Apparatus for deconstructing textile waste materials

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for quality deconstruction of textile waste materials which comprises an initial feedbox or hopper, a feedbox conveyor, one or more than one serially-connected treatment/deconstruction groups, an outlet conveyor, and a centralized computer controller. The apparatus described herein can produce fibers with one or more enhanced qualities relative to those fibers produced by tearing drums.

1 . An apparatus for treating textile waste materials, comprising:
 a) a porous conveyor belt adapted to convey textile materials to be treated,   b) a first zone for applying steam to textile materials to be treated, comprising at least one nozzle either above a location where the textile materials would be conveyed, below the porous conveyor belt at a location where the textile materials would be conveyed, or both   c) a second zone for applying one or more chemical or enzymatic treatments to textile materials to be treated, comprising:   i) at least one nozzle either above a location where the textile materials would be conveyed, and a vacuum system below the porous conveyor belt at a location where the textile materials would be conveyed, or   ii) at least one vacuum system either above a location where the textile materials would be conveyed, and at least one nozzle below the porous conveyor belt at a location where the textile materials would be conveyed.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further including a pump for pumping a desired treatment composition through the nozzle(s). 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a central computer unit or central processing unit/CPU, which can control one or more of the amount of steam, the type of chemical and/or enzyme to be applied to the textile materials, and the deposition rate of the chemical and/or enzyme to be applied to the textile materials. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a condensation collection unit. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a temperature regulating means to regulate the temperature of the treatment station. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the temperature regulating means comprises one or more temperature gauges, thermocouples, thermometers, thermostats, refrigerants, refrigeration units, or heating units. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a generator unit. 
     
     
         8 . A method for treating textile waste materials using the apparatus of  claim 1 , comprising:
 a) placing textile materials to be treated on a porous conveyor,   b) advancing the conveyor to a first zone, comprising one or more nozzles adapted to deliver steam to the textile materials to be treated, where the nozzle(s) are located either above the textile materials, below the porous conveyor belt, or both,   c) applying a sufficient quantity of steam to raise the moisture content of the textile materials to be treated to between around 10 and around 30 percent by weight,   d) advancing the conveyor to a second zone, comprising one or more nozzles adapted to deliver one or more chemical and/or enzymatic treatments to the textile materials to be treated, where the nozzle(s) are located either above the textile materials or below the porous conveyor belt, and where a vacuum system is located either below the porous conveyor, or above the textile materials, respectively, and   e) applying one or more chemical and/or enzymatic treatments to the textile materials.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the treatment compositions comprise one or more of an enzyme, a surfactant, or a silicone treatment. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the enzyme comprises a cellulase, protease, lipase, pectinase, or amylase. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the surfactant is a cationic, anionic, zwitterionic, or nonionic surfactant, 
     
     
         12 . An apparatus for deconstructing textile waste materials, comprising:
 a) a conveyor and   b) multiple rotary drums, which can be the same size, or can be of different sizes,   wherein each rotary drum comprises a curvilinear surface disposed with a plurality of rows of cutting needles, and   c) one or more motors adapted to rotate each drum.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the apparatus comprises two drums, each rotating in opposite directions. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein a first rotary drum is disposed on top of and facing a second rotary drum, and the rows of cutting needles on the curvilinear surfaces of the first rotary drum and the second rotary drum interpose with each other. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the apparatus comprises three drums. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the cutting needles each comprise a cutting portion having at least one cutting edge oriented to face a direction where the textile materials are conveyed to the first rotary drum and the second rotary drum to slice into the textile materials and deconstruct the textile materials without causing significant damage to fibers in the textile materials. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the cutting needles each comprise a flat shaped base portion below the cutting edge portion, adapted to connect the cutting needles to the rotary drums. 
     
     
         18 . The deconstruction station of  claim 12 , further comprising a temperature regulating means to regulate the temperature of the treatment station. 
     
     
         19 . The deconstruction station of  claim 18 , wherein the temperature regulating means comprises one or more temperature gauges, thermocouples, thermometers, thermostats, refrigerants, refrigeration units, or heating units. 
     
     
         20 . A method for deconstructing textile materials using the apparatus of  claim 12 , comprising:
 a) placing textile materials to be deconstructed on a porous conveyor,   b) advancing the conveyor to the two or more rotary drums, and passing the textile to be deconstructed through the rotating drums such that the cutting needles penetrate the textile materials, and cut through to yarn segments, dividing the yarn segments into long pieces of yarn.   
     
     
         21 . An apparatus comprising:
 a) an initial feedbox or hopper for storing textile materials ready to be processed;   b) a feedbox conveyor adapted to convey materials from the initial feedbox or hopper to one or more serially-connected treatment and/or deconstruction stations,   c) a treatment station comprising:
 i) a porous conveyor belt adapted to convey textile materials to be treated, 
 ii) a first zone for applying steam to textile materials to be treated, comprising at least one nozzle either above a location where the textile materials would be conveyed, below the porous conveyor belt at a location where the textile materials would be conveyed, or both 
 iii) a second zone for applying one or more chemical or enzymatic treatments to textile materials to be treated, comprising:
 ia) at least one nozzle either above a location where the textile materials would be conveyed, and a vacuum system below the porous conveyor belt at a location where the textile materials would be conveyed, or 
 iia) at least one vacuum system either above a location where the textile materials would be conveyed, and at least one nozzle below the porous conveyor belt at a location where the textile materials would be conveyed, and 
 
   d) a deconstruction station comprising:
 iv) a conveyor and 
 v) multiple rotary drums, which can be the same size, or can be of different sizes, 
   wherein each rotary drum comprises a curvilinear surface disposed with a plurality of rows of cutting needles, and
 vi) one or more motors adapted to rotate each drum, wherein the treatment station and deconstruction station are serially connected. 
   
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the treatment station and/or the deconstruction station comprise a temperature regulating means. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the temperature regulating means comprises one or more temperature gauges, thermocouples, thermometers, thermostats, refrigerants, refrigeration units, or heating units. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the treatment station and deconstruction station are housed in one enclosure, which enclosure includes an inlet to receive textile materials to be treated and deconstructed, and an outlet to output the fibers derived from the treated and deconstructed textile materials. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the treatment station and deconstruction station are housed in separate enclosures. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the apparatus comprises at least two deconstruction stations. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein the spacing between the cutting needles in each of the plurality of rows of cutting needles of a subsequent treatment and deconstruction station is less than that of each previous deconstruction station. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , further comprising at least one outlet conveyor, which conveys treated and deconstructed textile materials out of the last of the series of treatment and deconstruction stations. 
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , further comprising a redeposit mechanism at the outlet conveyor adapted to separate textile materials that have been treated and deconstructed into a first group comprising textile materials of a relatively lighter weight or relatively lower density, and a second group comprising textile materials of a relatively heavier weight or relatively higher density. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein the redeposit mechanism comprises a covered area at the outlet conveyor, and further comprises a suctioning means disposed at a top end of the covered area and a conveyor, and a source of suction adapted for removing material as it is separated. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 28 , further comprising a centralized computer controller or central processing unit (CPU) adapted to control one or more of the functions of the apparatus. 
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 30 , wherein the functions to be controlled are selected from the group consisting of the type of treatment compositions delivered by the nozzles, the application rate of the treatment compositions delivered by the nozzles, the size of the cutting blades, the temperatures of the treatment station or deconstruction station, the speed of rotation of the rotary drums. 
     
     
         32 . A method for treating and deconstructing textile materials using the apparatus of  claim 20 , comprising:
 a) passing textile materials to be treated, which textile materials comprise fibers, through the hopper or feedbox onto the feedbox conveyor and then into a treatment station,   b) opening up the fibers in the textile materials by applying steam to them in the first zone,   c) treating the fibers in the textile materials with one or more treatment compositions in the second zone, and   d) passing the treated textile materials to the rotary cutting drums in a deconstruction station.   
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the treatments are applied to the textile materials to soften or relax twists in the waste materials, provide stain resistance, provide resistance to microbial contamination, provide color, strengthen the fibers, or reduce static. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the treatment compositions comprise one or more of an enzyme, such as a cellulase, protease, lipase, pectinase, or amylase enzyme, a surfactant, a silicone treatment, a poly (vinylamine-vinylformamide) copolymer, or a demulsifiers. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein after the treatment and deconstruction steps, at least a portion of the textile material has been converted to separated fibers. 
     
     
         36 . A yarn, knit, woven fabric or non-woven fabric prepared using the fibers of  claim 35 .