Method of processing scrap roof-membrane sheet material comprising a flexible synthetic fabric substrate enveloped in a thermoplastic plastic envelope

In a method of processing scrap, single ply, fabric-enforced synthetic plastic sheet material comprising a perforate, flexible, fabric having warp and weft strands, the strands being composed of bundles of synthetic plastic, separable fibers, encased in a thermoplastic synthetic plastic envelope, with the envelope material coating the strands, the steps of:

• a. comminuting the sheet material to small pieces above 1/4 of an inch in length and width substantially in the range of 1/2 to 11/2 inches in length and width and in which the fabric remains substantially encased in the envelope and substantially protects said fabric from contamination;
• b. stuffing the pieces so comminuted into a heat-applying, continuous mixer-extruder having screw mechanism within an elongate barrel chamber for receiving the pieces, melting the envelope material, and advancing the fabric and melted envelope material continuously as a material mix to a die discharge;
• c. heating the material to the plasticizing temperature of the envelope material at a temperature well below the melting temperature of the fibers and the heat deterioration temperature of the envelope material, and subjecting the fabric to repetitive shear forces as it moves along the barrel chamber with the melted envelope material to said die discharge;
• d. separating warp strands from the weft strands via said shear force application while substantially maintaining the lengths of the strands in said range;
• e. disembodying warp and weft strands via said shear forces while substantially maintaining the lengths of the fibers in said range to provide separated fibers in the mix of materials;
• f. randomly dispersing said fibers throughout the mix of material;
• and
• g. extruding and cooling said material to solidify it in a form in which said fibers are randomly dispersed in a thermoplastic synthetic plastic matrix.

A method of processing laminate sheet material comprising a flexible fabric having warp and weft strands, the strands being composed of bundles of synthetic plastic, separable fibers, bonded by a polyvinyl chloride material coating the strands, the steps of:

• a. comminuting the sheet material to small pieces substantially above 1/4 of an inch in length substantially in the range of 1/2 to 11/2 inches in length;
• b. stuffing the said pieces of such size into a heat applying, continuous mixer-extruder having screw mechanism within an elongate barrel chamber for receiving the pieces, melting the polyvinyl chloride material, and advancing the material continuously to a die discharge;
• c. heating the material to the plasticizing temperature of the polyvinyl chloride material at a temperature well below the melting temperature of the fibers and the heat deterioration temperature of the polyvinyl chloride, and subjecting the fabric to repetitive shear forces as it moves along the barrel chamber with the melted polyvinyl chloride to said die discharge;
• d. separating warp strands from the weft strands via said shear force application while substantially maintaining the lengths of the strands;
• e. disembodying warp and weft strands via said shear forces while substantially maintaining the length of the fibers to provide separated fibers of the maintained length in the mix of material;
• f. randomly dispersing said fibers throughout the mix of material;
• and
• g. extruding and cooling said material to solidify it in a form in which separated fibers are randomly disbursed in a polyvinyl chloride matrix.