WATER-RESISTANT PLYWOOD SUBSTITUTES MADE FROM RECYCLED CARPETS OR TEXTILES

A method is disclosed for using discarded carpet segments or other recycled textiles to make wood-like material in sheets that are comparable to plywood. The carpet segments or other recycled materials are shredded, then layered across a slow-moving conveyor to form a thick, low-density belt of fibers. This belt is compressed between rollers, and then needle-punched, using needles with surface barbs that pull fibers downward and upward. This needle-punching causes fibers inside the mat to be pulled into vertical alignment (i.e., perpendicular to the top and bottom surfaces of a horizontal mat), to form a needle-punched mat that will hold together without chemical adhesives. A binder material is then applied to at least one and possibly both surfaces of the mat, by means such as spreading or spraying a liquid binder on either or both surfaces of the mat, or stretching a continuous film of the binder material across either or both surfaces of the mat. The polymer-coated fiber mat is then compressed while the binder hardens and cures, to form hardened wood-like product, in sheet form, without requiring melting of the nylon or other synthetic fibers inside the material. In an alternate embodiment, nylon fibers blended with polypropylene or other polyolefins can be heated and compressed to a temperature which (i) melts the polypropylene, causing it to act as an adhesive, and (ii) creates a "heat set" in the nylon fibers. These materials are strong, durable, highly resistant to cracking or splitting, and highly resistant to water infiltration or damage, and offer highly useful substitutes for plywood, particleboard, and other forms of wood and lumber.