ES2790498B2 - RECYCLING PROCEDURE FOR ARTIFICIAL GRASS AND RECYCLED ARTIFICIAL GRASS PRODUCT - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

RECYCLING PROCEDURE FOR ARTIFICIAL GRASS AND

RECYCLED ARTIFICIAL GRASS PRODUCT

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The invention, as expressed in the statement of this specification, refers to an artificial grass recycling process and a recycled artificial grass product, providing advantages and characteristics that are described in detail below.

The object of the present invention falls on a procedure that, essentially comprising the sieving of the artificial grass to discard the sand and the SBR rubber that usually contains and separates the plastic part of the grass consisting, mainly, of PE (polyethylene) fibers and of PP (polypropylene) in a smaller proportion, its crushing and the formation of pellets, supposes the advantage of allowing the reuse of said plastic materials that make up the artificial grass that is used in soccer fields or other similar facilities after the end of its useful life, achieving a recycled artificial grass product, in the form of pellets, which, with a composition based on PE and PP, is especially suitable for use in the plastics industry for a second use, preferably by thermocompression or extrusion techniques, for forming of objects of various shapes.

FIELD OF APPLICATION OF THE INVENTION

The field of application of the present invention falls within the sector of the industry dedicated to waste recycling, focusing particularly in the field of artificial grass recycling.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As is known, in Spain and many other countries, there are many soccer fields and sports fields covered with artificial grass, which, after the time of their useful life, which is between 8 and 12 years, will become millions. of cubic meters of potential waste that, since it is not suitable for reinstallation in any other location, can end up in landfills, incinerators or, what is worse, stored in any way on indiscriminate lots without any type of control.

The objective of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a practical solution to this problem by developing a procedure that allows the materials that make up said grass to be recycled and turned into a useful product for reuse in industry.

In this way, it is intended to close the circle of useful life of the lawn, providing a circular economy process to a sector that, currently, has not solved the issue of the large amount of waste it generates and that affects very directly and all levels to the public administration, since most of the facilities in which this type of grass is used are of a municipal nature.

On the other hand, and as a reference to the current state of the art, it should be noted that, at least by the applicant, the existence of any other artificial turf recycling procedure or any other recycled artificial turf product, which present technical and structural characteristics that are the same or similar to those of the procedure and the product claimed herein.

EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

The artificial turf recycling procedure and recycled artificial turf product that the invention proposes are configured as the ideal solution to the aforementioned objective, with the characterizing details that make it possible and that distinguish it conveniently included in the final claims that accompany the present description.

Specifically, what the invention proposes, as previously noted, is a procedure whose purpose is to recycle, for reuse, at least the plastic material components of artificial turf that imitate grass, that is, the strands or fibers made basically polyethylene, polypropylene and latex, without also discarding, optionally, a reuse of the sand and rubber fillers that comprise the artificial turf after the end of its useful life, particularly that used in soccer fields or other similar facilities, and that represent a storage problem for many facilities, obtaining a recycled product in the form of pellets suitable for use in the plastics industry for a second use as objects of various shapes.

To do this, said procedure, after collecting the artificial turf mats with a level of wear such that they need to be removed, essentially comprises the following stages:

- First, a sieve of the artificial grass to discard the sand and SBR rubber (styrene butadiene rubber, better known as SBR rubber for its acronym in English, Styrene-Butadiene Rubber), and keep the plastic part of the grass that, are mostly PE fibers (green in color) and, to a lesser extent, proportion, PP fibers (black), and there may also be elements or black particles of latex, rubber and other elastomers.

Since artificial grass usually contains a large amount of earth and sand, this screening is carried out. The approximate content of earth and SBR (styrene-butadiene) is 50% by weight. For this reason, it is considered necessary to eliminate this type of improper as much as possible in order to improve the processability of the plastic components of the lawn.

- Next, we proceed to the crushing of the plastic elements.

Preferably, said crushing is carried out by means of a process that consists of mechanically crushing the plastic material obtained in the previous step and passing it through slotted presses that, due to the friction they produce among themselves, cause the material to melt, in such a way that , from the center of these presses and already melted, it goes through some existing grooves in the metallic elements so that it comes out in the form of particles and shavings that are deposited in a cooling container by means of dry ventilation.

- Finally, we proceed to the shaping of pellets as a recycled artificial grass product useful for the manufacture of other objects from the mixture of particles and shavings of plastic material obtained in the previous stage.

Preferably, the pellets are obtained by extrusion of said mixture of particles and shavings of plastic material obtained in the previous stage.

It should be noted that, advantageously, no water is used throughout the process, nor is any waste poured into the sanitation or any other type of network. For this reason, it can be affirmed that it is a procedure that is fully respectful of the environment, and does not emit any leachate in the process.

Optionally, however, prior to the crushing described, the plastic parts obtained after sieving can be cleaned, preferably by mechanical systems, such as brushing, shaking so as not to use water, but without ruling out its use.

Likewise, also preferably, prior to sieving, the grass reel is cut, preferably by means of an electric cutting wheel, in which the reel is segmented into comfortable dimensions for handling.

In addition, the procedure optionally includes another stage of cutting the grass prior to shredding using an industrial cutting machine in which 10 and 15 cm pieces of artificial grass are obtained where the components are still united and woven. This stage is preferable to achieve optimal and efficient crushing of the plastic material.

On the other hand, a second aspect of the present invention refers to the recycled artificial grass product that is obtained with the described procedure, that is to say, the plastic pellets that, with a composition that basically comprises green PE particles and black PP particles, as well as optionally other black latex, rubber and other elastomer particles, results in a product that is especially suitable for use in the plastics industry for the manufacture of objects of various shapes.

For this, given the characteristics of the aforementioned composition of the pellets and the range of viscosity that gives them, injection, thermo-compression or extrusion techniques will preferably be applied, the latter being the preferred option, since it will allow the maximum homogenization of the pellets. mix and improve its processability, obtaining a more uniform material and reducing the risk of obtaining products with a high content of infused or degraded material.

Having sufficiently described the nature of the present invention, as well as the way of putting it into practice, it is not considered necessary to make its explanation more extensive so that any expert in the field understands its scope and the advantages derived from it.

Claims (6)

1. - Artificial grass recycling procedure characterized by comprising, at least, the following stages: - Sifting of the artificial grass to discard sand and SBR rubber, and keep the plastic part of the grass composed, for the most part, of PE fibers, (polyethylene) to a lesser extent, PP fibers, (polypropylene) and others elements or particles of latex, rubber or other elastomers; - cutting the grass using an industrial cutting machine in which 10 and 15 cm pieces of artificial grass are obtained where the components are still joined and woven. - cleaning of the plastic parts obtained after sieving, preferably by means of mechanical systems without the use of water. - crushing of plastic elements in the form of particles and shavings; - and shaping of pellets as a recycled artificial grass product useful for the manufacture of other objects obtained in the previous stage. and because the crushing of the plastic elements is carried out by means of a process that consists of crushing the plastic material obtained in the previous step mechanically and passing it through grooved presses that, due to the friction they produce among themselves, cause the fusion of the material, so in such a way that, from the center of these presses and already melted, it goes through existing grooves in the metallic elements, coming out in the form of particles and shavings that are deposited in a cooling container by means of dry ventilation. 2. - Artificial grass recycling procedure, according to claim 1, characterized in that the pellets are obtained by extrusion of the mixture of particles and shavings of plastic material obtained in the grinding stage. 3. - Recycled artificial grass product, obtained with a procedure as described in any of claims 1 to 2, characterized by consisting of plastic pellets whose composition comprises green PE particles and black PP particles. 4. Recycled artificial grass product, according to claim 3, characterized in that said pellets are suitable for use in the plastics industry for the manufacture of objects of various shapes by means of injection techniques. 5. Recycled artificial grass product, according to claim 3, characterized in that said pellets are suitable for use in the plastics industry for the manufacture of objects of various shapes by means of thermo-compression techniques. 6. Recycled artificial grass product, according to claim 3, characterized in that said pellets are suitable for use in the plastics industry for the manufacture of objects of various shapes by means of extrusion techniques.