Recycled cotton/polyester and polypropylene nonwoven hybrid composite materials for house hold applications

ABSCRACT

Renewable raw materials and recyclable thermoplastic polymers provide attractive eco-friendly quality as well as environmental sustainability to the resulting recycled cotton/polyester and polypropylene fiber reinforced nonwoven composites. We studied the possibility of using recycled polypropylene (PP) for the production of nonwoven composites based on recycled cotton (RC) and recycled polyester (RP) as reinforcements. This research focuses on optimizing the manufacturing techniques and testing of both air-laid nonwoven and melt-bonded recycled nonwoven composite materials. Each series of experimentation was to be combined with a specific amount of copolymer chemical agent, the recycled post-industrial polypropylene powder, and recycled fiber. The physical and mechanical properties can be tested in accordance with ASTM standards. The results exposed that physical properties can be determined for both conditions like 24 h soak and 2 h boil. The air-laid materials have more properties than melt extrusion. The air-laid and melt- bond has deviation likewise coupling agent can change the properties. The results obtained report the possibility of exploitation of recycled PP for the production of recycled cotton/polyester reinforcements based on nonwoven composites with good mechanical characteristics to utilize as construction building materials in housing systems.

KEYWORDS:

• Recycled fiber
• composites
• coupling agent
• melt-bonded
• air-laid nonwoven composites

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was provided by the author(s).