Method for clean fiber recovery from contaminated articles

Abstract

A method ( 10 ) for cleaning fibers from a contaminated article is disclosed. The method ( 10 ) can include pulping ( 20 ) a contaminated article to separate the fibers or filaments from the contaminated article in a first solution to provide dissociated pulped fibers. The method ( 10 ) can also include washing ( 26 ) the dissociated pulped fibers by forming a suspension comprising the dissociated pulped fibers from the contaminated article and a detergent, applying a magnetic field to the suspension, and mixing the suspension to wash the dissociated pulped fibers while applying the magnetic field to the suspension thereby forming washed pulped fibers. Contaminates can be removed from the suspension while washing ( 26 ) the dissociated pulped fibers. The washed pulped fibers can be rinsed and dried to provide clean fibers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for cleaning fibers from a contaminated article, the method comprising:
 providing a contaminated article comprising contaminates and at least one of fibers and filaments;   pulping the contaminated article to separate the at least one of fibers and filaments from the contaminated article in a first solution to provide dissociated pulped fibers;   forming a suspension comprising the dissociated pulped fibers from the contaminated article and a detergent;   applying a magnetic field to the suspension;   mixing the suspension to wash the dissociated pulped fibers while applying the magnetic field to the suspension thereby forming washed pulped fibers;   removing contaminates from the suspension;   removing the washed pulped fibers from the suspension;   rinsing the washed pulped fibers after removing the washed pulped fibers from the suspension to provide rinsed pulped fibers; and   drying the rinsed pulped fibers to provide clean fibers.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein removing contaminates from the suspension comprises skimming a surface of the suspension as contaminates accumulate to the surface of the suspension. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 Pre-sorting and pre-washing the contaminated article prior to pulping the contaminated article, the pre-washing comprising stirring the contaminated article in a pre-washing solution.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 treating the washed pulped fibers with a pH adjustment solution after removing the washed pulped fibers from the suspension to provide treated pulped fibers.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 Neutralization and rinsing the treated pulped fibers to provide rinsed pulped fibers.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein treating the pulped fibers with the pH adjustment solution comprises heating the pH adjustment solution to at least about 50° Celsius. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein pulping the contaminated article to separate the at least one of fibers and filaments from the contaminated article further comprises heating the first solution to at least about 50° Celsius. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein pulping the contaminated article to separate the at least one of fibers and filaments from the contaminated article to provide dissociated pulped fibers occurs within a magnetic field. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein forming the suspension comprises providing the dissociated pulped fibers and the detergent in a second solution, and wherein the magnetic field applied to the suspension is provided by at least one magnet, the at least one magnet being at least partially submerged in the suspension. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the contaminates are selected from the group consisting of oils, greases, solvents, and lubricants. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 filtering the dissociated pulped fibers from the first solution prior to forming the suspension with the dissociated pulped fibers and the detergent.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 rinsing the dissociated pulped fibers after filtering the dissociated pulped fibers from the first solution and prior to forming the suspension with the dissociated pulped fibers and the detergent.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 cutting the contaminated article into a plurality of strips prior to pulping the contaminated article.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the contaminated article is a non-woven article. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the non-woven article comprises pulp fibers and at least one of polymeric fibers and polymeric filaments. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the non-woven article comprises pulp fibers and polymeric fibers, and wherein the ratio of pulp fibers to polymeric fibers is at least 0.5. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the magnetic field applied to the suspension has a strength of at least 5000 gauss. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a plurality of contaminated articles are cleaned simultaneously. 
     
     
         19 . A method for manufacturing an article from recycled fibers, wherein the clean fibers from the method according to  claim 1  are used in the manufacturing of the article. 
     
     
         20 . A method for cleaning fibers from a contaminated article, the method comprising:
 providing a contaminated article comprising contaminates and at least one of fibers and filaments, the contaminates comprising at least one of oils, greases, solvents, and lubricants;   pre-sorting and pre-washing the contaminated article in a pre-washing solution;   pulping the contaminated article in a first solution to separate the at least one of fibers and filaments from the contaminated article to provide dissociated pulped fibers; the first solution being heated;   applying a magnetic field to the first solution while pulping the contaminated article to provide dissociated pulped fibers;   filtering the dissociated pulped fibers from the first solution after pulping the contaminated article;   rinsing the dissociated pulped fibers after filtering the pulped fibers from the first solution;   forming a suspension comprising the dissociated pulped fibers from the contaminated article and a detergent in a second solution;   applying a magnetic field to the second solution;   mixing the suspension to wash the dissociated pulped fibers while applying the magnetic field to the suspension thereby forming washed pulped fibers;   skimming the surface of the suspension to remove contaminates;   rinsing the washed pulped fibers after removing the washed pulped fibers from the suspension to provide rinsed pulped fibers;   treating the rinsed pulped fibers with a pH adjustment solution to provide treated pulped fibers, the pH adjustment solution being heated;   neutralizing and rinsing the treated pulped fibers to provide further rinsed pulped fibers; and   drying the further rinsed pulped fibers to provide clean fibers.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20  wherein an amount of the detergent is quantified as a weight ratio of the detergent to the contaminated article and is in a range of 0.0025 to 0.10 and more preferably in a range of 0.010 to 0.10. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the detergent is added during the forming step and at least one of the pre-wash and mixing steps and a total amount of detergent added during all steps is in the range of 0.0025 to 0.10 and more preferably in the range of 0.010 to 0.10.