Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.40, No.4, 1119-1124, 2001
Assessment of schemes for the processing of organic residues from the interior car decoration industry
The industry involved in the interior decoration of cars generates different cutting organic materials as residues. Because of the present and future regulations on residue generation, this industry must look toward recycling of the corresponding cuttings. The main aim of this paper is to Search for a proper and, if possible, unique process to recycle the different organic materials generated by the car internal decoration industry when the needed pieces are cut from the large original plates. That process generates huge amounts of different cutting material, which can reach several tons of each material per day. A single process would simplify the experimental installation and, in addition, would reduce costs and staff without great disturbances in the everyday work of the involved industry. The seven samples studied in this work had different compositions, ranging from natural to synthetic fibers and from pile cloth for carpeting to polyurethane (PU) and wood, depending on their specific decorative role. Therefore, different processes over a wide variable interval have been performed, with a focus on their utilization at the same installation and, if possible, their joined coprocessing. The thermal decomposition of the samples in different atmospheres, namely, inert, oxidizing, and hydrogenating atmospheres, has been carried out in different reactors including fixed-, shacked-, and fluidized-bed reactors. advantages and disadvantages of the behavior of these samples in their recycling processes, from the point of view of emission and remaining residue generation, are noted and discussed.