Mine of textile filaments

Current methods of recovering textile waste have focused on turning them into insulation materials. Our goal is to convert waste into a new textile filament resource, similar to aluminum reuse, again and again, as needed.

We propose a textile destruction technology at the primary level of textile microfilament, from which new textiles can be obtained.

Our technology is feasible for the destruction of textiles on a very large scale, specific to urban agglomerations, and for a small community located in very remote places.

Defining the problem

1. Current waste textile recovery methods have focused on turning them into insulation materials. Our goal is to convert waste into a new textile filament resource, similar to aluminum reuse, again and again, as needed. The textiles used are the mine from where we extract the new textile filaments.

2.Technologies used in the textile waste process are mechanical, specific to the weather in industrial expansion and are exceeded because they have:

• Low productivity

• Destruction partial

•High costs

3. Textile waste recovery and reuse centers are in large urban agglomerations. Textile wastes are also in the most remote places in the villages and the transport cost cancels the recovery effect.

4. There is a need for universal technology that can be applied on a large scale for industrial recovery but can also be done for a single small community in a perpetual regime.

Our technology is feasible for the destruction of textiles on a global  scale, specific to urban agglomerations, and for a small community located in very remote places. More than 15 million tons of used textile waste is generated each year in the United States, and the amount has doubled over the last 20 years

Textile waste is a global problem, specific to developed economies and economies that cannot provide solutions for textile waste recovery and reuse.

The basic idea of our concept is to offer advantages. Without advantages there will be few those who will get involved and the textile waste will get into the garbage or will be burned.

Destructing textiles to get cotton, wool, synthetic fiber balls is a profitable business, and investors will not hesitate to invest in companies for textile recovery and destruction. It is a business that can be held constantly, regardless of the whims of the weather, and brings guaranteed profit.

Our technology can also be dimensioned for remote villages to destroy worn clothing and other fabrics and to obtain filaments for local applications, mattresses, pillows, fabrics, etc. The municipalities will organize days of collecting only the textile materials that will reach the companies for the destruction of textile materials for a new life as new fibers.

We made the technological leap for the destruction of textiles.

The latest generation machine tools is high-pressure water jets that use sand to cut steel, aluminum, granite, plastics, etc.

The textiles can placed in a conical metal vat and covered with water. At the top there will be four rod water and sand that will have an oscillatory motion on the surface of the textile vat.

These high-pressure jets will penetrate into the structure of the fabrics and transform them into original filaments. The destructive force of the high-pressure water jets combined with the shape of the conical vat will form a perpetual mixing vortex that will bring fabric to front of the destruction jets. The abrasive material that accompanies the powerful water jet has a double role, cuts the fabric, but at the same time strikes hard as millions of balls in the fabric. The combination of the impact force of the abrasive particles and the hydraulic effect of the water jet at the ultrahigh pressure produces a destructive effect that propagates along the textile thread and degrades it to the level of the lint. 

Wet fibers can be more easily destroyed because impact energy is transmitted along the wire through moisture and causes destruction along the thread, at the level of fine fibers, according to the original. Filaments are no longer weighty and can not be cut and retain their original length.

In minutes, lints and  water will be sent to collection basins and the cycle will repeat. Each company can scale its production line with as many cuves are needed.

In the collection basins the lints will be deposited on the bottom and will be collected, discolored, disinfected and dried. After drying, will be sent as raw materials to textile factories or other uses.

The abrasive material can be replaced with glass mini-balls in order to obtain long filaments.

In more isolated areas without collection infrastructure, textiles can be destroyed in a common barrel with a single rod of high pressure water, similar to the car wash machine pump, and sand.

A simple installation can retrieve filaments from textile materials of use for community needs, mattresses, pillows or filaments  for new fabrics. The financial interest of delivering cotton filaments to recovery centers is even created.

The perpetual recovery of textiles similarly to aluminum is in the trend of circular economy with a major effect on planet's health.

• Current technologies for the reuse of huge amounts of textile waste are using concepts with moral wear during industrial expansion and get partial destruction to be used as insulation material. Our goal is to reach a higher level, to obtain the virgin material from which the textiles have been made because this would allow perpetual recovery as in the case of aluminum. Ultra-high pressure water jet destruction and abrasive material decompose the fabric into virgin material for a new life cycle. If you cut metal, stone, water jet and abrasive plastic, the removed material is in the form of mini particles. In the case of textiles, the removed material is lint because lint loses its initial weight and has no resistance to it being chopped - which in the end, is our goal.
• Water-jet cutting machines are expensive because they have high precision elements, digital control, etc. Our concept has used the image of water jet cutting machines just to visualize the possibilities. In practice, only a high pressure pump and abrasive material will be used to destroy the textile material in a conical bowl or barrel. This simple equipment can be applied anywhere in the world without advanced training.

Our concept has been inspired by high-pressure water jet cutting machines and abrasive material. We are interested in the water-jet cutting technology validated by our practice to use it for the destruction of textile materials at the level of virgin material. The destruction of textiles is a complex process. The force of the ultra-high pressure water jet accompanied by the abrasive effect of the sand cuts the fabric. The return of the textile material to the vortex formed by the conical shape of the basin causes the textile threads to be hit by huge amounts of sand particles. The abrasive particle cuts the heavy-weight and opposed fabric, but at the same time it is also a mechanical impact component, as well as a ball that, by damping, propagates the shock wave across the textile thread and breaks it.

When the un-structuring is ready, the water from the conical basin will be transferred to a large collection basin where the lint will be deposited at the bottom and the cycle in the conic pool will resume every time. Long filaments can be obtained by using mini balls glass instead of sand. • The virgin material will be delivered as cotton, wool, or synthetic fiber bundles to the textile industry for a new life cycle.

The mere statement alone: “perpetually recovering fabric” is not enough to create the enthusiasm for a business. The main component for business people is the long-term profit. We have said that the title of this challenge will be the Textile Mine, as there will always be large quantities of textiles that need to be perpetually recycled and bring profits to investors.

Two interests are combined. The general interest of humanity towards circular technology with diminished environmental footprint and an interest in making money from these wastes.

The benefit is for everyone; advanced technology makes the planet cleaner and we do not lose value to produce what we actually have.

We have not reached the level of current integrated production and expedition of virgin material.

The business is structured modular so that it can be applied anywhere and in steps:  one more machine, then another one. A new concept implies a high degree of automation. In general, the staff has the role of feeding the fabric production line and then collecting the virgin material, packing and shipping.

It is difficult to quantify the number of served people. Our analysis is based on the amount of textile waste. We think in tons of textile material and not in number of people. Textile waste can be delivered by companies producing textiles, etc. and not by people.

In metric terms, a fabric destroying line can produce thousands of tons of virgin material. Everything is limited to the level of investment. The primary destruction unit can be multiplied at any level, and the productivity of water jet and sand machines is very high, which justifies the development of the business.

We are a technical team of mad enthusiasts who have been challenged and we have worked to obtain virgin material by destruction perpetually like the aluminium model.

The concept of un-structuring as a basic unit really works.

Developing the concept to a technology line to extract money from the textile waste mine is the second step.

It is obvious that we need a partnership to make the concept work as a mechanism.

We have dreamed of making textile textiles re-structuring at the level of virgin material and that what we have achieved.

We do not have the financial capacity to develop an autonomous business with impact on the market. We believe that such a productive line can grow alongside municipalities because there are collected textile waste and we can avoid unnecessary transport to newly established centers. The municipality can make its own lines of textile re-structure with favorable financial impact.

We plan to develop a business together with the municipalities. The possibility of winning a prize would be extraordinary because in partnership we can also bring financial capital that increases our chances of association.

Our team consists of: 

Cristina Chelariu

Petru Andrei

• Cristina Chelariu, Designer and Communication

• Petru Andrei, engineer with engineering expertise, ten similar challenges won in the USA

• We have engineering projects for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Respiratory Escape

• NASA project - microgravity selection

• Projects for the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO)

• An already-winning project for the US Army - Airplane Safety in Fighting Conditions.

• Ten similar projects won at Innocentive - USA

• Cancer esophagus-Preventing Stent migration

• Increasing the size of the hazelnuts

• Ultrasonic scalpel

• Novel treatment for acne

• Medical device for delivery

• Negating effect of acids in high temperature

• Preventing the hardening of nutritional bars

Cristina Chelariu - Desinger and Communicator (Senior Instructional Designer at AltFactor - an IT company that develops educational software). 

Petru Andrei - retired engineer

We as a team have excellent collaboration in various technology projects, conception, research, documentation, prototyping.

• Collaboration between an active person and a retired person is focused on concepts that reach the prototype stage. We have worked on projects that had exact requirements, technical features imposed on a particular technical situation, and which provided money for the winning project.

• These are our financial possibilities but we are also prepared to jump to direct collaboration with entrepreneurs to develop the technology of destroying textiles at mass production.

• We plan to partner with municipalities because there is money spent on collecting textile waste. We are also open for other business deals with the business environment.

• If all copyrights are bought, then the owner can decide what he wants, develop re-structure lines all over the world, or offer free project to everyone.

Our biggest barrier is the financial aspect. Together with a potential partner even with money to invest, we think about the modular structure, validation in practice and then development by adding the new production lines to minimize investment risk. The second barrier is the management of a large-scale business as the re-structure of textile materials tends to be. Such business involves connections, relationships between companies, etc.

Municipalities can manage this business.

• We prefer to develop a partnership with a municipality or a private company. It is the municipality that collects textile waste and is a problem for them. We bring the solution.

• The virgin fibres obtained with the new technology will financially help the municipality.

Circular technology is thus reached.

• As we have shown above, the main issue for us in developing technology is the financial one. With financial resources, we can scale up a textile re-structure line to convince potential partners. If investors or partners come and see the process directly on site, it will be more likely to be convinced than by the partial demonstrations. We have in mind the entire information package but the potential partner does not operate with the same data and agreements as they look for physical validation, and how to diminish all potential risks, as their money is in play.
• If we gain GM prizes for circular economy, we will also bring an investment capital in the partnership for the new textile destruction line, our confidence share will increase, the bargaining margin for us will increase. The partnership can become a long-term business. We share the risk and we also share the profit.