Reinforced Thermoplastic Composite from Pelletized Cotton Waste and a Method of Manufacturing the Same

A method for manufacturing pelletized cotton waste, comprising:

• collecting airborne yarn waste and/or cotton waste dust from pre-consumer textile fabrication;
• pre-grinding and drying the collected material;
• mixing the material with a binder;
• compressing the conditioned material by mechanical or hydraulic densification to form discrete pellets;
• and
• cooling and packaging the pellets for downstream compounding.

A reinforced thermoplastic composite comprising:

• a thermoplastic polymer;
• a bonding agent;
• and
• pelletized cotton waste comprising airborne yarn waste and/or cotton waste dust obtained from pre-consumer textile fabrication, the waste being densified by mechanical or hydraulic compression into discrete pellets;
• wherein the pellets are compounded with the thermoplastic polymer and bonding agent to form a reinforced composite material.

A method for producing a reinforced composite material, comprising:

• forming a plug or pellet of airborne yarn waste and/or cotton waste dust;
• feeding the plug or pellet into a compounding system;
• introducing a thermoplastic polymer and a bonding agent;
• and
• compounding the components under heat and shear to produce a reinforced composite.