Process for Manufacture of Biodegradable Textile Yarn from Recycled Materials and Textiles Made by the Process

Abstract

A process for making a biodegradable textile yarn from recycled materials is disclosed. The process includes drying a recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) and a biodegradable PET additive; mixing the rPET and the biodegradable PET additive into a mixture, where the biodegradable PET additive is between 0.5 and 3 weight % (wt %) of a total weight of the mixture; extruding a biodegradable rPET (bio-rPET) fiber from the mixture; blending the bio-rPET fiber with a recycled natural fiber into a biodegradable recycled fiber blend, where the bio-rPET fiber is more than 1 wt % of a total weight of the biodegradable recycled fiber blend; and spinning the biodegradable recycled fiber blend to the biodegradable textile yarn. Further disclosed are biodegradable textile yarns and biodegradable textiles made by the process.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A biodegradable fiber blend, comprising:
 a natural fiber; and   a biodegradable thermoplastic fiber blended with the natural fiber, the biodegradable thermoplastic fiber comprising a mixture of a thermoplastic polymer and a biodegradable additive, the biodegradable additive configured to make the thermoplastic polymer biodegradable.   
     
     
         2 . The biodegradable fiber blend of  claim 1 , wherein the weight percentage of the biodegradable additive in the mixture is at least 0.5. 
     
     
         3 . The biodegradable fiber blend of  claim 2 , wherein the weight percentage of the biodegradable additive in the mixture is in a range from 0.5 to 3. 
     
     
         4 . The biodegradable fiber blend of  claim 3 , wherein the weight percentage of the biodegradable additive in the mixture is in a range from 1 to 1.5. 
     
     
         5 . The biodegradable fiber blend of  claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic polymer is a polyester polymer. 
     
     
         6 . The biodegradable fiber blend of  claim 5 , wherein the polyester polymer is polyethylene terephthalate. 
     
     
         7 . The biodegradable fiber blend of  claim 1 , wherein a weight percentage of the biodegradable thermoplastic fiber in the biodegradable fiber blend is greater than 1. 
     
     
         8 . The biodegradable textile yarn of  claim 7 , wherein a weight percentage of the biodegradable thermoplastic fiber in the biodegradable fiber blend is in a range from 5 to 95. 
     
     
         9 . The biodegradable textile yarn of  claim 8 , wherein a weight percentage of the biodegradable thermoplastic fiber in the biodegradable fiber blend is in a range from 10 to 75. 
     
     
         10 . The biodegradable textile yarn of  claim 9 , wherein a weight percentage of the biodegradable thermoplastic fiber in the biodegradable fiber blend is in a range from 40 to 60. 
     
     
         11 . The biodegradable textile yarn of  claim 10 , wherein a weight percentage of the biodegradable thermoplastic fiber in the biodegradable fiber blend is in a range from 50 to 60. 
     
     
         12 . The biodegradable textile yarn of  claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic polymer has an intrinsic viscosity in a range from 0.25 dL/g to 0.85 dL/g. 
     
     
         13 . The biodegradable textile yarn of  claim 1 , wherein the biodegradable thermoplastic fiber has a linear mass density in a range from 0.05 tex to 0.5 tex. 
     
     
         14 . The biodegradable fiber blend of  claim 1 , wherein the natural fiber is a fiber selected from a group consisting of a cotton fiber, a hemp fiber, a linen fiber, a cellulose fiber, and a wool fiber. 
     
     
         15 . The biodegradable fiber blend of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the thermoplastic polymer and the natural fiber is recycled. 
     
     
         16 . The biodegradable textile yarn of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a cellulose fiber blended with the biodegradable thermoplastic fiber and the natural fiber.   
     
     
         17 . The biodegradable fiber blend of  claim 16 , wherein the cellulose fiber is recycled. 
     
     
         18 . The biodegradable fiber blend of  claim 1 , wherein a moisture level of at least one of the thermoplastic polymer and the biodegradable additive is below 1000 parts per million water. 
     
     
         19 . The biodegradable fiber blend of  claim 18 , wherein a moisture level of at least one of the thermoplastic polymer and the biodegradable additive is below 200 parts per million water. 
     
     
         20 . The biodegradable fiber blend of  claim 1 , wherein the biodegradable fiber blend is configured to be used to form a biodegradable textile. 
     
     
         21 . A biodegradable textile yarn comprising a plurality of biodegradable fiber blends, each of the plurality of biodegradable fiber blends comprising:
 a natural fiber; and   a biodegradable thermoplastic fiber blended with the natural fiber, the biodegradable thermoplastic fiber comprising a mixture of a thermoplastic polymer and a biodegradable additive, the biodegradable additive configured to make the thermoplastic polymer biodegradable.   
     
     
         22 . A biodegradable textile comprising a network of a biodegradable textile yarn, the biodegradable textile yarn comprising a plurality of biodegradable fiber blends, each of the plurality of biodegradable fiber blends comprising:
 a natural fiber; and   a biodegradable thermoplastic fiber blended with the natural fiber, the biodegradable thermoplastic fiber comprising a mixture of a thermoplastic polymer and a biodegradable additive, the biodegradable additive configured to make the thermoplastic polymer biodegradable.