Woodlike Properties from Carpet and Textile Fibrous Waste: Mitigating the Coming Landfill Crisis

Large-volume usage of textile and carpet fibrous waste may be achieved with a low-cost material that has woodlike properties. Formulations and properties of composites, laminates, and honeycomb sandwich constructions made from carpet and textile fibrous waste in a high-modulus phenol formaldehyde matrix are described. Using design parameters based on the mechanics of bending beams and the moduli of the fibrous component materials, one can achieve apparent bending moduli of 1 million psi (6.9 GPa) and bending strengths of 10, 000 psi (69 MPa). To achieve these woodlike properties, it is best to use waste carpet material in the core and higher-modulus textile materials such as cotton and polyester in the outer layers. About 20 wt.% phenolic resin is suggested for the matrix component.