Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) is seeking proposals for a 12 to 18 month project to demonstrate value-added uses for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) derived from post-consumer PET carpets (PCC). The goals of this project are to develop processes, products and identify viable market outlets for this feedstock, according to the organization. The scope of the project will cover fundamental materials science and specifications of PCC derived PET as a key feedstock, viable processes for conversion into a product(s), identification of market outlets and a business plan based on an economic model to translate the product(s) to the marketplace. Prototype products are required to demonstrate proof of principle and market contacts are encouraged. It is expected that a cross-disciplinary team based approach will be part of the proposal.
Over the past decade, post-consumer carpet (PCC) recycling has grown and developed its own market-driven industry. With CARE's help, this industry has developed intricate processes to recycle PCC. There are four basic polymer types used to manufacture carpet (both broadloom and tile): nylon 6, nylon 66, polyester (PET) and polypropylene (PP). The national recycling infrastructure has become increasingly successful solely based on the value of nylon face fibers. The entire U.S. PCC recycling industry, manufacturers and entrepreneurs alike, have developed technically and financially viable businesses based on the high value of nylon engineered resins and fibers. Nylon has always had a large and diverse base of end uses and applications from engineered plastics to fiber applications. The only barrier in broadening the deployment of high value nylon made from PCC has been the development of technology to efficiently separate nylon from the other carpet constituents and purify the resultant nylon to levels nearly equivalent to those of postindustrial scrap. Over the past 10 years, these methods have been commercialized and the result has been a robust growth in the acceptance and use of post-consumer nylon from carpet in a large variety of end uses.