WO2008115085A1

WO2008115085A1 - Infill material for artificial turf system

Info

Publication number: WO2008115085A1
Application number: PCT/PH2007/000014
Authority: WO
Inventors: David Kim Amado
Original assignee: David Kim Amado
Priority date: 2007-03-20
Filing date: 2007-08-29
Publication date: 2008-09-25
Also published as: KR20080085626A; KR20100015740A; KR100866903B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an infill material for an artificial turf system, in particular for sports and playing areas, produced from a mixture consisting of matured coconut shell, matured coconut husk, young coconut shell, young coconut husk, Manila hemp, lignin and cassava.

Description

INFILL MATERLAL FOR ARTIFICIAL TURF SYSTl-M

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to infill material for artificial turf system, in particular for sports and playing areas.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Artificial turf systems are old and well known. It is also known that artificial turfs, in particular for sports fields, consist of a synthetic mat formed by a sheet substrate in which there extend vertical filaments or pile threads which simulate a natural greensward. Among the most commonly used infill materials are natural or. synthetic rubber in the form of granules. The use of rubber granules as infill materials is not entirely satisfactory. Rubber granule based infill material (LDPE-Low Density Polyethylene) use recycled tires and automotive parts such as door seals. The fact that there is no control on how much is recycled and how .much is virgin rubber poses environmental threat. Rubber granules cause ground water contamination such as zinc, cadmium, lead, mercury and others; increase overall playing surface temperature causing exhaustion and dehydration to the players; lead to ankle and foot injuries since rubber causes friction with the football cleats and being a non-biodegradable material, produce a large amount of waste.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide 100% environmentally friendly infill material for artificial turf system obtained from only natural components. Another object of the invention is to provide 100% recyclable infill material obtained from natural components which will last approximately seven years.

Another object of the. invention is to provide an infill material which lowers the overall playing surface temperature since its natural components absorb sun rays.

Another object of the invention is to provide an infill material which creates an ideal surface for sporting activities that require grass surface since it directly emulates natural grass turf.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an infill material which is an economical replacement for rubber granules.

The present invention therefore relates to an infill material for artificial turf system produced from a mixture of matured coconut shell, matured coconut husk, young coconut shell, young coconut husk, Manila hemp (abaca), lignin and cassava. The reason for choosing the above mentioned components is the availability and affordability of said components in the Philippines, Philippines being the second largest producer of coconuts and largest Manila producer of Manila hemp.

Matured coconut shell is a long lasting natural ingredient that decomposes very slowly. In its processed form, the quality and chemical composition is very uniform. It has very good water absorption and resistance of fungal attacks.

Matured coconut husk/coir has low susceptibility to biodegradatiόn ^{■ '}(takes decades to decompose) and a highly porous structure which enables it to absorb large volumes of water (5 to 6 times its weight). Once it has absorbed the initial volume of water, -it has very good drainage property. It has also good oxygenation properties which will assist the players. It has high lignin content (over 35%) making it antifungal and antibacterial. Young coconut shell contains very clean source of liquid and fiber. It eliminates introduction of additional moisture into the process which reduces the overall production cost.

Manila hemp (abaca) is one of the most durable and flexible forms of fiber in the

^•world. It is also lighter and more resistant to water than any hemp varieties. Manila hemp decomposes very slowly. These properties alone will assist in the drainage of the product.

Lignin is very complex natural polymer with many random couplings, thus exact chemical structure is unknown. Lignin is a non-toxic economical binding agent which exhibits antibiotic features and lowers the overall freezing point for the product. With the use of lignin, the freezing point of -8 degrees Celsius can be achieved.

Cassava is the cheapest form of binding agent. Cassava is used to reinforce the binding properties required for the product when it is granulized/pelletized into desired size. Pelletizing the product is to emulate the rubber granules. Since rubber granules are 2 to 3 mm in diameter, it would be ideal to follow the size of the rubber granules.

Preferably, the infill material of the present invention is produced from a mixture consisting of the following components:

Matured Coconut Shell -20 to 40% by weight Matured Coconut Husk- 10 to 20% by weight Young coconut shell - 5 to 15% by weight Young coconut Husk - 20 to 40% by weight Manila Hemp (Abaca) - 5 to 15% by weight Lignin - 2 to 10% by weight Cassava - 2 to 5% by weight prepared by cleaning the raw materials, mixing into desired formulation, crushing, grinding, conditioning, granulating, drying and packing.

For example, the infill material of the invention is prepared by first, cleaning and removing any foreign materials. Cleaning of raw materials is a very important step. This process is assisted with the use of raw material cleaner (conceptualized using ¹A HP electric motor). Coconut meat is removed from both matured and young coconut shell. Any mold from both matured and young coconut is also removed using the cleaner. The raw materials based on the desired formula are fed into a mixer which will further capture any foreign materials and segregate said foreign materials so as not to contaminate the raw materials. The mixture is fed into a crusher using a belt conveyor to reduce the size of the raw materials to approximately 2 to 3. inches. The crasher is equipped with screw conveyor to push the raw materials to the hopper. It is also equipped with magnet before and after, to further capture any metallic contaminants. The resulting, pro duct is carried by a bucket elevator to the feeder tank and fed to the first grinder to further reduce the material size. The grinder is equipped with magnet to. capture any metallic contaminants from the ground material which is then fed to the second grinder to further reduce the material size. As in the first grinder, it is equipped with magnet but in addition, it is also equipped with vibrating- sieving mechanism to sort the ground product. The processed product is carried over to the conditioner via screw conveyor where additional moisture and lignin may be introduced if the desired moisture content of the processed product is not achieved. The conditioned product is fed to the granulator via bucket elevator. Using belt-pulley reduction system, the processed product goes thru steam process to produce ^' compressed and compact granules. The granulated product is fed to a dryer to remove moisture from the granules and finally fed to a bucket elevator and into a bagging bin for packing.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An infill material for artificial turf system produced from a mixture of matured coconut shell, matured coconut husk, young coconut shell, Manila hemp, lignin and cassava.

2. An infill material according to claim 1 wherein the mixture consists of 20 to 40% by weight matured coconut shell, 10 to 20% by weight matured coconut husk, 5 to 15% by weight young coconut shell, 20 to 40% by weight young coconut husk, 5 to 15% by weight Manila hemp, 2 to 10 % by weight lignin and 2 to 5% by weight cassava.