Sound-absorbing recycled cotton/polyester thermal bonded nonwovens

Abstract

Recycled fibers are commonly used in diverse applications and one of the most important applications is sound absorption. Recycled fiber nonwovens currently are in greater demand in industries because of their advantages such as low cost, biodegradability, acceptable mechanical and physical properties, and so on. Eco-friendly sound-absorbing nonwoven materials have been developed using recycled cotton and polyester fibers. From these wastes, six types of recycled nonwovens in white and colored forms were developed using the thermal bonding technique. The recycled cotton/polyester nonwovens noise control performance contributes to its wider adoption as sound absorbers. The sound absorption coefficient was measured according to ASTM E 1050 by the impedance tube method. The physical properties of recycled fiber nonwovens such as density, thickness, porosity, and air permeability were analyzed for all nonwovens. The result revealed that recycled PET/Cotton waste nonwoven mats were absorbing the sound resistance of more than 70% and the recycled nonwoven mats provide the best acoustic absorption properties, these nonwoven mats have adequate moisture resistance at high humidity conditions without affecting the insulation and acoustic properties.