpeting and wherein said filler has a particle size in a range of about 50-100 to 95-325 wherein the first number represents the percentage of the filler which will pass through a mesh screen having a mesh size corresponding to the second number.  
   
   
       28 . A method of recycling waste carpeting and forming a useful intermediate product, comprising the steps of: 
 (a) collecting waste carpeting containing calcium carbonate and at least one of a thermoplastic resin, nylon and caprolactam; and    (b) reducing the waste carpeting to a predetermined particle size in a range of 50-100 to 95-325 wherein the first number represents the percentage of the waste carpeting which pass through a mesh screen having a mesh size corresponding to the second number.    
   
   
       29 . A method according to  claim 28  wherein step (b) includes grinding the waste carpeting.  
   
   
       30 . A method according to  claim 28  wherein step (b) including grinding the waste carpeting to produce particles having a particle size in a range of about 78-200.  
   
   
       31 . A method according to  claim 28  wherein the waste carpeting of step (a) contains calcium carbonate 50-70%, a thermoplastic resin mixture 0-45%, nylon 0-45% and caprolactam 0-8%, said percentages being by weight.  
   
   
       32 . A method according to  claim 28 , including processing the reduced waste carpeting to provide a final useful product, the step of processing including combining the waste carpeting in a molten resin to form the useful process.