WO2025012588A1

WO2025012588A1 - Waste material processing

Info

Publication number: WO2025012588A1
Application number: PCT/GB2023/051805
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jianhua Wang; Joanna KRZYZANIAK; Theophilus KWETEY; Rory Anderson; Robert Renz; Dean GROOME; Tom Allen; Sandra CRAIG
Original assignee: Generation Phoenix Ltd
Current assignee: Generation Phoenix Ltd
Priority date: 2022-07-08
Filing date: 2023-07-07
Publication date: 2025-01-16
Anticipated expiration: 2026-01-07
Also published as: EP4617417A2; EP4617417A3; EP4617418A2; EP4562237B1; EP4617418A3; GB202210083D0; EP4562237A1

Abstract

Methods of forming composite sheet material from material waste, such as textile waste and leather waste are described. In some examples, The method comprises: mechanically processing the material waste into material fibres, where the mechanical processing comprises filtering the material waste and breaking down the material waste into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres, such that a majority of the material fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm. The method may further comprise: forming the filtered material fibres into a web; locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, where the web defines a first layer of the arrangement and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement; and subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus to provide the composite sheet material, where subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the material fibres of the web to entangle with each other and causes a mechanical bond to form between the material fibres of the web and the reinforcing material.

Description

TITLE

Waste Material Processing

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods of forming composite sheet material from material waste.

BACKGROUND

Textiles are materials formed from interlacing fibres, and can be used in textile products such as clothes or upholstery. Most textile products such as clothes are formed from virgin textile fibres, which are suitable for textiles, but have not previously been used in textile products.

Textile waste is a significant environmental and economic problem, due to the difficulty of recycling this waste. The majority of textile waste is not recycled. Instead, the textile waste is often disposed of via landfill or incineration.

The recycling of textile waste is currently an expensive process, which firstly involves the transportation of waste to a specialised facility. The waste is sorted, the different types of fibres are separated, and then any contaminants such as polyurethane are removed. The separation of the fibre types and removal of contaminants are particularly resource intensive processes, which can also damage the textile fibres, leading to inferior textile products.

Similar issues to the above also exist with regard to leather waste.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments there is provided a method of forming a composite sheet material from non-leather textile waste, the non-leather textile waste comprising textile fibres, wherein the method comprises: mechanically processing the non-leather textile waste, wherein the mechanical processing comprises filtering the non-leather textile waste and breaking down the non-leather textile waste into individual textile fibres, such that a majority of the individual textile fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm; forming the mechanically processed textile fibres into a web; locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, wherein the web defines a first layer of the arrangement and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement; and subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus to provide the composite sheet material, wherein subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the textile fibres of the web to entangle with each other and causes a mechanical bond to form between the textile fibres of the web and the reinforcing material.

Possibly, the textile waste includes more than one type of textile fibre.

The textile waste may comprise at least one of: wool, cotton, viscose, flax, soybean, bamboo, silk, polyester, nylon, polypropylene, polyamide, elastane, acrylic, bast or modal fibres. The textile waste may comprise at least two of: wool, cotton, viscose, flax, soybean, bamboo, silk, polyester, nylon, polypropylene, polyamide, elastane, acrylic, bast or modal fibres. The textile waste may comprise at least three of: wool, cotton, viscose, flax, soybean, bamboo, silk, polyester, nylon, polypropylene, polyamide, elastane, acrylic, bast or modal fibres.

The textile waste may comprise cellulosic textile fibres, such as bast, flax, viscose or cotton. The textile waste may comprise synthetic textile fibres.

The majority of the mechanically processed textile fibres may have a length in the range of 3 - 5 mm.

The reinforcing material may comprise a fabric. Possibly, the reinforcing material comprises a recycled fabric. Possibly, the reinforcing material comprises a woven fabric.

Possibly, the method further comprises blending the mechanically processed textile fibres of the textile waste with additive fibres prior to the formation of the web. The additive fibres may comprise bicomponent fibres. The web may comprise predominantly the mechanically processed textile fibres of the textile waste. The web may comprise at least 90 wt.% of the mechanically processed textile fibres of the textile waste. The web may comprise 1 - 10 wt.% of the additive fibres. The web may comprise 2 - 5 wt.% of the additive fibres. The web may comprise 2 - 4 wt.% of the additive fibres.

The mechanical processing of the non-leather textile waste may comprise milling pieces of the non-leather textile waste to disassemble the pieces into individual textile fibres.

Filtering the non-leather textile waste may comprise filtering the non-leather textile waste prior to milling pieces of the non-leather textile waste. The non-leather textile waste may be filtered to provide pieces of non-leather textile waste for milling that, when milled, are dissembled into individual textile fibres, where a majority of the individual textile fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm.

The filtering may comprise removing oversized pieces of non-leather textile waste prior to conveying the filtered pieces to a milling machine that mills the pieces to disassemble the pieces into individual textile fibres. The filtering may comprise removing undersized pieces of non-leather textile waste prior to milling. The method may comprise rejecting the undersized pieces of non-leather textile waste.

The mechanical processing of the non-leather textile waste may comprise the steps of: shredding the non-leather textile waste to provide shreds of textile waste material; cutting the shreds of non-leather textile waste within a granulator to provide pieces of reduced size suitable for milling; and milling the pieces to disassemble the pieces into individual textile fibres.

Filtering the non-leather textile waste may comprise, after cutting the shreds of non- leather textile waste within the granulator to pieces of reduced size, filtering the pieces of reduced size prior to milling. The non-leather textile waste may be filtered to provide pieces of non-leather textile waste for milling that, when milled, are dissembled into individual textile fibres, where a majority of the individual textile fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm. The filtering may comprise removing oversized pieces of non-leather textile waste prior to providing the filtered pieces to a milling machine that mills the pieces to disassemble the pieces into individual textile fibres. The removed oversized pieces of non-leather textile waste may be conveyed to back to the granulator for further cutting.

The filtering may comprise removing undersized pieces of non-leather textile waste prior to milling. The method may further comprise rejecting the undersize pieces of non-leather textile waste prior to milling.

The filtering may be performed using at least one vibrating screen.

Filtering the non-leather textile waste may comprise filtering the individual textile fibres to remove undersized individual textile fibres.

Possibly, the forming the mechanically processed textile fibres into a web comprises airlaying the fibres onto a support.

The web may have a higher weight per unit area than the reinforcing material.

The arrangement may comprise a further web on the opposite side of the reinforcing material to the web, the further web defining a third layer of the arrangement. The weight per unit area of the further web may be different to the weight per unit area of the web.

Possibly, the method is substantially without chemical treatment of the textile waste. Possibly, the method is without chemical treatment of the textile waste.

Possibly, the method further comprises applying a coating to the composite sheet material.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments there is provided a method of forming a composite sheet material from pieces of non-leather textile waste, wherein the method comprises: filtering pieces of non-leather textile waste to remove oversized pieces; breaking down the filtered pieces of non-leather textile waste into individual textile fibres; filtering the individual textile fibres, such that a majority of the filtered individual textile fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm; forming the filtered individual textile fibres derived from textile waste into a web, wherein the textile fibres comprise individual textile fibres; locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, wherein the web defines a first layer of the arrangement and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement; and subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus to provide the composite sheet material, wherein subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the textile fibres of the web to entangle with each other and causes a mechanical bond to form between the textile fibres of the web and the reinforcing material.

The individual textile fibres may be formed by mechanically processing the textile waste to break down the textile waste.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments there is provided a composite sheet material comprising: a body of fibres including fibres interlocked with each other by entanglement, wherein the body of fibres comprises textile fibres derived from textile waste; and a reinforcing material, wherein at least some of the fibres of the body of fibres are mechanically bonded to the reinforcing material, wherein the body of fibres defines a first layer of the composite sheet material and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the composite sheet material.

The body of fibres may comprise predominantly textile fibres derived from textile waste. The body of fibres may comprise at least 90 wt.% textile fibres derived from textile waste. The body of fibres may comprise 1 - 10 wt.% of additive fibres. The additive fibres may comprise bicomponent fibres.

The length of the majority of the textile fibres may be 1 - 10 mm. The length of the majority of the textile fibres may be 3 - 5 mm.

Possibly, the composite sheet material is substantially without any adhesive bonding of the fibres. Possibly, the composite sheet material does not comprise adhesive bonding of the fibres. The reinforcing material may comprise a recycled fabric. The reinforcing material may comprise a woven fabric.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments there is provided a composite sheet material made by the method of any of the preceding paragraphs.

Possibly, the sheet material is substantially without any adhesive bonding of the fibres. Possibly, the sheet material does not comprise adhesive bonding of the fibres.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments there is provided clothing, footwear, accessories or upholstery comprising a composite sheet material according to any of the preceding paragraphs.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments there is provided a method of forming a composite sheet material from textile waste, the textile waste comprising textile fibres, wherein the method comprises: mechanically processing the textile waste, wherein the mechanical processing causes the textile waste to break down into individual textile fibres; forming the mechanically processed textile fibres into a web; locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, wherein the web defines a first layer of the arrangement and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement; and subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus to provide the composite sheet material, wherein subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the textile fibres of the web to entangle with each other and causes a mechanical bond to form between the textile fibres of the web and the reinforcing material.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments there is provided a method of forming a composite sheet material from non-leather textile waste, the non-leather textile waste comprising textile fibres, wherein the method comprises: mechanically processing the non-leather textile waste, wherein the mechanical processing comprises the steps of: shredding the non-leather textile waste to provide shreds of textile waste; cutting the shreds of textile waste within a granulator to provide pieces of reduced size suitable for milling; and milling the pieces to disassemble the pieces causes the textile waste to break down into individual textile fibres; forming the individual textile fibres into a web; locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, wherein the web defines a first layer of the arrangement and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement; and subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus to provide the composite sheet material, wherein subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the textile fibres of the web to entangle with each other and causes a mechanical bond to form between the textile fibres of the web and the reinforcing material.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments there is provided a method of forming a composite sheet material from material waste, wherein the method comprises: mechanically processing the material waste into material fibres, wherein the mechanical processing comprises filtering the material waste and breaking down the material waste into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres, such that a majority of the material fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm; forming the filtered material fibres into a web; locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, wherein the web defines a first layer of the arrangement and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement; and subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus to provide the composite sheet material, wherein subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the material fibres of the web to entangle with each other and causes a mechanical bond to form between the material fibres of the web and the reinforcing material.

The mechanical processing of the material waste may comprise the steps of: shredding the material waste to provide shreds of material waste; cutting the shreds of material waste within a granulator to provide pieces of reduced size suitable for milling; and milling the pieces to disassemble the pieces into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres.

Filtering the material waste may comprise, after cutting the shreds of material waste within the granulator to pieces of reduced size, filtering the pieces of reduced size material waste prior to milling. The material waste may be filtered to provide pieces of material waste for milling that, when milled, are dissembled into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres, where a majority of the material fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm.

The filtering may comprise removing oversized pieces of material waste prior to conveying the filtered pieces to a milling machine that mills the pieces to disassemble the pieces into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres. The removed oversized pieces of material waste may be conveyed to back to the granulator for further cutting.

The filtering may comprise removing undersized pieces of material waste prior to milling. The method may further comprise rejecting the undersize pieces of material waste prior to milling.

The filtering may be performed using at least one vibrating screen.

Filtering the material waste may comprise filtering the individual material fibres or bundles of fibres to remove undersized individual material fibres or undersized bundles of fibres.

The material waste may be leather waste or non-leather textile waste.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments there is provided a method of forming a composite sheet material from pieces of material waste, wherein the method comprises: filtering pieces of material waste to remove oversized pieces; breaking down the filtered pieces of material waste into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres; filtering the individual material fibres or the bundles of fibres, such that a majority of the material fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm; forming the filtered individual material fibres or the bundles of fibres into a web; locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, wherein the web defines a first layer of the arrangement and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement; and subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus to provide the composite sheet material, wherein subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the material fibres of the web to entangle with each other and causes a mechanical bond to form between the material fibres of the web and the reinforcing material.

Filtering the material waste may comprise filtering the material waste prior to milling pieces of the material waste. The material waste may be filtered to provide pieces of material waste for milling that, when milled, are dissembled into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres, where a majority of the material fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm.

The filtering may comprise removing oversized pieces of material waste prior to conveying the filtered pieces to a milling machine that mills the pieces to disassemble the pieces into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres.

The filtering may comprise removing undersized pieces of material waste prior to milling. The method may further comprise rejecting the undersized pieces of material waste.

The pieces of material may be filtered using a first vibrating screen. The individual material fibres or bundles of fibres may be filtered using a second vibrating screen.

The material waste may be leather waste or non-leather textile waste.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments there is provided examples as claimed in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Some examples will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1A shows a method of forming a composite sheet material from textile waste according to examples of the disclosure; FIG. 1 B shows a schematic of a system for performing aspects of the method of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 shows an example of a vibrating screen;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustrating functionality of the vibrating screen apparatus;

FIG. 4 shows a microscope image of the fibres within a first sample of mechanically processed textile waste;

FIG. 5 shows a side view of a web formed from the first sample of textile waste and bicomponent fibres;

FIG. 6A shows a sueded face of a first example composite sheet material;

FIG. 6B shows a side view of a first example composite sheet material;

FIG. 7A shows a coated face of a second example composite sheet material;

FIG. 7B shows a side view of a second example composite sheet material;

FIG. 8 shows a microscope image of the fibres within a second sample of mechanically processed textile waste;

FIG. 9A shows a sueded face of a third example composite sheet material;

FIG. 9B shows a side view of a third example composite sheet material; and FIG. 10 shows a schematic of a system for processing leather waste fibres.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In examples of the disclosure, a method of forming a composite sheet material from material waste is provided. Furthermore, examples of the disclosure also provide a subsequently formed composite sheet material.

In this disclosure, the material forming the material waste may be a pliable material such as leather or textile. A pliable material may be considered to be a material that is suitable, for example, for clothing, footwear and/or upholstery.

Method of Forming Composite Sheet Material from (non-leather) Textile Waste

Textiles are materials formed by intertwining or interlocking fibres. Textiles include woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, and non-woven fabrics. A non-woven fabric is defined as any fabric other than a woven or knitted fabric, such as felt or a needle-punched structure. Animal hides such as leather are not considered as textiles or fabrics, as they are not fabricated by intertwining or interlocking fibres. Animal hide fibres are thus not considered as textile fibres. Thus, in this specification, the term “textile” means the same as “non-leather textile”.

Textile waste comprises textile fibres. Textile fibres are the primary raw materials used in textile manufacture. Textile fibres generally have a substantially uniform diameter throughout their length. In most, but not all, examples, textile fibres have a linear density of 1.5 - 3.3 dtex. Textile fibres include natural fibres, naturally derived fibres and/or synthetic fibres. Example natural fibres used in textile manufacture are wool, cotton, flax, bast and silk fibres. Example naturally derived fibres used in textile manufacture are bamboo, viscose and soybean fibres. Example synthetic fibres used in textile manufacture are polyester, nylon, polypropylene, polyamide, elastane, and acrylic fibres. Some, but not all, natural and naturally derived textile fibres, such as cotton, flax, bast or viscose, are cellulosic textile fibres. Cellulosic textile fibres comprise cellulose.

Textile waste includes textile fibres, but textile waste is unsuitable for use in traditional textile manufacturing methods. Traditional textile manufacturing methods are for processing virgin textile fibres. Virgin textile fibres are textile fibres that have not been recycled (i.e. , the textile fibres have not previously been used in a textile manufacturing process).

Textile waste includes post-agricultural textile waste (also known as pre-industrial textile waste), industrial textile waste, post-industrial textile waste, pre-consumer textile waste, and/or post-consumer textile waste. The textile waste described herein may comprise one or more than one of these waste material components.

Post-agricultural textile waste includes natural fibres, such as the natural fibres described above (e.g., wool, cotton, flax, bast or silk), which are grown and/or processed by the agricultural industry for use in the textiles industry supply chain, but are unsuitable (i.e., of insufficient quality) for processing in traditional textile manufacturing methods. The suitability of natural fibres for the textile industry is determined using a number of parameters, depending on the type of fibre. For instance, the suitability can be determined by measuring the fineness, length, shape, strength, density, lustre, colour, handle, parallelism, and/or the cleanliness of the fibres, and possibly also the number of naps or knots in the fibres. As an example, flax fibres that are discoloured and coarsened in texture by dew retting, or flax fibres that are shortened by mechanical retting, are deemed unsuitable for textile spinning processes. Such flax fibres are deemed as post-agricultural textile waste by the textile industry.

Industrial textile waste is produced during textile processing, such as during the cleaning, carding, combing and/or spinning of fibres. The waste fibres produced during these processes are too short for use in traditional textile manufacturing methods, and are therefore deemed as industrial textile waste by the textile industry.

Post-industrial textile waste includes material in which the textile fibres have been intertwined or interlocked, but the material is in a form that is unsuitable for use in traditional textile manufacturing methods. For example, the dimensions of the material may be too small for use in the textile industry. Post-industrial textile waste includes cuttings or trim waste from roll or sheet processing.

Pre-consumer textile waste includes any textile product that has been produced, but is no longer commercially/economically viable. As an example, fabrics, garments or apparel that have passed their design season in many cases are no longer commercially viable.

Post-consumer textile waste includes textile products that have been used and discarded. For instance, worn clothes, carpets or upholstery that have been disposed of by a user.

Textile waste can thus include waste loose textile fibres, waste woven fabrics, waste knitted fabrics, and/or waste non-woven fabrics.

Textile waste in many, but not all, examples includes more than one type of textile fibre. In other words, the textile waste is mixed or non-homogeneous. In some examples, the textile waste includes more than two types of textile fibres. Depending on the source, the textile waste can include several types of textile fibres in varying ratios. A different type of textile fibre is a fibre made from a different material. Example types of textile fibres include wool, cotton, viscose, flax, soybean, bamboo, silk, polyester, nylon, polypropylene, polyamide, elastane, acrylic, bast or modal fibres. The textile waste may include one or more, two or more, or three or more of these types of textile fibres.

In some examples, the textile waste includes both i) synthetic fibres and ii) natural or naturally derived fibres. The textile waste may include 10 - 90 wt.% natural or naturally derived fibres and 10 - 90 wt.% synthetic fibres, such as 70 wt.% synthetic fibres and 30 wt.% natural or naturally derived fibres. Where the textile waste is derived from denim, the textile waste may include 50-98 wt.% cotton fibres and 2-50 wt.% synthetic fibres (e.g., polyester and/or elastane).

Fig. 1A illustrates a flow chart of a method 100 of forming a composite sheet material from (non-leather) textile waste. Fig. 1 B illustrates a schematic of a system 200 for performing the aspects of the method of Fig. 1A that are illustrated in block 110.

The system 200 receives, as its input, (non-leather) textile waste 20. The incoming textile waste 20 may be substantially dry (for example, having a moisture content of 0 - 16 wt %).

The system 200 may comprise a shredder 210, a granulator 220, a first vibrating screen 230, a milling machine 240, a vacuum generator 250, a second vibrating screen 260, a dust filter 270 and a fibre storage receptacles/silos 280. The elements 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270 and 280 may be pneumatically connected in that pressurized air and/or generated (partial) vacuums may be used to convey textile waste and/or individual/discrete textile fibres from one element to another element 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270 and 280. Any number of intervening elements can exist between the elements 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270 and 280, including no intervening elements. The system 200 need not comprise all of the illustrated elements 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270 and 280 and might, in some embodiments, only comprise some of the illustrated elements 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270 and 280.

As shown in Fig. 1A, the method 100 of forming a composite sheet material from textile waste 20 comprises the step 110 of mechanically processing the textile waste. The mechanical processing of the textile waste 20 causes the textile waste to break down into individual textile fibres. The individual textile fibres could also be referred to as discrete textile fibres. An individual or discrete fibre is not interlocked or intertwined with other fibres. The majority of the textile fibres within the textile waste may be converted into individual textile fibres by the mechanical processing. Preferably, substantially all of the textile fibres are converted to into individual textile fibres by the mechanical processing. The mechanical processing of the textile waste could also be referred to as fibrising. The textile waste could include any of the textile waste described above.

In some examples, the majority of mechanically processed textile fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm. Preferably the majority of mechanically processed textile fibres have a length in the range of 3 - 5 mm. The mechanical processing of the textile fibres may reduce the length of at least some of the textile fibres such that the majority of mechanically processed textile fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm or 3 - 5 mm. The length of a sample of mechanically processed textile fibres can be determined by measuring the length of the fibres within a number of randomly selected subsamples. The length of the fibres within each of the subsamples can be determined using a microscope.

In some examples, the mechanical processing of the textile waste 20 comprises shredding the textile waste 20 in a shredder 210 to provide shreds of textile waste. To shred the textile waste, the textile waste may be fed into an industrial shredder 210, such as a double shaft shredder.

The textile waste 20 may be manually sorted prior to its insertion into the shredder 210, in order to remove foreign objects. When the textile waste is fed into the shredder 210 it may be substantially dry (for example, having a moisture content of 0 - 16 wt %).

The textile waste is shredded by the shredder 210 without dissembling the textile waste into individual fibres. By way of example, each shred of textile material that is output by the shredder 210 might be 200 mm x 30 mm.

In some examples, following shredding, the shreds of textile waste are cut within a granulator 220 to provide pieces of reduced size (relative to the shreds of material), which are suitable for milling. The granulator 220 might comprise counter-rotating, toothed wheels that granulate the input shreds of material to provide the pieces of reduced size. The granulator 220 may have adjustable settings to change the size of the pieces of material that are output by the granulator 220, as indicated in Fig. 1 B. By way of example, the granulator 220 may be set to output pieces of material that have a particular maximum extent in any/every dimension. That is, in general, output pieces of material are not larger than the particular maximum extent in any dimension. For example, the maximum extent might be less than 10 mm in every dimension, such as 6 mm. The cutting of the shreds of textile waste within the granulator 220 may reduce the size of the textile fibres within the pieces of textile material, such that the majority of the textile fibres have a length of less than 10 mm. In some examples, the cutting reduces the length of the majority of the textile fibres to 1 - 10 mm. Preferably, the cutting reduces the length of the majority of the textile fibres to 3 - 5 mm. The granulator may include one or more cutting blades. The shreds of textile waste may be fed into the granulator 220 using a conveyor.

The moisture content of the pieces of textile material output by the granulator 220 might be between 0 and 16 wt %.

In some examples, after the pieces of textile waste have been cut within the granulator 220 to pieces of reduced size, those pieces of textile material are filtered prior to milling. The filtering may be performed, for example, by the first vibrating screen 230. The pieces of textile material may be conveyed to the first vibrating screen 230 (e.g., pneumatically).

The textile waste may be filtered by removing oversized and/or undersized pieces of textile material from the pieces of textile material output by the granulator 220. Whether a piece of material is considered to be oversized or undersized depends on the individual textile fibre size that is desired when the pieces of textile material are subsequently disassembled into individual textile fibres. It was explained above that the granulator 220 may be set to output pieces of textile waste that, in general, have a particular maximum extent in any dimension. A piece of material might be considered to be oversized if it exceeds this maximum extent in any dimension after being output by the granulator 220.

Fig. 2 shows an example of the first vibrating screen apparatus 230. The vibrating screen 230 comprises an inlet 231 , a flail 232, a vacuum generator 233, a first vibrating platform/panel 234, a second vibrating platform/panel 235, a third vibrating platform/panel 236, a first material conduit 237, a second material conduit 238 and a third material conduit 239. The vibrating screen 230 also comprises at least one motor that is arranged to cause the first, second and third vibrating platforms 234, 235, 236 to vibrate.

In use, the pieces of textile material that have been cut by the granulator 220 are fed into the vibrating screen 230 via the inlet 231. Optionally, the pieces of textile material are broken up by the flail 232, which is located in the inlet 231. The vacuum generator 233 generates at least a partial vacuum, which causes airborne dust to be removed from the pieces of textile material that have entered the inlet 231 .

Each of the first, second and third vibrating platforms 234, 235, 236 are angled (downwardly, relative to ground) to (gravitationally) guide textile material on the platforms 234, 235, 236 towards the first, second and third material conduits 237, 238, 239, respectively.

The pieces of textile material may land initially on the first vibrating platform 234. Each of the first and second vibrating platforms 234, 235 may include a plurality of apertures (e.g., perforations) which allow pieces of textile material of a certain size to pass through the platform 234, 235. The size of each of the apertures in the platforms 234, 235 may depend on the individual textile fibre size that is desired after milling.

Each of the apertures in the first vibrating platform 234 might have a maximum extent (in one or both dimensions that are parallel to the plane of the platform 234) that corresponds to setting of the granulator 220. For example, if the granulator 220 is set to output pieces of textile waste that have a maximum extent of 6 mm, each of the apertures in the first vibrating platform 234 may have a maximum extent (in one or both dimensions that are parallel to the plane of the platform) of 6 mm.

The size of each of the apertures in the second vibrating platform 235 has a maximum extent (in one or both dimensions that are parallel to the plane of the platform 235) that is smaller than the maximum extent of each of the apertures in the first vibrating platform 234. The maximum extent of each of the apertures in the second vibrating platform 234 might, for example, be 1.5mm in one or both of the dimensions that are parallel to the plane of the platform 235. In use, the motor of the vibrating screen 230 causes each of the first, second and third vibrating platforms 234, 235, 236 to vibrate. This, coupled with the angled nature of the platforms 234, 235, 236, causes textile material to be conveyed along each of the platforms 234, 235, 236. Oversized pieces of textile material do not pass through the apertures in the first vibrating platform 234 and are conveyed into the first material conduit 237. Appropriately sized pieces of material pass through the apertures in the first vibrating platform 234 (e.g., while the platform 234 is vibrating) and do not pass through apertures in the second vibrating platform 235. These appropriately sized pieces of material are conveyed into the second material conduit 238. Undersized pieces of material and dust pass through the apertures in both the first vibrating platform 234 and the second vibrating platform 235, but do not pass through the third vibrating platform 236 (which does not have any apertures for the pieces/dust to pass through). The undersized pieces of material and dust are conveyed into the third material conduit 239 by the third vibrating platform 236.

Fig. 3 illustrates a schematic that includes arrows which show the movement of pieces of material/dust along the first, second and third vibrating platforms 234, 235, 236 into the first, second and third material conduits 237, 238, 239.

In effect, by conveying oversized pieces of material into the first material conduit 237, the vibrating screen 230 removes oversized pieces from processing prior to milling taking place. Oversized pieces of material that enter the first material conduit 237 may be conveyed (e.g., pneumatically) back to the granulator 220 for further cutting (i.e., recycled).

By conveying undersized pieces of material and dust into the third material conduit 239, the vibrating screen removes undersized pieces from processing prior to milling. The undersized pieces of material and dust may be rejected (i.e., not used in forming the composite sheet material). As indicated in Fig. 1 B, the undersized pieces of material (“fines”) and dust may be conveyed through to the dust filter 270.

Each of the first and second vibrating platforms 234, 235 might be user-replaceable, such that one or both of the platforms 234, 235 could be replaced with platform (s) having different characteristics, such as a different aperture size. This will change the manner in which the pieces of material are sorted into the first, second and third material conduits 237, 238, 239. This enables the first vibrating screen 230 to provide a product with a selectable output size, as indicated in Fig. 1 B.

The appropriately sized pieces of material may be conveyed (e.g., pneumatically) to the milling machine 240. Dust levels at this stage are typically very low (e.g., < 0.5 wt %), so dedusting the pieces of textile material is not typically necessary. Furthermore, given that the moisture content is low (0 - 16 wt %), it is not necessary to dry the pieces of textile material prior to milling.

In some examples, following cutting and filtering, the pieces are milled by the milling machine 240 to disassemble the pieces into individual textile fibres. The milling machine 240 may be an industrial mill, such as a hammer mill or a disk mill. The milling machine 240 may comprise a chamber that houses a plurality (e.g., two) toothed mill discs. One of the discs may rotate (e.g., at a fixed speed) while an adjacent disc remains stationary. The pieces of textile material may be pneumatically conveyed between the discs (e.g., through suction). The milling process applies a shear and tear action to open the pieces of textile material and dissemble them into individual textile fibres.

After the pieces of textile material have been milled by the milling machine 240, they may be conveyed to the second vibrating screen 260. The vacuum generator 250 may generate at least a partial vacuum to convey the individual textile fibres to the second vibrating screen 260. The vacuum generator 250 may, for example, be a cyclone device.

The second vibrating screen 260 may be the same as the first vibrating screen 230 other than it need not have three vibrating platforms/panels 234, 235, 236. It may instead have two vibrating platforms - a first vibrating platform, including apertures (e.g., perforations), for conveying appropriately sized individual textile fibres towards the fibre storage receptacle 280 and a second vibrating platform, excluding apertures, for filtering out undersized individual textile fibres and dust (e.g., conveying the undersized individual textile fibres and dust towards the dust filter 270). In some examples, the size of each of the apertures in the first vibrating platform might, for example, be 1 mm in at least one dimension measured parallel to the plane of the platform. Fig. 1 B illustrates that the undersized pieces of material (“fines”) and dust may be conveyed from the second vibrating screen 260 to the dust filter 270.

The first vibrating platform might be user-replaceable with another vibrating platform having different characteristics, such as a different aperture size. This will change the manner in which the pieces of material are sorted. This enables the second vibrating screen 260 to provide a product with a selectable output size, as indicated in Fig. 1 B.

The method 100 further comprises forming the mechanically processed textile fibres into a web, as illustrated by the numeral 120 in Fig. 1A. The web could also be considered as a body of fibres. The web may be in the form of a sheet. The web may be a non-woven web, and can be formed by airlaying. In some examples, the web is needle punched once formed. Prior to (i.e., upstream of) forming the textile fibres into the web, the fibres for forming the web may be opened from a bale and/or a silo using a fibre opener.

In some examples, the method further comprises blending the mechanically processed textile fibres of the textile waste with additive fibres prior to (i.e. upstream of) forming the web. The inclusion of some additive fibres has been found to improve web stability during processing. In particular, these fibres can improve the stability of the web when forming the web into a roll, and therefore act as a process additive. In some examples, the additive fibres comprise bicomponent fibres, such as polylactic acid/polylactic acid bicomponent fibres, where each polylactic acid element has a different melting point, or polyethylene/polypropylene bicomponent fibres. The web may comprise 1 - 10 wt.% of the additive fibres. Preferably, the web comprises 2 - 5 wt.% of the additive fibres. The web may comprise predominantly (i.e., more than 50 wt.%) of the mechanically processed textile fibres from the textile waste. Preferably, the web comprises at least 90 wt.% of the mechanically processed textile fibres from the textile waste. Most preferably, the web comprises at least 95 wt.% of the mechanically processed textile fibres from the textile waste. Where the textile fibres are formed into a web using airlaying, the blending of the mechanically processed textile fibres of the textile waste with the additive fibres may be carried out by agitators in airlay forming heads.

In examples where the mechanically processed textile fibres are formed into a web using airlaying, the fibres may be airlaid onto a support material. The support material is preferably a tissue material. The tissue material may have a weight per unit area (i.e. grammage) of 10 to 25 gsm, such as 18 gsm.

In some examples, the web has a weight per unit area of 50 - 500 gsm. Preferably, the web has a weight per unit area of 100 - 300 gsm. Most preferably, the web has a weight per unit area of 140 to 240 gsm.

In examples where the web comprises comprise synthetic bicomponent fibres, the formed web may be inserted into and heated in an oven to cause partial melting of the bicomponent fibres. In some examples, the formed web is heated to 140 °C - 170 °C in the oven. The formed web may be heated in the oven for 20 - 110 seconds. The heating of the web including synthetic bicomponent fibres has been found to stabilise the web. The stabilisation of the web enables the web to be processed more readily. Otherwise, the web is more likely to fall apart during processing, for example during winding of the web into a roll, during the formation of the web in an airlaying process, and/or during unwinding of the web roll prior to hydroentanglement.

Following the formation of the web, the web may be formed into a roll.

The method 100 further comprises locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, as illustrated by the numeral 130 in Fig. 1A. The arrangement may be in the form of a sheet, and can be formed on a support by laying a sheet of the web onto a sheet of the reinforcing material. The web defines a first layer of the arrangement, and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement.

The reinforcing material is in the form of a sheet. The reinforcing material could also be considered as a reinforcing structure. The reinforcing material may comprise a structure defined by a fabric. The fabric could be a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, or a non-woven fabric. Alternatively, the reinforcing material may comprise a structure defined by a combination of a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, and/or a non-woven fabric. The fabric of the reinforcing material is preferably a durable fabric. A durable fabric is suitable for multiple cycles of use and washing, as opposed to disposable fabric, which is not suitable for repeated use and/or washing cycles. A durable fabric is suitable for use in clothing, footwear, accessories and/or upholstery. The fabric of the reinforcing material could be a recycled fabric.

In some examples, the reinforcing material has a different weight per unit area to the web, and preferably has a lower weight per unit area than the web. In other examples, the reinforcing material has the same weight per unit area as the web. The reinforcing material may have a weight per unit area of 50 - 200 gsm. Preferably, the reinforcing material has a weight per unit area of 60 - 100 gsm.

The reinforcing material may comprise virgin fibres and/or recycled fibres. The reinforcing material may comprise natural, naturally derived, and/or synthetic fibres. In some examples, the reinforcing material comprises splittable fibres. The splittable fibres of the reinforcing material may comprise at least two different fibres arranged in distinct segments across the cross-section of the splittable fibre. For example, the at least two different fibres may comprise polyester fibres and polyamide fibres, which may be microfibres.

In some examples, the arrangement includes a further web on the opposite side of the reinforcing material to the web. In such examples, the web defines a first layer of the arrangement, the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement, and the further web defines a third layer of the arrangement. The second layer is between the first and third layers in this example (i.e. , the further web is on the opposite side of the reinforcing material to the web). The further web may be the same as the web described above. Alternatively, the further web may have different weight per unit area to the web, a different structure to the web, and/or have a different composition to the web.

The method 100 further comprises subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus, as illustrated by the numeral 140 in Fig. 1A. The hydroentanglement steps include exposing the arrangement to high pressure jets of liquid over a surface of the arrangement. In some examples, the liquid is water. The jets may be directed firstly onto a first face of the arrangement, and subsequently onto a second opposite face of the arrangement. The jet pressure applied to the surface of the arrangement may be 180 - 380 bar. Subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the textile fibres of the web to entangle with each other. Accordingly, the textile fibres of the web interlock with each other by entanglement. Subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps also causes a mechanical bond to form between the textile fibres of the web and the reinforcing material. This bond is caused by some of the textile fibres of the web being pushed by the high-pressure jets of liquid into gaps in the reinforcing material.

In some examples, in the hydroentanglement apparatus the arrangement is supported on a porous conveyor, which may be the support on which the arrangement is formed, and advanced through one or more treatment stations. In other examples, in the hydroentanglement apparatus the arrangement is supported on a porous drum, which may be the support on which the arrangement is formed, and advanced through one or more treatment stations. The one or more treatment stations comprise liquid outlets for subjecting the arrangement to high pressure jets of such liquid.

In some examples, the method comprises subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps, wherein in each such hydroentanglement step the arrangement is exposed to high pressure jets of liquid over a surface of one of the faces of the arrangement. In other examples, the method comprises subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps, wherein in each such hydroentanglement step the arrangement is exposed to high pressure jets of liquid over a surface of each of the respective faces. Each of the successive hydroentanglement steps on one or each face of the arrangement may be carried out at a different treatment station in the apparatus. In such examples, the conveyor or the drum is arranged to support and advance the arrangement through each of the respective treatment stations. The composite sheet material may then be dried, for instance by heating the composite sheet material in an oven.

Following the hydroentanglement steps, the composite sheet material is formed. The composite sheet material comprises a body of fibres including fibres interlocked with each other by entanglement, wherein the body of fibres comprises textile fibres derived from textile waste. The composite sheet material further comprises a reinforcing material, wherein at least some of the fibres of the body of fibres are mechanically bonded to the reinforcing material. The reinforcing material forms an intrinsic part of the material (e.g., as opposed to being a backing layer). For example, it may be that the reinforcing material and the textile fibres cannot be separated from each other without the use of one or more tools. The body of fibres defines a first layer of the composite sheet material and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the composite sheet material.

In examples where, prior to hydroentanglement, the arrangement comprises the further web, the composite sheet material formed following hydroentanglement comprises a further body of fibres. The further body of fibres includes fibres interlocked with each other by entanglement. At least some of the fibres of the further body of fibres are mechanically bonded to the reinforcing material. At least some of the fibres of the further body of fibres are also mechanically bonded to the body of fibres through gaps in the reinforcing material. The further body of fibres defines a third layer of the composite sheet material. The second layer of the composite sheet material is between the first and third layers.

In some examples following hydroentanglement (i.e., downstream of hydroentanglement) the composite sheet material may be subject to treatments. The treatments can produce materials suitable, for example, for clothing, footwear, accessories and upholstery applications and/or can improve the appearance and handling of the composite sheet material. Typical treatment steps include impregnation, colouring, treating with softening oils, drying, buffing, sueding and surface finishing. The composite sheet material may also be mechanically or chemically treated to add new functions to the material, such as waterproofing or fire retardancy.

Except for the aforesaid finishing treatments, no adhesive is necessary to structurally bond the fibres. Thus, the composite sheet material may be substantially without any adhesive bonding of the fibres, the mechanical interlocking of the fibres caused by hydroentanglement being the predominant means of attaining and maintaining the integrity of the structure.

In some examples, the composite sheet material comprises a coating, for example a polymeric coating. The coating may be a water-based. Accordingly, the method may comprise applying such a coating to the composite sheet material following hydroentanglement and one or more of the treatments described above. The coating may be applied following drying and buffing of the composite sheet material.

The composite sheet material may have a thickness of 0.5 - 2.5 mm. Preferably, the composite sheet material has a thickness of 0.7 mm - 1.6 mm, such as 1 .2 mm. The composite sheet material may have a weight per unit area of over 250 gsm. Preferably, the composite sheet material has a weight per unit area of 350 - 600 gsm, such as 450 gsm.

First textile example

In the first example, a first sample of textile waste was converted into a first example composite sheet material. The first sample of textile waste is post-consumer textile waste derived from waste clothing, and includes a mixture of frayed fibres, yarns and small pieces of cloth. The sample includes a mixture of textile fibres, including at least polyester, wool, nylon, cotton, viscose and polypropylene of mixed colours. The majority of the textile fibres within the first sample of textile waste have a length in the range of 30 - 100 mm.

The first sample textile waste was subjected to the method 100 of Fig. 1A described above. The textile waste was mechanically processed to break down the textile waste into individual fibres. The mechanical processing included shredding, cutting, and milling the textile waste. Following the mechanical processing, the majority of the textile fibres had a length of 3 - 5 mm. The textile fibres derived from the textile waste were then stored in a silo. Fig. 4 is a microscope image illustrating textile fibres within the first sample of textile waste, following mechanical processing of the textile waste and the breakdown of the textile waste into individual fibres.

Two fibre openers were used. A first fibre opener was used to open the mechanically processed textile fibres derived from the textile waste from the silo, and the second fibre opener was used to open bicomponent fibres from a bale. The two types of fibres were fed into and blended in airlay forming heads by agitators, then airlaid on a 18 gsm tissue supported by a conveyor to form the web. The web was then heated in an oven to partially melt the bicomponent fibres and stabilize the web. The web was then wound into a roll. The web had a weight per unit area of 140 gsm and comprised 96.2 wt.% of the mechanically processed textile fibres and 3.8 wt.% bicomponent fibres. The web mounted on a tissue support is shown in Fig. 5.

A further web with the same composition was formed using the same method described in the paragraph above, but with a different weight per unit area of 175 gsm.

An arrangement including the web as a first layer, a reinforcing material as a second middle layer, and the further web as a third layer was located in a hydroentanglement apparatus. The reinforcing material in this example was an 82 gsm recycled polyester woven fabric. The arrangement was then subjected to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus, including applying a series of high- pressure water jets (180 - 210 bar water jet pressure in this example), alternating between the front and back faces of the arrangement.

The composite sheet material was then dried in an oven and buffed on each face. One of the two faces of the composite sheet material was then sueded to provide a first example composite sheet material. The sueded face corresponds to the side of the arrangement with the 140 gsm web. The first example composite material is shown in Figs. 6A and 6B.

The physical properties of the first example composite material were tested, and the results are shown in Table 1 below. The composite material prepared from textile waste using the method above was found to be a surprisingly robust material.

Table 1

Second textile example

A second example composite sheet material was prepared. The second example composite sheet material is the same as the first example composite sheet material, however rather than sueding the face of the composite sheet material, a water-based coating is instead applied to the same face of the composite sheet material. The second example composite sheet material is shown in Figs. 7A and 7B.

Third textile example

In the third example, a second sample of textile waste was converted into a third example composite sheet material. The second sample of textile waste is post-industrial textile waste derived from an artificial upholstery offcut material. The offcut material was provided in approximately 0.1 m x 1 m strips. The second sample includes a mixture of unsplit polyester microfibres, split polyester microfibres and polyurethane particles in mixed colours. Fig. 8 is a microscope image illustrating textile fibres within a second sample of textile waste, following mechanical processing of the textile waste and the breakdown of the textile waste into individual fibres.

The second sample of textile waste was subjected to the method 100 of Fig. 1 described above to form a third example composite sheet material. The third example composite sheet material was prepared using a similar method as the first example composite sheet material, but with some differences. The reinforcing material is a polyester woven fabric formed from virgin fibres, rather than recycled fibres. The second sample of textile waste was used in place of the first sample of textile waste, and the composition and weight per unit area of the webs was different. The web had a weight per unit area of 142 gsm, and a composition of 95.2 wt.% of fibres derived from the second sample of textile waste and 4.8 wt.% bicomponent fibres. The further web had a weight per unit area of 184 gsm, and a composition of 95.2 wt.% of fibres derived from the second sample of textile waste and 4.8 wt.% bicomponent fibres. The sueded face of the third example composite material corresponds to the side of the arrangement with the 142 gsm web. The third example composite material is shown in Figs. 9A and 9B. The images of Figs. 9A and 9B are at the same level of magnification as the images of Figs. 6A and 6B, and therefore use the same scale.

The physical properties of the third example composite material were tested, and the results are shown in Table 2 below. The third example composite material prepared from textile waste using the method above was also found to be a surprisingly robust material.

Table 2

There is thus described a method of forming a composite sheet material, and a subsequently formed composite sheet material with a number of advantages as detailed above and below. A high performance, strong, durable and flexible composite sheet material can be formed from a wide variety of textile waste feedstocks, including those with a mixture of many types of fibre and also feedstocks with impurities. No separation of the types of fibres within the textile waste, separation of impurities from the textile waste, or chemical treatment of the textile waste is required. Such a high- performance material would not be expected without separating and/or chemically treating the textile waste. In many cases the composite sheet material can outperform the material from which the textile waste is derived in terms of strength and thickness, so can be considered an upcycled material. Substantially no adhesive bonding of the fibres is required. The composite sheet material can itself be recycled to form a further composite sheet material. These advantages provide significant technical and environmental benefits when compared to known processes, enabling textile waste that would otherwise be discarded to provide useful materials. Known methods of processing textile waste often involve dissolving the textile waste and respinning the waste into fibre, the methods cannot be used when the textile waste contains a mixture of fibre types, and the methods also require a significant amount of energy.

Although examples have been described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various examples, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. For example, the arrangement for insertion into the hydroentanglement apparatus may include a single web or multiple webs. In some examples, the composite sheet material is formed from an arrangement comprising a web on only one face of the reinforcing material. In other examples, such as example composite sheet materials 1 to 3 above, the arrangement comprises a web on each face of the reinforcing material, i.e., a sandwich type structure. In the subsequently formed composite sheet material, the reinforcing structure therefore acts as a reinforcing core.

In some examples, the composite sheet material is formed from an arrangement comprising three web layers. Where the arrangement comprises three layers, the arrangement may comprise two webs on one side of the reinforcing material, and a single web on the opposite side of the reinforcing material. The third web layer may be added to the arrangement before the hydroentanglement process, or during the hydroentanglement process.

Where the arrangement includes multiple webs, one or more of the webs might not include textile fibers derived from textile waste, provided that at least one of the other webs includes textile fibers derived from textile waste.

Textile waste fibres can be mixed with virgin fibres or other types of waste or recycled fibres to form the webs. Different types of bicomponent fibres can be used. Different or additional functional additive fibres such as glass fibres may be included in the web. Multiple reinforcing materials may be included. A tissue layer may be applied to at least one face of the arrangement prior to hydroentanglement of that face. Furthermore, the mechanical processing of the textile waste to break down the textile waste into individual textile fibres can be carried out using different means.

In some examples, the textile waste may be provided pre-processed. For instance, the textile waste may be provided pre-shredded, pre-cut, pre-frayed, and/or pre-milled, such that the mechanical processing required to break down the textile waste into individual textile fibres is reduced, or the mechanical processing is not required. For instance, where the textile waste is provided pre-shredded and pre-cut, the mechanical processing may only include milling pieces of the textile waste to disassemble the pieces into individual textile fibres, and the shredding and/or cutting steps might not be required. Where the mechanical processing is not required, the textile fibres of the pre- processed textile waste would comprise individual textile fibres.

Method of Forming Composite Sheet Material from Leather Waste

The method 100 described above in relation to Fig. 1A and aspects of the system 200 described above and illustrated in Fig. 1 B may be used to form a composite sheet material from leather waste.

A system 300 for generating leather fibres from leather waste 30 is illustrated in Fig. 10. The resulting leather fibres may be used to form a composite material in the same manner as that described above and illustrated in blocks 120, 130 and 140 of Fig. 1A in respect of textile fibres.

The system 300 includes the shredder 210, the granulator 220, the first vibrating screen 230, the milling machine 240, the dust filter 270 and the fibre storage receptacles/silos 280. Each of these elements 210, 220, 230, 240, 270, 280 operates as explained above in relation to the processing of (non-leather) textile waste unless stated otherwise here. The method for processing the leather waste is the same as that described above in relation to (non-leather) textile waste, unless stated otherwise here.

It can be seen in Fig. 10 that the system 300 illustrated in fig. 10 further comprises a dryer 310 and a deduster 320. As explained above in relation to Fig. 1 B, the elements 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 310 and 320 may be pneumatically connected. Any number of intervening elements can exist between the elements 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270. 280, 310 and 320, including no intervening elements. The system 300 need not comprise all of the illustrated elements 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 310 and 320 and might, in some embodiments, only comprise some of the illustrated elements 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 310 and 320.

The leather waste 30 that is initially provided for processing may be wet. It may, for example, have a moisture content of 50 - 60 wt %.

In some examples, the leather waste 30 that is processed by the system 300 may comprise shreddings 31 and shavings 32. If so, the shreddings 31 are input into the shredder 210 in the same manner as the textile waste 20 described above. The shavings 32 might be relatively small in size. In view of this, it might not be necessary to put those into the shredder 210. Instead, the shavings 32 might be put directly into the granulator 220 with the shreds of leather waste 30 that are output by the shredder 210.

After possible shredding in the shredder 210, in some examples, the shreds of leather waste are cut within the granulator 220 in the same manner as described above in relation to textile waste.

It was explained above that the moisture content of the pieces of textile material output by the granulator 220 might be between 0 and 16 wt %. However, the leather waste that is inserted into the granulator 220 might be wet and consequently the pieces of leather waste that are output by the granulator might be wet. For example, if the moisture content of the leather waste prior to processing by the system is initially 50 - 60 wt %, the moisture content of the pieces of leather output by the granulator 220 might also be 50 - 60 wt %. That is, the moisture content of the leather waste output by the granulator 220 might be substantially the same as when the leather waste is fed into the shredder 210 and the granulator 220.

The method for processing (wet) leather may therefore differ from the method for processing (dry) textile waste in that, after granulation, the pieces of leather waste may be dried using one or more dryers 310. The dryer(s) 310 may dry the leather waste In some examples, if the pieces of leather waste output by the granulator 220 have a moisture content of 50 - 60 wt %, they are dried by the one or more dryers 310 such that they have a moisture content of around 25 - 30 wt % moisture.

After possible processing by the shredder 210, the granulator 220 and/or the dryer 310, the pieces of leather waste are conveyed to and input into the first vibrating screen 230. The first vibrating screen 230 operates as described above in relation to textile waste.

In some examples, following cutting and filtering, the pieces of leather waste are milled by the milling machine 240 in the same manner as that described above in relation to textile waste. The process for leather waste is different from textile waste in that the dust content is typically higher after milling (15 - 20 wt % for leather waste, versus less than 2 wt % for textile waste). It is also different in that milling by the milling machine 240 typically produces bundles of fibres when milling leather waste, rather than individual/discrete fibres when processing textile waste. The mill settings used when processing leather waste might be smaller than when processing textile waste, as leather waste is denser than textile waste.

The process for processing leather waste after milling is the same as described above in relation to textile waste, other than there is an additional dedusting/scarification step by a deduster 320, due to the typically higher dust content of bundles of leather fibres versus individual textile fibres. Dedusting/scarification would be typically be carried out after the bundles of leather fibres have been passed through the second vibrating screen 260 and prior to storage of the bundles of leather fibres in receptacles/silos 280.

The term ‘comprise’ is used in this document with an inclusive not an exclusive meaning. That is any reference to X comprising Y indicates that X may comprise only one Y or may comprise more than one Y. If it is intended to use ‘comprise’ with an exclusive meaning then it will be made clear in the context by referring to “comprising only one” or by using “consisting”. In this description, reference has been made to various examples. The description of features or functions in relation to an example indicates that those features or functions are present in that example. The use of the term ‘example’ or ‘for example’ or ‘can’ or ‘may’ in the text denotes, whether explicitly stated or not, that such features or functions are present in at least the described example, whether described as an example or not, and that they can be, but are not necessarily, present in some of or all other examples. Thus ‘example’, ‘for example’, ‘can’ or ‘may’ refers to a particular instance in a class of examples. A property of the instance can be a property of only that instance or a property of the class or a property of a sub-class of the class that includes some but not all of the instances in the class. It is therefore implicitly disclosed that a feature described with reference to one example but not with reference to another example, can where possible be used in that other example as part of a working combination but does not necessarily have to be used in that other example.

Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described above.

Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions may be performable by other features whether described or not.

Although features have been described with reference to certain examples, those features may also be present in other examples whether described or not.

The term ‘a’ or ‘the’ is used in this document with an inclusive not an exclusive meaning. That is any reference to X comprising a/the Y indicates that X may comprise only one Y or may comprise more than one Y unless the context clearly indicates the contrary. If it is intended to use ‘a’ or ‘the’ with an exclusive meaning then it will be made clear in the context. In some circumstances the use of ‘at least one’ or ‘one or more’ may be used to emphasis an inclusive meaning but the absence of these terms should not be taken to infer any exclusive meaning.

The presence of a feature (or combination of features) in a claim is a reference to that feature or (combination of features) itself and also to features that achieve substantially the same technical effect (equivalent features). The equivalent features include, for example, features that are variants and achieve substantially the same result in substantially the same way. The equivalent features include, for example, features that perform substantially the same function, in substantially the same way to achieve substantially the same result. In this description, reference has been made to various examples using adjectives or adjectival phrases to describe characteristics of the examples. Such a description of a characteristic in relation to an example indicates that the characteristic is present in some examples exactly as described and is present in other examples substantially as described.

Whilst endeavoring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features believed to be of importance it should be understood that the applicant may seek protection via the claims in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1 . A method of forming a composite sheet material from non-leather textile waste, the non-leather textile waste comprising textile fibres, wherein the method comprises: mechanically processing the non-leather textile waste, wherein the mechanical processing comprises filtering the non-leather textile waste and breaking down the non-leather textile waste into individual textile fibres, such that a majority of the individual textile fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm; forming the individual textile fibres into a web; locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, wherein the web defines a first layer of the arrangement and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement; and subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus to provide the composite sheet material, wherein subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the textile fibres of the web to entangle with each other and causes a mechanical bond to form between the textile fibres of the web and the reinforcing material.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the textile waste includes more than one type of textile fibre.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the textile waste comprises at least one of: wool, cotton, viscose, flax, soybean, bamboo, silk, polyester, nylon, polypropylene, polyamide, elastane, acrylic, bast or modal fibres.

4. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the textile waste comprises at least two of: wool, cotton, viscose, flax, soybean, bamboo, silk, polyester, nylon, polypropylene, polyamide, elastane, acrylic, bast or modal fibres.

5. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the textile waste comprises at least three of: wool, cotton, viscose, flax, soybean, bamboo, silk, polyester, nylon, polypropylene, polyamide, elastane, acrylic, bast or modal fibres.

6. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the textile waste comprises cellulosic textile fibres and/or synthetic textile fibres.

7. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the majority of the individual textile fibres have a length in the range of 3 - 5 mm.

8. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the reinforcing material comprises a fabric.

9. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the reinforcing material comprises a woven fabric.

10. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the method further comprises blending the mechanically processed textile fibres of the textile waste with additive fibres prior to the formation of the web.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the additive fibres comprise bicomponent fibres.

12. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the web comprises at least 90 wt.% of the mechanically processed textile fibres of the textile waste.

13. A method according to claim 10 or any claim dependent thereon, wherein the web comprises 1 - 10 wt.% of the additive fibres.

14. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the mechanical processing of the non-leather textile waste comprises milling pieces of the non-leather textile waste to disassemble the pieces into individual textile fibres.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein filtering the non-leather textile waste comprises filtering the non-leather textile waste prior to milling pieces of the non- leather textile waste.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the non-leather textile waste is filtered to provide pieces of non-leather textile waste for milling that, when milled, are dissembled into individual textile fibres, where a majority of the individual textile fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the filtering comprises removing oversized pieces of non-leather textile waste prior to conveying the filtered pieces to a milling machine that mills the pieces to disassemble the pieces into individual textile fibres.

18. The method according to claim 15, 16 or 17, wherein the filtering comprises removing undersized pieces of non-leather textile waste prior to milling.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising rejecting the undersized pieces of non-leather textile waste.

20. A method according to any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the mechanical processing of the non-leather textile waste comprises the steps of: shredding the non-leather textile waste to provide shreds of textile waste; cutting the shreds of non-leather textile waste within a granulator to provide pieces of reduced size suitable for milling; and milling the pieces to disassemble the pieces into individual textile fibres.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein filtering the non-leather textile waste comprises, after cutting the shreds of non-leather textile waste within the granulator to pieces of reduced size, filtering the pieces of reduced size prior to milling.

22. The method according to claim 21 , wherein the non-leather textile waste is filtered to provide pieces of non-leather textile waste for milling that, when milled, are dissembled into individual textile fibres, where a majority of the individual textile fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the filtering comprises removing oversized pieces of non-leather textile waste prior to providing the filtered pieces to a milling machine that mills the pieces to disassemble the pieces into individual textile fibres.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the removed oversized pieces of non-leather textile waste are conveyed to back to the granulator for further cutting.

25. The method according to any of claims 20 to 24, wherein the filtering comprises removing undersized pieces of non-leather textile waste prior to milling.

26. The method according to claim 25, further comprising rejecting the undersize pieces of non-leather textile waste prior to milling.

27. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the filtering is performed using at least one vibrating screen.

28. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein filtering the non- leather textile waste comprises filtering the individual textile fibres to remove undersized individual textile fibres.

29. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the forming the mechanically processed textile fibres into a web comprises airlaying the fibres onto a support.

30. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the method further comprises applying a coating to the composite sheet material.

31 . The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the web has a higher weight per unit area than the reinforcing material.

32. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the arrangement comprises a further web on the opposite side of the reinforcing material to the web, the further web defining a third layer of the arrangement.

33. A method according to claim 32, wherein the weight per unit area of the further web is different to the weight per unit area of the web.

34. A method of forming a composite sheet material from pieces of non-leather textile waste, wherein the method comprises: filtering pieces of non-leather textile waste to remove oversized pieces; breaking down the filtered pieces of non-leather textile waste into individual textile fibres; filtering the individual textile fibres, such that a majority of the filtered individual textile fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm; forming the filtered individual textile fibres into a web; locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, wherein the web defines a first layer of the arrangement and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement; and subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus to provide the composite sheet material, wherein subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the textile fibres of the web to entangle with each other and causes a mechanical bond to form between the textile fibres of the web and the reinforcing material.

35 A method of forming a composite sheet material from textile waste, the textile waste comprising textile fibres, wherein the method comprises: mechanically processing the textile waste, wherein the mechanical processing causes the textile waste to break down into individual textile fibres; forming the mechanically processed textile fibres into a web; locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, wherein the web defines a first layer of the arrangement and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement; and subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus to provide the composite sheet material, wherein subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the textile fibres of the web to entangle with each other and causes a mechanical bond to form between the textile fibres of the web and the reinforcing material.

36. A method of forming a composite sheet material from non-leather textile waste, the non-leather textile waste comprising textile fibres, wherein the method comprises: mechanically processing the non-leather textile waste, wherein the mechanical processing comprises the steps of: shredding the non-leather textile waste to provide shreds of textile waste; cutting the shreds of textile waste within a granulator to provide pieces of reduced size suitable for milling; and milling the pieces to disassemble the pieces causes the textile waste to break down into individual textile fibres; forming the individual textile fibres into a web; locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, wherein the web defines a first layer of the arrangement and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement; and subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus to provide the composite sheet material, wherein subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the textile fibres of the web to entangle with each other and causes a mechanical bond to form between the textile fibres of the web and the reinforcing material.

37. A method of forming a composite sheet material from material waste, wherein the method comprises: mechanically processing the material waste into material fibres, wherein the mechanical processing comprises filtering the material waste and breaking down the material waste into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres, such that a majority of the material fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm; forming the filtered material fibres into a web; locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, wherein the web defines a first layer of the arrangement and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement; and subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus to provide the composite sheet material, wherein subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the material fibres of the web to entangle with each other and causes a mechanical bond to form between the material fibres of the web and the reinforcing material.

38. The method according to claim 39, wherein the mechanical processing of the material waste comprises the steps of: shredding the material waste to provide shreds of material waste; cutting the shreds of material waste within a granulator to provide pieces of reduced size suitable for milling; and milling the pieces to disassemble the pieces into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres.

39. The method according to claim 37, wherein filtering the material waste comprises, after cutting the shreds of material waste within the granulator to pieces of reduced size, filtering the pieces of reduced size material waste prior to milling.

40. The method according to claim 39, wherein the material waste is filtered to provide pieces of material waste for milling that, when milled, are dissembled into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres, where a majority of the material fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm.

41. The method according to claim 39 or 40, wherein the filtering comprises removing oversized pieces of material waste prior to conveying the filtered pieces to a milling machine that mills the pieces to disassemble the pieces into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres.

42. The method according to claim 41 , wherein the removed oversized pieces of material waste are conveyed to back to the granulator for further cutting.

43. The method according to any of claims 37 to 42, wherein the filtering comprises removing undersized pieces of material waste prior to milling.

44. The method according to claim 43, further comprising rejecting the undersize pieces of material waste prior to milling.

45. The method according to any of claims 37 to 44, wherein the filtering is performed using at least one vibrating screen.

46. The method according to any of claims 37 to 45, wherein filtering the material waste comprises filtering the individual material fibres or bundles of fibres to remove undersized individual material fibres or undersized bundles of fibres.

47. The method according to any of claims 37 to 46, wherein the material waste is leather waste or non-leather textile waste.

48. A method of forming a composite sheet material from pieces of material waste, wherein the method comprises: filtering pieces of material waste to remove oversized pieces; breaking down the filtered pieces of material waste into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres; filtering the individual material fibres or the bundles of fibres, such that a majority of the material fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm; forming the filtered individual material fibres or the bundles of fibres into a web; locating an arrangement comprising the web and a reinforcing material into a hydroentanglement apparatus, wherein the web defines a first layer of the arrangement and the reinforcing material defines a second layer of the arrangement; and subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps in the hydroentanglement apparatus to provide the composite sheet material, wherein subjecting the arrangement to successive hydroentanglement steps causes the material fibres of the web to entangle with each other and causes a mechanical bond to form between the material fibres of the web and the reinforcing material.

49. The method according to claim 48, wherein filtering the material waste comprises filtering the material waste prior to milling pieces of the material waste.

50. The method according to claim 49, wherein the material waste is filtered to provide pieces of material waste for milling that, when milled, are dissembled into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres, where a majority of the material fibres have a length in the range of 1 - 10 mm.

51. The method according to claim 49 or 50, wherein the filtering comprises removing oversized pieces of material waste prior to conveying the filtered pieces to a milling machine that mills the pieces to disassemble the pieces into individual material fibres or bundles of fibres.

52. The method according to claim 49, 50 or 51 , wherein the filtering comprises removing undersized pieces of material waste prior to milling.

53. The method according to claim 52, further comprising rejecting the undersized pieces of material waste.

54. The method according to any of claims 48 to 53, wherein the pieces of material are filtered using a first vibrating screen and the individual material fibres or bundles of fibres are filtered using a second vibrating screen.

55. The method according to any of claims 48 to 54, wherein filtering the material waste comprises filtering the individual material fibres or bundles of fibres to remove undersized individual material fibres or undersized bundles of fibres.

56. The method according to any of claims 47 to 55, wherein the material waste is leather waste or non-leather textile waste.