Process for recycling articles containing high-performance fiber
AssigneeE. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
InventorsCheng-Hang Chi, Daniel Michael Fischer, Larry John Prickett
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to a process for recycling a fabric containing high performance fibers having a tenacity of at least 10 grams per dtex and a tensile modulus of at least 150 grams per dtex, to make a yarn from the fabric. In the process, and the fabric is cut into pieces where the largest dimension is no larger than 15 centimeters. From 30 to 99 weight percent staple fibers are added to the fabric pieces to make a blend and the fibers of the blend are separated and aligned into a sliver, and the sliver is formed into a twisted yarn. This yarn may be used to make a fabric or any other useful article.
Claims23
A process for recycling a fabric that includes high performance fibers having a tenacity of at least 10 grams per dtex and a tensile modulus of at least 150 grams per dtex to make a yarn from the fabric comprising the steps of
- providing a fabric that includes fibers having a tenacity of at least 10 grams per dtex and a tensile modulus of at least 150 grams per dtex,
- cutting the fabric into pieces having a largest dimension no larger than 15 centimeters,
- adding staple fibers to the fabric pieces to make a blend,
- separating and aligning the fibers of the blend into a sliver, and
- forming the sliver into a twisted yarn,
- wherein the high performance fibers are present in an amount of 1 to 70 weight percent and the staple fibers are present in an amount of 30 to 99% on the basis of the high performance and staple fibers.
A process for recycling a ballistic article to make a yarn from a fabric comprising the steps of
- providing a ballistic article comprising a plurality of layers of fabric having fibers with a tenacity of at least 10 grams per dtex and a tensile modulus of at least 150 grams per dtex,
- removing any covering present on the ballistic article to uncover the plurality of layers of fabric,
- substantially removing any stitching present in the plurality of layers of fabric,
- cutting the fabric into pieces having a largest dimension of no larger than 15 centimeters,
- adding staple fibers to the fabric pieces to make a blend,
- separating and aligning the fibers of the blend into a sliver, and
- forming the sliver into a twisted yarn,
- wherein the high performance fibers are present in an amount of 1 to 70 weight percent and the staple fibers are present in an amount of 30 to 99% on the basis of the high performance and staple fibers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.