Utilization of recycled carpet waste fibers for

Utilization of recycled carpet waste fibers for reinforcement of concrete and soil 

Concrete and soil are dealt with in great quantities in construction. Studies have shown that the properties of these materials can be enhanced by fiber reinforcement. A brief review is provided in this article on the advantages of fiber reinforcement of concrete and soil. Laboratory and field studies using carpet waste fibers for concrete and soil reinforcement are described. 

Carpet waste generated each year and accumulated in landfills represents a considerable potential resource, as it may be converted into various useful products The rate of carpet disposal is about 2-3 million tons per year in the US A, and about 4-6 million tons per year worldwide. A carpet typically consists of two layers of (i) backing (usually fabrics from polypropylene tape yams), joined by CaCOj filled styrene-butadiene latex rubber (SBR), and (ii) face fibers (the majority being nylon 6 and nylon 66 textured yams) tufted into the primary backing. To use post-consumer carpet (PCC) as concrete or soil reinforcement, the carpet is shredded to recover fibers. It is generally not necessary to disassemble yams in the carpet into individual fibers. The size-reduction process yields the following from PCC  

In the size-reduction process, some adhesive is removed and some still remains on the fibers. For both concrete and soil reinforcement, it is not necessary to completely remove the adhesive, avoiding the process of cleaning and separation. Therefore, carpet can be converted to fibers at very low cost for concrete and soil reinforcement. 

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Wang Y. (1999), Utilization of Recycled Carpet Waste Fibers for Reinforcement of Concrete and Soil , Journal of Polymer-Plastics Technology Engineering, Vol. 38, No. 3, 533-546. 

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