Artificial turf infill with olive pit fragments and microporous zeolite particles

Abstract

An artificial turf infill comprising olive pit fragments and microporous zeolite particles.

1 . An artificial turf infill comprising:
 an olive pit material; and   microporous zeolite particles.   
     
     
         2 . The artificial turf infill of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the olive pit material comprises olive pit fragments having a size of 0.5 mm or greater in an amount of at least 80.0 wt % of the weight of the total olive pit material in the infill.   
     
     
         3 . The artificial turf infill of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the olive pit material has a bimodal size distribution with a major mode and a minor mode,   wherein the major mode comprises rounded, thermally treated olive pit fragments and has a peak between 0.5 mm to 4.0 mm, and   wherein the minor mode comprises olive pit particles of less than 63 μm in an amount of at least 0.5 wt % and has a peak at less than 63 μm.   
     
     
         4 . The artificial turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the olive pit material is thermally treated a temperature of 80° C. to 250° C. 
     
     
         5 . The artificial turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the olive pit material comprises abrasively rounded olive pit fragments. 
     
     
         6 . The artificial turf infill of  claim 2 ,
 wherein the rounded, and thermally treated olive pit fragments are obtained by a thermo-tumbling treatment of fractured olive pits together with the microporous zeolite particles,   wherein the olive pit fragments are formed by fracturing in an olive oil extraction process during a compression operation of the olives for extracting oil from the olives and have sharp edges due to the fracturing, and   wherein the thermo-tumbling process smoothens the sharp edges by attrition by rubbing the olive pit fragments against each other and against the microporous zeolite particles to form the rounded, thermally treated olive pit fragments.   
     
     
         7 . The artificial turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the microporous zeolite particles are in an amount of 1.0 to 30.0 wt % of the total amount of the infill. 
     
     
         8 . The artificial turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the microporous zeolite particles have a grain size between 0.1 mm and 1.5 mm and a maximum surface specific surface area of 21 m2/g. 
     
     
         9 . The artificial turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the microporous zeolite particles have a porosity between 15% and 20% volume parts. 
     
     
         10 . The artificial turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the microporous zeolite particles have a grain size distribution wherein 70% to 90% of the grains by weight have a size in the range of 0.4 mm to 1.5 mm and 10% to 30% of the grains by weight have a size smaller than 0.4 mm. 
     
     
         11 . The artificial turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein at least 10% by weight of the infill consists of olive pit material. 
     
     
         12 . The artificial turf infill of  claim 1 , wherein the microporous zeolite particles a hardness between 3.5 and 5.5 on the Mohs scale and a moisture level smaller than 6 wt %. 
     
     
         13 . The artificial turf infill of  claim 1 ,
 further comprising at least one further bio-based material including pit fragments of at least one other stone-containing fruit,   wherein the pit fragments of the further bio-based material have a different elasticity than the rounded, and thermally treated olive pit fragments, and   wherein in particular the at least one further bio-based material is selected from a group comprising cork particles, rounded cherry pit fragments, and combinations thereof.   
     
     
         14 . The artificial turf infill of  claim 1 , comprising only bio-based materials and being free of any rubber, elastomeric, polymer-based infill, and sand. 
     
     
         15 . An artificial turf comprising the artificial turf infill of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         16 . The artificial turf of  claim 15 ,
 wherein the olive pit material comprises olive pit fragments having a seize of 0.5 mm or greater and olive pit particles having a size of less than 63 μm, and   wherein the artificial turf further comprises:
 a stabilization layer comprising at least one of sand, the olive pit particles, and at least a portion of the microporous zeolite particles; and 
 a performance layer positioned on the stabilizing layer, the 
 performance layer comprising the olive pit fragments and being substantially free of the olive pit particles. 
   
     
     
         17 . A method of creating an artificial turf, the method comprising:
 installing an artificial turf comprising a plurality of artificial turf fibers attached on a carrier;   applying the artificial turf infill of  claim 1  on the installed artificial turf in a step between the turf fibers, wherein the artificial turf infill comprises at least a mixture of the olive pit material and the microporous zeolite particles,   wherein the olive pit material comprises olive pit fragments having a size of 0.5 mm or greater and olive pit particles having a size of less than 63 μm, and   allowing the olive pit particles in the applied artificial turf infill to automatically trickle down into voids between the olive pit fragments, thereby automatically forming a stabilizing layer consisting essentially of the trickled-down particles, and a performance layer containing the rounded olive pit fragments.   
     
     
         18 . The artificial turf of  claim 16 ,
 wherein the olive pit fragments have a size of 0.5 mm to 4.0 mm and are in an amount of at least 80 wt % of the weight of the total olive pit material in the infill, and   wherein the olive pit particles have a size of less than 63 μm and are in an amount of less than 0.5 wt % of the olive pit material.   
     
     
         19 . The artificial turf of  claim 18 , wherein the microporous zeolite particles are in an amount of 1.0 to 30.0 wt % of the total amount of the infill, and
 wherein the microporous zeolite particles have a grain size between 0.1 mm and 1.5 mm and a maximum surface specific surface area of 21 m2/g.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein at least a portion of the microporous zeolite particles trickles down and settles into the stabilizing layer.