Abstract:
A process for making reformed fiber from waste carpet material including separating into their individual strands, in well-graded lengths by mechanically disrupting, milling and granulating the waste carpet material and a further process for inserting and uniformly distributing such fibers throughout congealable materials such as asphalt and concrete, thereby providing improved physical properties to the resultant solids.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a Continuation-in-Part of Utility patent application bearing Ser. No. 10/641,410 filed Aug. 15, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,971,784 B1 and on Provisional patent application bearing Ser. No. 60/408,764 filed Sep. 6, 2002. 

   FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
   Not applicable 
   SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM 
   Not applicable 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates to and teaches processes for making reformed or well-graded fiber made from waste carpet materials. The invention further teaches the use of such fibers for improving cementitous structures such as concrete roadbeds and concrete beams, piers, statuary and other cementitous structural elements. The invention also discloses processes for employing the reformed fibers for improving the static and dynamic physical properties of structural entities such as hot-mix asphalt roadbeds. The invention further teaches the use of well-graded fibers for reinforcing other congealable materials including plastics and glues and laminates employing one or both. 
   Effect of Waste Carpet on the Environment: 
   Thousands of tons of carpeting are annually removed from offices and homes and discarded in landfills. Many of these carpets are fabricated from man-made fibers such as Nylon (TM Dupont Co.), polypropylene and similar materials. These materials are not biodegradable and therefore never decay or undergo any of the biological degradation processes. Further, the carpeting sheds water and thereby prevents water from reaching and decaying degradable materials underneath. 
   Economics 
   The beneficial use of waste carpet instead of disposal in landfill provides an immediate important economic benefit. Other benefits arise from improvements in the static and dynamic physical properties of structural, construction and road surfacing materials. These economic benefits are related to the longer life of the products and the road surfaces arising from their improved resistance to cracking, the reduced annual costs for maintenance and replacement and the avoidance of economic loss arising from replacement and other costs that occur during the periods required for repair and replacement. Cementitous structures employing reformed or well-graded fibers can have lighter weight and thinner sections that use less Portland cement. Further, Portland cement production is a significant contributor to atmospheric carbon dioxide pollution. By contrast, such structures formed from prior art fibers that are of substantially uniform length (gap-graded) impart significantly less improvement in physical properties. Glue bound laminates formed with well-graded fibers have higher moduli and therefore are stiffer and require thinner sections or can offer longer spans. Typical congealable glues are cyanoacrylates, epoxies, heat or ultra violet curables, hot melt types, foams and various industrial adhesives 
   2. Prior Art 
   The use of high quality fibers, such as Nylon™, for reinforcing cementitous or asphaltic structures has been limited for three reasons. First has been the relatively high cost of Nylon. Virgin Nylon fiber in 2005 costs about $1.00 per pound. Second is the difficulty of handling, feeding and mixing loose, virgin fibers into either hot asphalt liquid or into cementitous mix prior to their application. Third is the fact that physical property improvements imparted to the hot-mix asphalt or cementitous structural materials which result from the use of high quality fibers that are similar in length has been disappointingly small. 
   Asphalt Current Usage 
   A typical road construction product of hot-mix asphalt has about 93% aggregate of stones, sand and recycled waste materials. Typically six percent (6%) by weight of the final mixture is the liquid asphalt binder. Where fibers are specified, polyester is used at the rate of 6 pounds fiber per ton of total mix or 5% by weight of the liquid asphalt. Polyester fiber is supplied in bags as a pre-weighed, loose, fluffy bulk material. 
   One manufacturer has developed a process for recycling the material in waste carpets by ‘ginning’ the carpet fibers. His process produces so-called “gap-graded” fibers that are substantially the same length. The fibers so produced are curly and feed poorly into processes. To improve feeding and flow of the fibers, the manufacturer reassembles the extracted Nylon fibers in small pellets bound together by the polypropylene carpet component. These pellets have been used to add fiber to asphaltic compositions by virtue of the ease with which the pellets can be measured and fed into the mix. Also, while this process incurs an expense, the resulting pellets are considered suitable landfill material since the pellets do not impede moisture flow within the landfill, even though the pellets themselves do not biologically degrade. Further, the calcium carbonate backing material is lost and discarded. 
   Concrete Current Usage: 
   A typical road, cast statuary, building beams or other structural element or foundation employing Portland cement concrete has about 85% aggregate of stones and sand with only about 15% of the concrete mix being the Portland cement or other cementitous binder and water. Steel and other fiber binders have been experimentally used in Portland cement concrete and other cementitous products to improve their physical properties. Typical fiber concentrations that have been employed in fiber reinforced concretes range from 2 to 5 pounds polyester or polyolefin fiber per cubic yard finished concrete. 
   Fiber binders are known to have been used in thermally or chemically hardening materials to improve their strength, flexibility and resistance to cracking. The State of Ohio publishes Standard #400HS titled, “Standard Specification for Asphalt Concrete—High Stress using Polypropylene Fibers.” The use of fiber bearing Acrylic Fill for coating tennis courts is promoted by Vance Brothers, Inc. of Kansas City, Mo. 3M has published an advertising piece reporting on the use of its polyolefin fibers as reinforcement in Portland cement concrete installed on a stretch of U.S. Highway #83 bridge structure over highway I-90 South of Pierre, S. Dak. No method for applying the fibers is taught. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,266 by Stephen Rettenmaier teaches the use of ‘granulates’ comprising cellulose fibers held together by bitumen or other petroleum product that dissolve in hot petroleum asphalt. A mix of equal weights of the fibers and the bitumen are extruded and chopped into lengths or granules. Rettenmaier relies on the heat and solvent action of the hot asphalt to disrupt his granules. Rettenmaier does not teach the use of his ‘granulates’ in Portland cement concrete. 
   Waste Nylon carpets have been a potential resource for reinforcing fibers since the carpets contain about 50% Nylon fiber, 10% polypropylene used in the backing along with styrene-butadiene polymer and calcium carbonate. 
   Prior carpet reclaiming processes yielded a fluffy, curly, twisted fiber that was primarily gap-graded, is difficult to handle, difficult to dispense reliably and accurately and subsequently provided disappointing reinforcement value. 
   OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
   The processes disclosed and taught herein provide important environmental and economic advantages through the application of fibers extracted from waste carpet and properly modified to significantly improve congealable construction materials. Specific advantages and objects are: 
   a. To reform whole waste carpet including the carpet fiber and backing materials by cleaning, chopping, shredding, grinding and/or granulating the whole waste carpet to a level of well-graded fiber lengths of individual filaments including a well-graded mineral portion of the mineral backing. Well-graded fiber means having a wide range of fiber lengths. Well-graded mineral means having a wide range of particle sizes.
 
b. To employ well-graded or reformed fiber extracted from carpet as a reinforcing element in products formed from congealable constituents.
 
c. To employ the well-graded fiber extracted from carpet as a reinforcing element in products formed from hot asphalt;
 
d. To employ the well-graded fiber extracted from carpet as a reinforcing element in products formed from cementitous congealable materials;
 
e. To employ the well-graded fibers extracted from carpet as a reinforcing element in products produced from other congealable materials.
 
f. To improve the accuracy of dispensing or metering fibers into the processes by the use of well-graded fibers;
 
g. To employ well-graded granular material such as the calcium carbonate in carpet associated with the well-graded fibers from carpet to supplement aggregate ordinarily used in products employing cementitous or asphalt as congealable materials;
 
h. In aggregate bearing products, to secure improvement in the distribution of the reformed fibers through congealable materials by mixing the well-graded fibers first with the aggregate;
 
i. In aggregate bearing products, to secure improvement in the distribution of the reformed fibers through the congealable materials by mixing the reformed fibers first with the congealable material;
 
j. In aggregate bearing products, to secure improvement in distribution of the reformed fiber by adding such fibers to a mixture of congealable material and aggregate.
 
Other objects and advantages will be evident as the processes and their details are disclosed.
 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A multi-step process for making and providing well-graded carpet fiber reinforcement for congealable materials including but not limited to asphalt and Portland cement plus water, or the like. The processes includes the steps of cleaning, shredding and granulating the carpet to secure well-graded fiber lengths and a well-graded granular mineral aggregate adjuvant, generally calcium carbonate from the carpet backing, and mixing the well-graded fiber with the congealable material. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  displays a process for producing well-graded fiber from carpet. 
       FIG. 2  shows a mixer with inputs of fiber, aggregate and congealable material. 
       FIG. 3  displays a variety of congealable materials for input to mixer. 
       FIG. 4  shows a timeline displaying one typical scenario for dispensing aggregate, well-graded fiber and congealable material to the mixer 
       FIG. 5  shows a timeline with generalized ingredient dispensing times to the mixer. 
   

   PREFACE TO DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The fiber formed from waste carpet by the clean-chop-granulate process assures that the fibers have a wide range of lengths (well-graded) and that the material formed from the carpet mineral backing (primarily calcium carbonate) comprises fine well-graded particles. 
   Laboratory tests provide the following data of compressive strength in psi showing the effect of well-graded fiber on concrete strength and on potential reductions in the amounts of cement without loss of properties. 
   
     
       
             
             
             
             
             
           
             
             
             
             
             
           
         
             
                 
                 
             
             
                 
               Constant Cement 
                 
               PSI 
                 
             
           
        
         
             
                 
               MIX 
               Cement (lb./cu yd) 
               24 Hr. 
               28 Day 
             
             
                 
                 
             
             
                 
               Control 
               750 
               3460 
               7417 
             
             
                 
               1% W-G Fiber 
               750 
               4473 
               9213 
             
             
                 
               2% W-G Fiber 
               750 
               4153 
               8480 
             
             
                 
               3% W-G Fiber 
               750 
               3927 
               8320 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   
     
       
             
             
             
           
             
             
             
             
             
             
           
         
             
                 
             
             
                 
                 
               ASTM 
             
             
               Reduced Cement Content 
                 
               Std C-72 
             
           
        
         
             
               MIX 
               Cement (lb./cy) 
               24 hr 
               7 day 
               28 day 
               Beam (lb.) 
             
             
                 
             
             
               Control 
               750 
               1510 
               3450 
               7310 
               4000 
             
             
               1% W-G Fiber 
               700 
               1777 
               4660 
               7920 
               7000 
             
             
               1% W-G Fiber 
               675 
               1483 
               4193 
               7520 
               6000 
             
             
               1% W-G Fiber 
               650 
               1323 
               4287 
               7730 
               5500 
             
             
                 
             
             
               In all cases fiber is given as a percent of cement weight 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   The first table (Constant Cement) shows almost 25% increase in 28 day compressive strength with only 1% well-graded fiber added. 
   The second table (Reduced Cement) shows a strength increase of almost 6% with as much as a 13% reduction in cement usage and still exhibiting a 37% increase in beam strength. 
   A sample of the source carpet weighs in the range of 16-26 lb./cubic foot and has an average composition of Nylon fiber 45%; polypropylene 10% styrene-butadiene polymer 9% and calcium carbonate 36%. The polypropylene melts at about 320 F while the Nylon melts in the range of 530-540 F. Analysis of the reformed fibers within the fiber matrix extracted from this carpet shows fiber lengths from 0.1 mm to 5 mm. Analysis of the minerals from the carpet backing show them to be finely sized and well graded generally between a #10 mesh size and #400 mesh size. 
   While the making of concrete from powders that congeal or set when combined with water is old, the sources of the powders have evolved from powders produced only by the burning or calcining of limestone (including Greek Statuary) to the use of pulverized coal ash and other materials as cementitous ingredients, thereby lowering the cost of the product and minimizing the volume otherwise occupied by the ash or other materials in landfills or their historical equivalents. Therefore, the term cement powder employed herein is intended to apply to powders or slurries of powders that, when mixed with water, harden to a useful degree. These powders could be limestone, cement, coal ash or a mixture of these or none of these with or without other ingredients that are deemed economically or mechanically useful in the mix. 
   The process for producing aggregates almost always produces a mixture of coarse and fine aggregates. It is intended that fine aggregates may include sand or other fine materials. It is not otherwise the intention of this specification to specify the dividing size between fine and coarse aggregates or to specify their relative proportions in the concrete mix since these ratios depend on the applications. 
   Since it is a primary objective of the invention to employ reformed or well-graded waste carpet fiber in loose, bagged, shaped, packaged, pellet or any deliverable form in the described processes, it must be understood that the manufacture, transportation and storage of the reformed fibers will almost always cause some free, non-reformed fiber to be mixed in with the bulk of the reformed fiber. Therefore the use of the terms formed or reformed carpet fibers, loose fibers or fiber pellets or some other reference to fiber or fiber pellets may be understood to sometimes include a percentage of loose or non-reformed fibers. In some cases it may be advisable to use a portion of reformed fibers in pellet or loose form whose source may be other than carpets as long as the majority of the fibers is reformed to be well-graded in size and length including the minerals from the waste carpet. 
   This specification is not intended to provide specific formulae or ingredient ratios. It is generally intended that standard ingredient ratios as defined in concrete handbooks be employed. However, in order to meet strength, slump, durability and other standard requirements, some variation in component ratios including the use of admixtures may be necessary. 
   DEFINITIONS 
   Reformed Fiber or Well-Graded Fiber means the product or output of a mixture of fibers of synthetic fiber carpet having typical properties as follows: 
   Compositions in the ranges of polypropylene 10%, Nylon™ 45% and other fibers including styrene-butadiene polymer 9%; 
   Fiber lengths ranging from 0.1 mm to about 5 mm. Well-Graded means fibers and particles that pass screens from #4 down to #400 mesh. Such a Well-Graded Composition is typically formed by subjecting the waste carpet to the following steps: 
   1. Cleaning the waste carpet by agitating or beating it to loosen and shake out and remove particulate and waste materials that may have soiled or otherwise contaminated the carpet. 
   2. Shredding the carpet by subjecting it to a series of shredding knives or cutters that produce an output of carpet pieces in the range of about 4 inches to ⅜ inches. 
   3. Granulating the pieces formed in step 2 by subjecting them to rotating knives or milling and screening to allow passage of both loose fiber of all lengths and particulate matter such as calcium carbonate mineral backing that was used in carpet manufacture. Granulating machines for performing these functions are made by Franklin Miller as Destrux-III or by Rapid Granulator as Storm and by others. 
   4. While the bulk of reformed fiber is expected to have its source in waste carpets having a high percentage of synthetic fibers and inorganic particulate material, fiber from other sources, including organic sources may be of use in certain applications where the shorter lifetimes of organic materials can be tolerated or special characteristics of metallic fibers are required. Among these potential sources are waste textiles or non-waste materials including steel or stainless steel fibers or fibers from natural sources such as cotton, wool, jute, wood, cellulose or hemp. 
   Gap-Graded as contrasted with well-graded means that fiber of substantially one length is employed. In cementitous or asphalt applications, gap-graded aggregate, referring to aggregate of substantially one size, is employed to secure a specific surface appearance or structure. Gap-graded aggregate produces concrete or asphalt of reduced strength. 
   The use of the term ‘cement’ or ‘cement powder’, is intended to refer to cement powder including Portland Cement powder or cementitious powders from other sources. 
   The term ‘source’ is intended to be any stock of material. A source may be in the form of a mound or pile or in the form of material held in a container or vessel or railcar or truck.  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3  display the sources of the various materials such as aggregate  20 , fiber  26  and hot liquid asphalt  80 . The numbers of the outlet conduits for each such as aggregate  22  and hot asphalt  82  are sometimes employed to designate both the dispensing step and the related source. 
   The term ‘dispense’ is intended to refer to delivery of material to the process in any manner or in any form. 
   The term ‘conduit’ as employed herein is intended to refer to any means of transferring material from one place to another. 
   A metering or flow control device or process step is intended to refer to and include any means of controlling, measuring or estimating the amount transferred. Such a device may be a flow control valve or a measured volume, including, for instance, the volume of a bucket of a back hoe or a bin gate. 
   A congealable material is any material that is initially flowable or mixable including powders and liquids, that hardens after a time or after mixing with water or after exposure to a process such as heating, cooling or exposure to other process means. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1  displays a preferred process for producing the well-graded fibers employed in the process of the invention. A source of cleaned waste carpet  102  is conveyed by some means  104  to a chopper  106  that chops the carpet into pieces typically ranging in size from about 2×2 inches to 8×8 inches. These pieces are conveyed via some means  108  to a storage and feed point  110  where they can be conveniently fed to granulator  114  via some means  112 . The granulator comprises a series of high speed knives  116  or an equivalent mill that deconstructs the carpet pieces into their constituent fibers and mills the fibers in a random fashion so that the fibers passing the screens  120  have a wide variety of lengths, thereby being well-graded. The well-graded fibers are discharged at well-graded fiber outlet  118  along with the associated mineral material being mostly calcium carbonate that had been employed to construct the carpet backing. The mineral material, having also traversed the granulator, is now a well-graded aggregate. In another embodiment of the granulator, the well-graded fibers only are discharge from outlet  118  and the mineral aggregate from outlet  119 . 
   Subsequent figures provide the basis for descriptions of the processes by which the well-graded fiber is employed in the formation of products employing or based on congealable materials. 
   With reference to  FIG. 2 , aggregate such as crushed rock, sand, crushed waste concrete, cinders etc. are stored in source  20  and dispensed and metered via metering device  24  through conduit  22  to mixer  38 . 
   Well-graded or reformed fiber in any form, such as loose, bagged or pelletized, is dispensed to mixer  38  from source  26  through conduit  28  under control of metering device  30  at the rate of 4 to 20 pounds of reformed fiber per cubic yard of final mix thereby forming a first mixture. 
   Mixer  38  is caused to operate for an initial time period “A” (see  FIGS. 4 and 5  for example) in the range of 30 seconds to 5 minutes. The duration of the initial time period “A” depends on the speed of the mixer and the composition of the constituents being mixed. 
   After a mixing time “A” during which the fiber in the first mixture has been sufficiently distributed throughout the aggregate, or in the case of fiber in pellet form to release the fibers from the pellet binder, congealable material  34  is dispensed via metering device  35  and conduit  36  into mixer  38  to form the second mixture. After a mixing period “B” ( FIGS. 4 and 5 ), the thoroughly mixed second mixture is dispensed via outlet  40  to application  39 . 
   While the above process has been described in terms of a batch process, the following description relating to  FIG. 2  applies equally well to a continuous process. For example, mixer  38  is a long rotating heatable dryer that is pitched in the direction of flow. Aggregate  20  is continuously metered into the entering or high end of the dryer/mixer  38  along with a continuous metered flow of well-graded or reformed fiber,  26 , thereby forming a first mixture. As the dryer rotates, the first mixture moves in a stream to a midpoint in the rotating dryer (at time A) where a congealable material such as hot asphalt  80  ( FIG. 3 ) is added via control  84  and conduit  82 , thereby forming a second mixture. The stream comprising the second mixture continues moving toward the low end of the dryer while the mixing of the congealable material and the ingredients of the first mixture are thoroughly performed. At the low end of the dryer the thoroughly mixed second mixture is now (Time B) continuously discharged  40  to storage or the application. The continuous process continues until the dispensing of the ingredients in discontinued. 
   In a second embodiment of the invention the first mixture comprised of fiber and aggregate as described in the first embodiment is, after time A, mixed with congealable material in the form of cementitious powder and water. The cementitous powder, hereafter characterized as cement or cement powder  90  ( FIG. 3 ), is fed into the mixer  38  via control  94  and conduit  92 . Water  96  is fed substantially simultaneously with the cement powder  90  into mixer  38  via control  100  and through conduit  98 , thereby forming a second mixture. The second mixture is mixed for a sufficient time B to secure the desired mixing of the constituents and then the second mixture is dispensed to the application. 
   In a third embodiment, also displayed in  FIG. 2 , the aggregate from 20 is dispensed via conduit  22  to mixer  38  substantially simultaneously with reformed or well-graded fiber, in any form, from source  26  dispensed via conduit  28  and the cement powder from source  90  via conduit  92  and metered by element  94  thereby forming a first mixture. The first mixture is then mixed in mixer  38  for a time period A during which the reformed fiber is disrupted and mixed with other constituents and the cement is distributed throughout the first mixture. Water, now being the congealable material, is added via conduit  98  from source  96  through metering device  100 , thereby forming the second mixture. The second mixture is then mixed for a period B and dispensed to the application. 
   Basically there are three possible sequences of adding ingredients to the mixer. First is adding aggregate and fiber to form the first mixture. The second is adding aggregate and congealable materials to form the first mixture. The third is adding fiber and congealable materials to form the first mixture. In each case the first mixture is mixed and blended in the mixer and after a time A the third ingredient is added and mixed for a time B. These three options are displayed in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
   Where the congealable material is glue used to join laminates ( FIG. 5 ), generally no aggregate is employed. Then the glue is fed to the mixer  38  via conduit  103 , under the control of controller  102 . The well-graded fiber  26  is added. With reference to  FIG. 5 , the time A may be short or zero. The glue-type materials are mixed and after sufficient time B for uniform distribution of the fibers throughout the glue, the material is extruded, formed or otherwise applied  40  to its application. 
   From the foregoing description, it can be seen that the present invention comprises an unusual and unobvious method for minimizing the deposition of waste carpets and waste textiles in land fills and simultaneously improving the quality of structural material. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described in the foregoing description without departing from the broad inventive concepts thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiment or embodiments disclosed, but is intended to cover all modifications which are within the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed and equivalents thereof.