Method of forming a nonwoven molded article
A method of forming a nonwoven article comprising receiving fibrous material comprising thermoplastic fibers; processing the fibrous material to produce short fibers, wherein the processing step comprises granulation using at least one granulator with a screen; distributing the short fibers approximately evenly across an area to form a short fiber web, wherein the distributing step comprises a use of a recyclate spreader; heating the short fiber web to fuse the short fibers to form a nonwoven material; and forming a sheet of the nonwoven material.
1. A method of forming a nonwoven article, the method comprising:
a) receiving fibrous material comprising thermoplastic fibers;
b) processing the fibrous material to produce short fibers having a length of about 3 mm or smaller, wherein the processing step comprises granulation utilizing at least one granulator with a screen;
c) distributing the short fibers approximately evenly across an area to form a short fiber web, wherein the distributing step comprises a recyclate spreader;
d) heating the short fiber web to fuse the short fibers to form a nonwoven material;
e) forming a sheet of the nonwoven material; and
f) molding the sheet into a molded article having a three-dimensional shape.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the short fibers are blended before the distributing step to achieve a relatively consistent distribution of fibrous material.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the distributing step distributes the short fibers approximately evenly onto a facing material.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the facing material is formed of a non-woven preformed web, needle punched material, fabric, or combination thereof.
5. The method of claim 3 , wherein a second facing material is placed on top of the short fiber web after the distributing step.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nonwoven material is compacted to achieve a desired density of the nonwoven material.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the nonwoven material is compacted by at least one set of heated calender rolls.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nonwoven material exhibits a selected air flow resistivity of about 275,000 Rayls/m to about 3,000,000 Rayls/m.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the molded article having a three-dimensional shape is surrounded by waste.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the molded article is separated from the waste.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the molded article is separated from the waste with a water jet, laser, die, or ultrasonic cutter.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the waste is recycled at the receiving step.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the processing step includes shredding with a single shaft shredder before the at least one granulator with the screen.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the processing step comprises granulation with two or more granulators arranged in series, with each granulator having at least one screen.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heating step comprises a conveyor oven to soften low-melt temperature short fibers and bond the short fibers together.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fibrous material further includes one or more additives to impart fire retardancy, tear resistance, improved air permeability or increased mass.