Development of Recycled PET/comber Noil Nonwovens for Thermal Insulation Application

Abstract

ABSTRACT In recent years, recycling has been an attractive issue for researchers considering the sustainability of the wastes arising from different engineering applications. In this scope, recycled PET fibers which are mechanically and chemically recycled from PET bottles can be reused in needle punched non-woven production technology. The usage of recycled PET fibers in nonwovens contributes to a decrease in environmental pollution, prevention of the decrease in petroleum supplies, and the decrease in raw material cost of nonwovens. In this work, recycled PET fibers were treated with sodium hydroxide to impart the surface roughness and reduce the fiber weight. The effect of alkali treatment was evaluated in terms of reduction in fiber weight and SEM images of the fibers. The nonwovens were developed from 100% recycled PET fibers and also by blending with comber noil by needle punching technique. The developed nonwovens were characterized for thermal insulation applications. It was found that nonwoven made from alkali-treated recycled PET fibers has a slightly higher thermal insulation value compared to nonwoven made from untreated recycled PET fibers. The increase in comber noil blend% reduces the thermal insulation of r-PET/comber noil nonwovens.