Methods for manufacturing bulked continuous filament
First Claim
1. A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament from post-consumer material, the method comprising:
- providing a means for preparing flakes of PET polymer from the post-consumer material for melting and purifying;
providing a means for melting and purifying the flakes of PET polymer into a polymer melt at a pressure between about 0.5 millibars and about 5 millibars, wherein providing the means for melting and purifying the flakes of PET polymer into the polymer melt at the pressure between about 0.5 millibars and about 5 millibars comprises;
routing wet flakes of PET polymer directly into an extruder;
providing a means for melting the wet flakes of PET polymer into the polymer melt within the extruder;
providing a means for reducing the pressure within the extruder to between about 0.5 millibars and about 5 millibars; and
providing a means for filtering the polymer melt to remove contaminants; and
providing a means for transforming the polymer melt into a bulked continuous carpet filament, wherein providing the means for melting the wet flakes of PET polymer into the polymer melt within the extruder comprises;
providing a multi-screw extruder configured to receive the wet flakes of PET polymer and creating the polymer melt within the multi-screw extruder, the multi-screw extruder comprising;
a multi-screw extruder housing that defines at least four satellite screw barrels;
at least four satellite screws each mounted within a respective one of the at least four satellite screw barrels and each mounted to rotate about a respective central axis of each of the at least four satellite screws; and
a means for maintaining a pressure within each of the respective satellite screw barrels between about 0.5 millibars and about 5 millibars.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament which, in various embodiments, comprises: (A) grinding recycled PET bottles into a group of flakes; (B) washing the flakes; (C) identifying and removing impurities, including impure flakes, from the group of flakes; (D) passing the group of flakes through an MRS extruder while maintaining the pressure within the MRS portion of the MRS extruder below about 5 millibars; (E) passing the resulting polymer melt through at least one filter having a micron rating of less than about 50 microns; and (F) forming the recycled polymer into bulked continuous carpet filament that consists essentially of recycled PET.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament from post-consumer material, the method comprising:
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providing a means for preparing flakes of PET polymer from the post-consumer material for melting and purifying; providing a means for melting and purifying the flakes of PET polymer into a polymer melt at a pressure between about 0.5 millibars and about 5 millibars, wherein providing the means for melting and purifying the flakes of PET polymer into the polymer melt at the pressure between about 0.5 millibars and about 5 millibars comprises; routing wet flakes of PET polymer directly into an extruder; providing a means for melting the wet flakes of PET polymer into the polymer melt within the extruder; providing a means for reducing the pressure within the extruder to between about 0.5 millibars and about 5 millibars; and providing a means for filtering the polymer melt to remove contaminants; and providing a means for transforming the polymer melt into a bulked continuous carpet filament, wherein providing the means for melting the wet flakes of PET polymer into the polymer melt within the extruder comprises; providing a multi-screw extruder configured to receive the wet flakes of PET polymer and creating the polymer melt within the multi-screw extruder, the multi-screw extruder comprising; a multi-screw extruder housing that defines at least four satellite screw barrels; at least four satellite screws each mounted within a respective one of the at least four satellite screw barrels and each mounted to rotate about a respective central axis of each of the at least four satellite screws; and a means for maintaining a pressure within each of the respective satellite screw barrels between about 0.5 millibars and about 5 millibars. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament from post-consumer material, the method comprising:
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providing a means for preparing flakes of PET polymer from the post-consumer material for melting and purifying; providing a multi-screw extruder having at least four satellite screws each mounted in parallel within a respective one of at least four satellite screw barrels and each mounted to rotate about a respective central axis of each of the at least four satellite screw screws, the multi-screw extruder configured to receive the flakes of PET polymer at an input and provide a polymer melt at an output; providing a pressure regulation system that is adapted to maintain a pressure within each of the respective satellite screw barrels between about 0.5 millibars and about 5 millibars; and providing a means for transforming the polymer melt into a bulked continuous carpet filament. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament from post-consumer material, the method comprising:
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providing a means for sorting the post-consumer material by size; providing a means for removing metal from the post-consumer material; providing a means for sorting the post-consumer material by color; providing a means for removing labels from the post-consumer material; providing a means for washing the flakes of PET polymer to create wet flakes of PET polymer; routing the wet flakes of PET polymer directly into an extruder; providing a means for melting the wet flakes of PET polymer into a polymer melt within the extruder, wherein providing the means for melting the wet flakes of PET polymer into the polymer melt within the extruder comprises; providing a multi-screw extruder configured to receive the wet flakes of PET polymer and creating the polymer melt within the multi-screw extruder, the multi-screw extruder comprising; a multi-screw extruder housing that defines at least four satellite screw barrels; at least four satellite screws each mounted within a respective one of the at least four satellite screw barrels and each mounted to rotate about a respective central axis of each of the at least four satellite screws; and a means for maintaining a pressure within each of the respective satellite screw barrels between about 0.5 millibars and about 5 millibars; providing a means for maintaining the pressure within the extruder to between about 0.5 millibars and about 5 millibars; providing a means for filtering the polymer melt to remove contaminants and create a purified molten polymer; and providing a means for transforming the purified molten polymer into a bulked continuous carpet filament.
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Specification