FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to feedstock recycling, and in particular to the methods for recycling feedstocks comprising wood and/or foam feedstocks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Recycling programs have been used by municipalities to divert waste and extend the life of landfills. Methods of recycling wood or foam to produce new construction materials are known in the art. The existing methods for recycling wood include may include wood chipping and the formation of particle board or engineered wood boards. The existing methods for recycling foam include foam chipping and the formation of rebonded foam.

In addition, emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas, resulting from the decomposition of waste at municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills accounted for approximately 14.5% of human-related methane emissions in the United States in 2020. Accordingly, by diverting waste from landfills, recycling programs may also reduce greenhouse emissions.

Carbon credits may be generated by reducing greenhouse emissions for example by recycling. One carbon credit equals one ton of carbon dioxide to be emitted or the mass equivalent to carbon dioxide for other gases.

This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of recycling furniture and/or construction waste. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of recycling a feedstock comprising any wood and/or foam, the method comprising: separating any wood and foam from the feedstock into a wood feedstock and a foam feedstock; processing the wood feedstock, the processing the wood feedstock comprising: chipping the wood feedstock to produce wood chips; washing the wood chips; pre-pressing the wood chips, drying the pre- pressed wood chips; mixing the dried pre-pressed wood chips with one or more adhesives and/or additives to produce wood chip adhesive and/or additive mixture; and pressing and curing the wood chip adhesive and/or additive mixture to produce wood products; and processing the foam feedstock, the processing the foam feedstock comprising: chipping foam feedstock to produce foam chips; washing the foam chips; drying the foam chips; pressing the dried foam chips optionally mixed with one or more adhesives to produce foam products.

In certain embodiments, the methods of the present invention further comprise calculating carbon credit(s) generated and optionally issuing carbon credit(s). The carbon credit(s) generated may be traded or sold.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided products produced by the methods of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

These and other features of the invention will become more apparent in the following detailed description in which reference is made to the appended drawings.

Figure 1 illustrates exemplary input sources (furniture, wood products and construction waste) and exemplary outputs (OSB, particle board and MDF).

Figure 2 illustrates a method to process wood feedstock of an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 illustrates exemplary size reduction machines.

Figure 4 illustrates exemplary filtering machines.

Figure 5 illustrates exemplary forming/adhering machines.

Figure 6 illustrates exemplary post-processing machines.

Figure 7 provides an overview of the method to process wood feedstock of an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of recycling a feedstock comprising any wood and/or foam. In certain embodiments, the method of the present invention is used to divert wood and/or foam containing waste from landfills and/or as a method of wood and/or foam containing waste reduction. Carbon and greenhouse gasses are released during the decomposition of wood and/or foam in a landfill. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the methods of the present invention may may reduce carbon and green house gasses released from landfills by reducing the amount of wood and/or foam sent to landfills. In addition, generation of recycled wood and foam goods may be less carbon intensive than generation of new wood and foam products. Moreover, harvesting wood results in a decrease in carbon stocks until regrowth occurs, this decrease may be avoided by utilizing recycled wood material.

In certain embodiments, the present invention further provides for the generation of carbon credits. Methods of calculating carbon emissions and carbon credits and carbon calculators, including greenhouse gas reductions calculators to determine impact of recycling are known in the art. See, for example, calculators based on the EPA Waste Reduction Model (WARM) (https://www.epa.gov/warm).

In certain embodiments, the calculation of carbon credit creation comprises: a) determining the amount of wood and/or foam and calculating the greenhouse gases that would have been generated by decomposition of that amount of wood and/or foam in a landfill. In certain embodiments greenhouse gas emission from decomposing wood/foam products in landfill can be calculated as follows; time of off-gassing x weight of wood/foam in landfill = total gas emissions saved if diverted from landfill. See the EPA’s guidance on GHG in landfills (https://www.epa.gov/lmop/basic-information-about-landfill-g as1).

In certain embodiments, the calculation of carbon credit creation is based on the amount the reduction of harvesting new wood by utilising recycled wood. In certain embodiments, to determine the amount of wood saved it is assumed that an equal amount of weight in green timber is saved by reusing recycled wood products. When creating new furniture from “rough” new lumber, average loss is 40% of product in weight. Loss does not occur in recycled wood/foam as it is used in ancillary recycled products, eg. dust from wood chipping creates mdf like products.

Any carbon credits generated using the methods of the present invention may be traded or sold. As used herein feedstock refers to any material comprising any wood and/or foam material including but not limited to waste material such as discarded furniture or construction waste. For example, the types of feedstocks may include, without limitation, sofas, dining chairs, cabinets, dressers, vanities, renovation wastes, wood pallets, tables, soft seating, wooden frames, benches, picnic tables, outdoor seating, hospitality furniture, coffee tables, buffets, hutches, wood bed frames, foam mattresses, kitchen cupboards, wooden shipping crates, wooden demolition waste, municipal wood arbor waste, wooden telephone poles, automotive seating foam, marine seating foam, marine boat wood, wooden credenzas, old wooden signs, road closure wooden gates, wood fencing, wood furnishings, wood fixtures, wood shop off-cuts, antique wooden furniture, all used wooden furniture, all used soft seating, old office desks, and workstations, old wooden flooring, and all other types of wooden waste products.

In certain embodiments, there is provided a method of recycling a feedstock comprising any wood and/or foam, the method comprising: separating any wood and foam from the feedstock into a wood feedstock and a foam feedstock; processing the wood feedstock, the processing the wood feedstock comprising: chipping the wood feedstock to produce wood chips; washing the wood chips; pre-pressing the wood chips, drying the pre-pressed wood chips; mixing the dried prepressed wood chips with one or more adhesives and/or additives to produce wood chip adhesive and/or additive mixture; and pressing and curing the wood chip adhesive and/or additive mixture to produce wood products; and processing the foam feedstock, the processing the foam feedstock comprising: chipping foam feedstock to produce foam chips; washing the foam chips; drying the foam chips; pressing the dried foam chips optionally mixed with one or more adhesives to produce foam products.

Separating any wood and foam from the feedstock into a wood feedstock and a foam feedstock

The feedstock may be composed of various constituent materials. For example, a sofa may be composed of a wooden frame, foam seating and springs, and textile fabrics. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, any wood and foam must be separated into a wood feedstock and into a foam feedstock. A worker skilled in the art would readily appreciate that the feedstock may need to be broken down into its constituent materials prior to separation. A worker skilled in the art would readily appreciate that the feedstock may be broken down manually, mechanically or a combination thereof. Separation into various components may be done manually, mechanically or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, sorting is based on properties of the materials. For example, any magnetic materials, such as metals, may be sorted using magnets. Air blowers may be used to separate light weight material such as paper, fabric from heavier materials. Differences in buoyancy, weight, size or optical properties may also be used to sort materials.

In certain embodiments, the feedstock is sorted using a series of conveyor belts and sorting equipment including but not limited to rotating drum screens, magnetic separators, optical sorters and air classifiers to separate the different materials into their specific designated categories.

In certain embodiments, any non-wood or foam constituents of the feedstock is removed and optionally diverted to existing recycling channels. In certain embodiments, the wood feedstock and/or foam feedstock is further sorted to different types/grades of wood and/or different types of foam. A worker skilled in the art would readily appreciate that the processing of wood and/or foam feedstock may vary depending on the type of foam or wood feedstock. In certain embodiments, the wood is sorted into softwood and hardwood.

Processing wood feedstock

The processing of any wood feedstock and any foam feedstock may occur concurrently or consecutively (e.g. processing of wood feedstock and then processing of foam feedstock or vice versa).

In certain embodiments, the processing of the wood feedstock comprises

(a) chipping the wood feedstock to produce wood chips;

Methods of and machines for producing wood chips are known in the art. In certain embodiments, the chipping comprises a single chipping. In alternative embodiments, the feedstock is chipped more than once. In specific embodiments, the wood feedstock is undergoes a primary and secondary chipping. Various machines for use in reducing the size of wood feedstock are known in the art and include a drum chipper, mill and board breaker.

The wood chips may be in various particle sizes, orientations and shapes. In certain embodiments, the wood chips are sifted and sorted into different particle sizes and shapes for pressing of different engineered wood boards, which include without limitation oriented strand board (OSB) with big sizes, and medium-density fibreboard (MDF).

(b) filtering and/or washing the wood chips;

In certain embodiments, a metal separator may be used to remove any metal contaminants. In certain embodiments, the wood chips are washed through a rotating washing drum to remove contaminants. In certain embodiments, the washing process may use washing liquids and chemicals. Appropriate washing liquids and chemicals are known in the art.

(b) pre-pressing the wood chips,

In certain embodiments, the wood chips are pre-pressed by passing through a rolling press to flatten chips.

(c) drying the pre-pressed wood chips;

In certain embodiments, tumbling dryers are used to dry the wood chips. The washed chips may be dried in a chip dryer and sorted to different sizes. The different sizes may be used for different purposes.

(d) mixing the dried pre-pressed wood chips with one or more adhesives and/or additives to produce wood chip adhesive and/or additive mixture;

In certain embodiments of the present invention, the types of adhesives may include, without limitation, acrylic, acrylonitrile, albumin glue, animal glue, bio-adhesives, bone glue, Canada balsam, casein glue, coccoina, cooking flour in water, starch-based adhesives, cyanoacrylate, dichloromethane, epoxy putty, epoxy resins, ethylene-vinyl acetate, fish glue, gum Arabic, hemp lignin adhesive coating, hide glue, hoof glue, latex, library paste, meat glue, methyl cellulose, milk and sugar, mucilage, phenol formaldehyde resin, pine rosin based, polyamide, polyester resins, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene cement/butanone, polysulfides, polyurethane, polyurethane urea elastomers, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl chloride emulsion, polyvinylpyrrolidone, postage stamp gum, reboningnase, resorcinol glue, resorcinol resin, rice glue, rubber cement, silicones, silyl modified polymers, soy based or PDMI, starch, styrene acrylic copolymer, and urea-formaldehyde.

In certain embodiments, one or more industrial wood chip mixers may be used to mix the dried pre-pressed wood chips with one or more adhesives and/or additives.

(e) pressing and curing the wood chip adhesive and/or additive mixture to produce wood products.

In certain embodiments, molds of variable board sizes may be used. In certain embodiments, the pressing process may comprise heat pressing, wherein engineered wood presses for pressure- heated forming may be used. A non-limiting illustrative example of wood processing is detailed in Figure 2. The process set forth in figure 2 comprises the following steps:

1. Manual separation of the feedstock comprising wood;

2. Size reduction of the wood feedstock. In this embodiment, the wood feedstock undergoes a primary and secondary chipping.

3. Filtering of chipped feedstock using magnetic separation, woodchip dryer and drum screening.

4. Forming/adhering by dosing/mixing adhesives/additives to the sorted woodchips, forming, rough cutting and pressing.

5. Post processing comprising cooling, edge trimming, sanding.

6. The finished product may then be stored.

Processing foam feedstock

In certain embodiments, processing the foam feedstock comprises:

(i) processing foam feedstock to produce foam chips, foam granules or foam pellets;

Methods and machines of producing foam chips, granules and pellet are known in the art.

The foam chips may be in various particle sizes, orientations and shapes.

(ii) washing the foam chips;

In certain embodiments, the foam chips are washed through a rotating washing drum to remove contaminants. In certain embodiments, the washing process may use washing liquids and chemicals.

(iii) drying the foam chips;

In certain embodiments, tumbling dryers are used to dry the foam chips.

(iv) pressing the dried foam chips optionally mixed with one or more adhesives to produce foam products.

In certain embodiments, the pressing process may comprise heat pressing. Appropriate heat presses are known in the art. In another embodiment, the foam chips are optionally mixed with one or more adhesives and/or additives, before being pressed and formed into foam products.

In certain embodiments of the present invention, the types of adhesives to be used for form may include, without limitation, acrylic, acrylonitrile, albumin glue, animal glue, bio-adhesives, bone glue, Canada balsam, casein glue, coccoina, cooking flour in water, starch-based adhesives, cyanoacrylate, dichloromethane, epoxy putty, epoxy resins, ethylene-vinyl acetate, fish glue, gum Arabic, hemp lignin adhesive coating, hide glue, hoof glue, latex, library paste, meat glue, methyl cellulose, milk and sugar, mucilage, phenol formaldehyde resin, pine rosin based, polyamide, polyester resins, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene cement/butanone, polysulfides, polyurethane, polyurethane urea elastomers, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl chloride emulsion, polyvinylpyrrolidone, postage stamp gum, reboningnase, resorcinol glue, resorcinol resin, rice glue, rubber cement, silicones, silyl modified polymers, soy based or PDMI, starch, styrene acrylic copolymer, and urea-formaldehyde.

In certain embodiments, the foam products are various shapes of blocks and sheets.

The present invention also relates to a product produced by the aforementioned methods.

Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the product(s) may include engineered wood boards and/or re-bonded foam blocks/sheets.

The products produced by the methods of the invention may be used in new construction and manufacturing of, without limitation, furniture, home building, cabinetry, soft seating, crafts, DIY projects, insulation and renovations.

For example, the engineered wood boards may be used in the production of various wooden end products including, without limitation, abacus, absorbent liners for supermarket meat trays, absorbent socks for oil spills, activated charcoal, adhesive-backed labels, aircraft propellers and airframes, amplifier cabinets, animal bedding, any size plywood, artificial limbs or prosthetics, artists pallets, automobile chassis ironing boards, automobile parts (e.g., door panels), bagpipes, baking cups, ball point pens, ballot box, ballot boxes wood for specialty products, banjos, barrels, baseball bats, baseball cards, baseballs, baskets, bassoons, bed frames, beds bookcases, beehives, billboards, billiard cue sticks, biofuel, birdhouses, birthday and Christmas wrapping paper, biscuits for wood joining, blinds, bocce balls, book covers, bookcases, bottle and jar labels, bowling alley lanes, bowling pins, bows and arrows, brush handles, building insulation, loose and in panel form, bureaus, bus stop seating, bushel baskets, butcher blocks, butcher paper, butter churns, butter molds, buttons, cabinets, cable reels, calendars, candlesticks, canes, canoe paddles and oars, car dashboards, carpenter, carpenter rules, catalogs, cedar chests, cedar closet lining, ceiling tiles, cellos, chairs, charcoal, children’s puzzles, chipboard, chopsticks, church pews and altars, cigar boxes, cigar molds, cigar store, clarinets, clocks, clocks and clock gears, closet rods, coasters, coat racks, coffee tables, coffins, coloring books, computer desk, conestoga wagons, construction paper, cooking tools and utensils, cork shoe soles, cork washers, corkboards, corks for pop guns, corrugated cartons, coupons, crates, cribs, cricket balls, crucifixes, crutches, cutting boards, dartboards, decking, decks, desks, dice, dining room tables, diplomas and certificates, docks, dog houses, doll houses, doors, dowels, drafting tables, dressers, drum sticks, drums, egg cartons, election ballots boxes, electronics cases, end table, engineered wood boards of variable width and size, excelsior, expansion joint filler insulation corkboard, eyeglass frames, facial and bath tissue, facings for some ping pong paddles, fast food packaging, fencing, fencing, fence posts and rails, fermentation vats, ferry boats, file folders, finger-jointed lumber, fire starter, firewood, fishing boats, fishing buoys and floats, fishing lures, flagpoles (for smaller novelty flags), flexible love furniture, flooring, flutes/fifes, foundry patterns, foundry patterns crates, frozen food boxes, fuel for meat smokers, fun house barrels, furniture of all types, gallows, game boards, garage doors, garden bed, garden benches, garden furniture, garden planters, gazebos, gear shift knobs, gerbil chew sticks (balsa wood alternative), glulam beams, golf clubs, golf tees, grandfather, guitars, gun racks and cabinets, gunstocks, gutters, handrails, harmonicas, harpsichords, highway guard rails, hockey sticks, hot tubs and spas, house siding, hurdles, iceboxes and refrigerators, identification badges, i-joists, insulator pins, jewelry boxes, kindling, kitchen cabinets, kitchen counters, kitchen utensils, kites, knife handles, laboratory rings for glassware, ladders, lamp shades, landscape timbers, lathe wood, levels, lobster pots and floats, log houses, loudspeaker cones, lumber, lumber and plywood to build new homes, LVL (laminated veneer lumber), magazine card inserts, magazines, mallets, mandolins, maple syrup buckets, marine/trailer flooring, match sticks, MDF Boards of variable width and size, medicine cabinets, medium density fiberboard (MDF), melamine paper-faced boar, menus, merry- go-round horses, metronomes, milk cartons, milking stools, minesweeper boats, model airplanes, mouldings and baseboards, multi-wall sacks for birdseed and pet foods, musical instrument cases , musical instrument parts, musical instruments, name tags, nightstands, novelties such as nutcrackers checker sets, oboes, office furniture, organ pipes, organs and organ pedals, origami paper, OSB Boards of variable width and size, packaging, packaging for facial and bath tissue, pallets, paneling, pants hangers, paper products, parallel bars, parallel strand lumber, park benches, particle boards of variable width and size, particleboard, parts of snowboards, skis and skateboards, patio furniture, pegboard, pencils, penelec, phone books, phonographs, piano keys (wooden), pianos, picnic tables, pilings for building construction, ping pong paddles, pizza boxes, planes, planters, plates and bowls, playing cards, police batons, popsicle sticks, porch swings, post and beam timber framing, poster board, price tags, produce crates and boxes, propeller shaft bearings for ships, PT boats, public transit seating, pulleys, putty-type of wood filler, racing forms, racing shells (one to eight-man rowed boats), radio, television and phonograph/stereo cabinets, railroad cars, railroad crossing gates, railroad ties, recipe cards, reclaimed wood blocks for houses, rocking chairs, rocking horses, rolling pins, roofing, rowboats, rulers, rural bridges, salad bowls, sandboxes, sanding blocks, sandpaper, scaffold planks, seed starter blocks, seesaws, shingles, ship masts and yardarms, shutters, side tables, signs parking stops for parking lots, silos, silverware chests, skis, sled runners, sleds, slide rules, snow fences, snowshoes, spare tire covers, speaker cabinets, stage flooring, stair rails, stake-body truck sides, tables, tambourines, telephone poles, telephones, tennis rackets, tent poles, test tube racks, theatre scenery, thermoformed products like gun cases, toboggans, toilet plungers, toilet seats, tongue depressors, tool chests, tool handles, tools, tooth picks, toothbrush, toothpicks, totem poles, toys such as wooden shapes, trays, trellises, truck and trailer flooring, upholstered furniture frames, veneer, Venetian blinds, ventriloquist dummies, vineyard stakes, violin bows, violins, wall and ceiling tiles, wall trim, wardrobe trunks, washboards, water well structures, waterwheels printing press type, weaving shuttles and bobbins, wheel chairs, wheelbarrow handles, window frames and sills, wine racks, wood blocks, wood carvings, wood pellets, woodcut artwork, wooden cups, wooden inlays, wooden matches, wooden shoes, wooden wheels for automobiles and wagons, wood-plastic composite lumber:, woodworking clamps, woodworking planes, woodworking tools, work benches, wringers for washing machines, xylophones, and yo-yos.

For example, the foam may be used in the production of various foam end products including, without limitation, acoustic foam, animal grade foam, anti-static foam, automotive foam, bean bag filling, carpets, electrical foam, foam insulation, foam insulation panels, foam pillows, foam props, foam seating, foam toys, foam wall panels, gymnastic pads, helmet foam, hospitality foam, large foam blocks, marine foam, mattresses, outdoor foam, packing foam, physiotherapy foam, thermal foam, and upholstery foam.