Study on the use of aramid waste for the production of boards.

Aramid textiles have incredible strength, but eventually become waste. The management of these groups of non-biodegradable waste is currently insufficient, which can lead to environmental pollution. We used aramid fabric waste from the weaving process in the form of catch selvedges, which are cut off after manufacturing woven fabrics to produce new products-hard boards for technical purposes. The selvedges originated from two types of fabrics made of Nomex 75%, Kevlar 23%, Antistatic 2% yarn and Nomex 75%, Kevlar 23%, P140 2% yarn in the weft and 7.5 wt% polyester/cotton (PET/CO) yarn in the warp. The developed aramid boards from grounded selvedges without separation of PET/CO yarn using pMDI as a binding agent. The boards are characterized by good flame retardant and self-extinguishing properties, which allow them to be positively classified according to standardized criteria. They also have very low susceptibility to water sorption and swelling in comparison to wood-based boards. A new way of using non-homogenous aramid waste to create new products does not require the separation of different types of fibers, which significantly reduces the number of recovery processes of individual raw materials. The advantage of the solution is the possibility of effective management of non-biodegradable waste, which is beneficial both for the environment and the recycling of very valuable raw materials. This approach is in line with the principles of the Circular Economy.