Artificial turf production using a nucleating agent

A method of manufacturing artificial turf that is durable to mechanical stress, the method comprising:

• creating a polymer mixture comprising at least one polymer and a nucleating agent for crystallizing the at least one polymer, the nucleating agent being a mixture of an inorganic substance and an organic substance, wherein the polymer mixture comprises 0.2% to 0.4% by weight the inorganic substance;
• wherein the inorganic substance acting as the nucleating agent consists of one or more of:
• talcum;
• kaolin;
• calcium carbonate;
• magnesium carbonate;
• silicate;
• silicic acid;
• silicic acid ester;
• aluminium trihydrate;
• magnesium hydroxide;
• meta- and/or polyphosphates;
• and coal fly ash;
• wherein the organic substance acting as the nucleating agent consists of one or more of:
• 1,2-cyclohexane dicarbonic acid salt;
• benzoic acid;
• benzoic acid salt;
• sorbic acid;
• or sorbic acid salt;
• extruding the polymer mixture into a monofilament;
• quenching the monofilament;
• reheating the monofilament;
• stretching the reheated monofilament to form the monofilament into an artificial turf fiber, wherein during the stretching the nucleating agent boosts the creation of crystalline portions of the at least one polymer within the monofilament as compared to crystalline portions that would be created from stretching the reheated monofilament extruded from the polymer mixture without the nucleating agent, wherein the boosting of the creation of the crystalline portions increases a surface roughness of the monofilament;
• incorporating the artificial turf fiber into an artificial turf backing by arranging a plurality of the artificial turf fibers on a carrier having perforations, wherein first parts of the monofilaments of the arranged artificial turf fibers are exposed to a bottom side of the carrier and second parts of said monofilaments are exposed to a top side of the carrier;
• adding a fluid on the bottom side of the carrier such that at least the first parts and some portions of the second parts of the monofilaments become embedded in the fluid, wherein the perforations are configured to allow the fluid on the bottom side of the carrier to flow to the top side of the carrier;
• and
• causing the fluid to solidify into a film, the film surrounding and thereby mechanically fixing at least the first parts and the some portions of the second parts of the monofilaments of the arranged artificial turf fibers, the solid film acting as the artificial turf backing.