The global carpet and rug waste markets continues to increase as landfills are reaching their capacity for such waste sources. In the United States alone approximately 2 million tons of post-consumer carpet (PCC) is landfilled each year. This is in addition to carpet and rug selvage (or shreds and scraps) that is landfilled. Worldwide the amount of these materials landfilled each year may reach as high as 4 billion pounds each year. The carpet industry has a unique and emerging problem as various states are placing limitations on the ability to landfill PCC, such as in the states of California and Michigan. With limitations in place for landfilling carpet, including PCC, there is an increased emphasis on recycling of such waste sources. However, polyester carpet is difficult to economically recycle (and represents approximately 40% of the PCC landfilled each year). Other fibers commonly used in carpet and rug materials present additional difficulties in recycling the materials. Moreover, carpet and rug materials are made of combinations of fibers, some are treated with polymers to provide certain desirable characteristics and/or combined with adhesives and/or backings, all of which creates difficulties in the recycling efforts for the waste source. For example, recycling may require removal of the backing which requires additional energy (gas and electricity) to skive and process the carpet to enable recycling. When recycling presents difficulties and/or is not economically feasible both landfilling and incineration remain the primary options for disposal of the waste source. However, incineration is known to result in the generation and atmospheric release of toxic compounds and increases CO2 emissions.
In addition to the carpet and rug waste sources generated by the carpet industry and consumers, there is an expansive additional waste source that includes “other” polymeric materials. Plastics are abundantly employed in all industries and by nearly all consumer groups, resulting in an increasing demand for safe and efficient recycling of these waste sources. However, due to the myriad consumer products employing plastics and polymeric materials, many products are made by combining such plastics and polymeric materials (along with other materials, such as metals) which result in its inability to be conventionally recycled.
Still further waste sources abound in need for efficient processing, recycling and/or disposal. This include for example, solid waste, tires, manure, auto shredder residue, glass and carbon fiber composite materials, municipal solid wastes, medical wastes, waste wood and the like.
As a result, there remains a need for efficient processing of a variety of carpet, rug and other polymeric material waste sources. Accordingly, it is an objective of the claimed invention to solve the long-standing problem and need in the art for efficient methods for processing of carpet, rug and other polymeric material waste sources.
A further object of the invention is to provide methods, systems, and/or processes for utilizing thermolysis methods to safely and efficiently convert such waste sources to a Clean Fuel Gas and Char source without the generation of (and beneficially the removal of) toxic byproducts, including small molecules, including those chlorinated polymers commonly used in these waste input streams. Toxic byproducts further include, for example, VOCs, aromatics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins and furans, including halogenated dibenzodioxins and halogenated dibenzofurans, biphenyls, pyrenes, cadmium, lead, antimony, arsenic, beryllium, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), mercury, nickel and other organic compounds. As a result, the methods, systems, and/or processes of the invention meet even the most rigid environmental standards.
A further object of the invention is to provide methods, systems, and/or processes for utilizing thermolysis methods to safely and efficiently convert various waste sources to a Clean Fuel Gas and Char source. In particular, the generation of a Clean Fuel Gas provides a desirable waste-to-energy pathway from a previously unutilized waste source through the recycling of tars and oils to generate Clean Fuel Gas to thereby reuse the energy that went into the original fabrication. In a further application, the generation of the Char source is suitable for further recycling and/or use of the Char source for further separation of desirable components for various applications as disclosed pursuant to the invention.
A further object of the invention is to utilize thermolysis methods to destroy (and beneficially not generate any additional) toxic halogenated organic compounds present in certain components of the waste sources.
A further object of the invention is to utilize thermolysis methods to generate clean, useable fuel gas sources substantially-free or free of halogenated organic compounds (including VOCs).
Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.