(225e) Life Cycle Inventory of Recycling Post-Consumer Nylon Carpets

To-date an estimated four billion pounds of carpet gets landfilled every year. This paper will investigate the economics of treating Post Consumer Carpet (PCC) waste in an effort to divert it from landfills. In doing so, we will also present some novel techniques to process PCC waste and provide detailed cost comparisons between setting up and running small-scale decentralized units and large-scale centralized chemical facilities. The techniques that will be presented include an underlay manufacturing process which does not distinguish between the types of face fiber, a twin screw extruder to depolymerize nylon 6 face fiber and a setup to process nylon 6,6 face fiber. The limiting factor to recycling remains to be the collection of significant volumes of material and effective recycling techniques. This will be illustrated in the study and recommendations for sustainable carpet recycling will be made based on the economics.