Process for the separation of carpet materials

A process for separating preshredded carpet materials containing first, second and third carpet components of different densities comprising

• a) finely comminuting said preshredded carpet materials in a first aqueous phase to form a first suspension,
• b) adding a first aqueous salt solution to said aqueous phase of said suspension to adjust the density of the resulting second aqueous phase to a level between the density of said first component and the densities of said second and third components to form a second suspension,
• c) feeding said second suspension into a double-cone, full-jacketed screw centrifuge to separate a fraction containing said second and third components from said first component and from said second aqueous phase,
• d) suspending said fraction in a third aqueous phase to form a third suspension,
• e) adding a second aqueous salt solution to said third aqueous phase of said third suspension to adjust the density of the resulting fourth aqueous phase to a level between the densities of said second and third components to form a fourth suspension,
• f) feeding said fourth suspension into a double-cone, full-jacketed screw centrifuge to separate said second component from said third component and from said fourth aqueous phase,
• g) recycling separately said first, second and third components, and
• h) recycling said separated aqueous phases within said process.