Planar Structure of a Polymer Matrix and Textile Particles Embedded Therein

Abstract

The present invention relates to a sheet consisting of textile particles embedded in a polymer matrix, and a process for the preparation thereof, and the use thereof. Further, the present invention relates to a layer structure consisting of the sheet according to the invention and at least one other layer.

Claims

1. A sheet consisting of a polymer matrix and textile particles embedded therein, said sheet having a proportion of textile particles of from 20 to 60% by weight.

2. The sheet according to claim 1, characterized in that said textile particles are textile scraps.

3. The sheet according to claim 1, characterized in that said polymer matrix is formed from biopolymers, biodegradable polymers, recycled polymers, virgin polymers, or mixtures thereof.

4. The sheet according to claim 1, characterized in that said sheet has a proportion of from 20 to 50% by weight of textile particles.

5. The sheet according to claim 1, characterized in that said sheet has a thickness of from 0.5 to 2.5 mm.

6. The sheet according to claim 1, characterized in that said sheet has a coating on the upper and/or lower sides thereof.

7. The sheet according to claim 1, characterized in that said sheet has a bending strength of from 10 to 10,500 mN.

8. The sheet according to claim 1, characterized in that said sheet has a tensile strength of from 1.5 to 30 N/mm.sup.2, as determined according to DIN EN ISO 527 with a type 5 specimen.

9. The sheet according to claim 1, characterized in that said sheet has an elongation at break of from 5 to 150%, as determined according to DIN EN ISO 527.

10. A two-dimensional layer structure consisting of a sheet according to claim 1, and at least one other layer, wherein said other layer is a textile layer, plastic layer, or adhesive layer.

11. A process for preparing a sheet according to claim 1, characterized in that said process comprises the following steps: a) providing textile scraps; b) shredding said textile scraps; c) agglomerating the shredded textile scraps in the presence of a polymer; d) grinding the agglomerated textile scraps to a powder; and e) extruding the powder to obtain a sheet.

12. The process according to claim 11, characterized in that said process comprises another step of laminating, which may be combined with the step of extruding, or is performed subsequently.

13. The process according to claim 11 characterized in that the textile scraps have a maximum size of 0.8 cm after the shredding.

14. The process according to claim 11, characterized in that the powder obtained in step d) has a mean particle size D50 of from 100 to 1000 m, as determined by a sieve analysis.

15. (canceled)

16. The sheet according to claim 4, characterized in that said sheet has a proportion of from 25 to 40% by weight of textile particles.

17. The sheet according to claim 7, characterized in that said sheet has a bending strength of from 15 to 10,000 mN.

18. The sheet according to claim 7, characterized in that said sheet has a bending strength of from 10 to 2000 mN.

19. The sheet according to claim 8, characterized in that said sheet has a tensile strength of from 2 to 25 N/mm.sup.2, as determined according to DIN EN ISO 527 with a type 5 specimen.

20. The process according to claim 11, characterized in that the textile scraps have a maximum size of 0.6 cm after the shredding.

21. The process according to claim 14, characterized in that the powder obtained in step d) has a mean particle size D50 of from 250 to 500 m, as determined by a sieve analysis.

Description

EXAMPLES

[0046] The following sheets were prepared from a polymer matrix and recycled leather scraps by the process according to the invention, and their mechanical properties were measured:

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Example 1* 2 3 4 5 6 7 Leather [% by 25 25 50 25 50 40 25 weight] Polymer matrix TPS/EVA: TPU TPU EVA EVA TPE-A PP/EVA: [w/w, % by 50/25 50/25 weight] ad 100 ad 100 ad 100 ad 100 ad 100 ad 100 ad 100 +) backed with a textile on one side TPS: Styrene block copolymer EVA: Ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer TPU: thermoplastic polyurethane TPE-A: Thermoplastic polyamide PP: Polypropylene

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Bending strength Tensile strength Elongation at break [mN].sup.1) [N/mm.sup.2].sup.2) [%].sup.3) Example cd md cd md cd md 1 46 160 2.4 3.6 36.6 19.7 2 1010 1318 8.2 8.5 23.1 50.2 3 1075 1417 8.9 8.1 8.3 7.9 4 152 335 3.1 3.4 69.5 124.9 5 359 503 2.8 2.1 21.0 24.3 6 315 610 4.6 4.6 47.8 36.8 7 1136 1286 6.3 5.6 10.8 17.1

[0047] As another example, a layer structure according to the invention was prepared from a sheet according to the invention, 25% by weight, and a polymer matrix made from 25% by weight TPU, 30% by weight PLA, and 20% by weight PCL as the core, which was coated with a layer of PES non-woven and an adhesive layer applied thereto, as an outer layer on both sides. The measured properties of the layer structure are summarized in Table 3.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Bending strength Tensile strength Elongation at break [mN].sup.1) [N/mm.sup.2].sup.2) [%].sup.3) Example cd md cd md cd md 8 1328 1001 21.2 15.9 27.1 33.3 .sup.1)determined according to DIN EN ISO 53121 on a specimen with a clamping length of 50 mm at an angle of 45 .sup.2)determined according to DIN EN ISO 527 with a type 5 specimen .sup.3)determined according to DIN EN ISO 527 cd: cross direction md: machine direction

[0048] As can be seen from the data in Tables 2 and 3, sheets and layer structures according to the invention having a broad range of properties that can be adapted and optimized depending on the desired application are available. The data further show that the process according to the invention allows for a reliable reprocessing of textile scraps, especially leather scraps.