New non-woven product from PVC/PET artificial leather wastes: Physicomechanical properties and abrasion performance study

Abstract

Developing new nonwoven fabrics from PVC/PET artificial leather waste could contribute to achieving global sustainability objectives while tackling environmental challenges. In this study, a new composite product made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) polymer and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers was developed via the mechanical recycling process. Initially, PVC-coated polyethylene terephthalate scraps derived from artificial leather fabric wastes were chipped, grinded and pulverized to obtain PVC/PET particles. Secondly, three blends with various ratios of PVC and PET were selected and subjected to the hot compression molding process (at 190°C for 2 min), in order to produce new composite fabric. As a final step, the obtained fabrics were evaluated in terms of their physico-mechanical properties, such as thickness, weight per unit area, tensile strength, elongation, tear strength, and abrasion resistance. Therefore, the tensile properties of PVC/PET (92.39%:6.15%) are superior, with the tensile strength reaching an impressive 40 N/mm² and elongation measuring 48%. Additionally, the results showed that nonwoven fabrics produced from 83.75% PVC and 15.77% PET had excellent tear strength. Thus, raising the PVC powder proportion culminated considerably enhancing the physicomechanical properties of the recycled nonwoven fabric. Nevertheless, a high proportion of PET fibers (72%) in the produced nonwoven fabrics significantly improved the wear resistance regarding weight loss and visual appearance. Based on these results, an innovative and effective approach for repurposing PVC/PET artificial leather waste was demonstrated, which aligns with the principles of eco-friendly sustainability and responsible economic development promoted worldwide.

Keywords

mechanical recycling PVC polymer PET fibers artificial leather waste tear strength abrasion resistance

Introduction

Currently, the approach of “take-make-waste” to produce and consume goods and services is an unsustainable method, which combined with the challenge of population growth in modern society, increases waste volume production. Consequently, the increased volume of waste presents serious environmental and public health problems, which require immediate sustainable action. A novel economic concept was developed to supplant the current “end-of-life” approach, focusing on minimising, reusing, recycling, and recovering resources throughout production and consumption cycles.¹ Therefore, the concept of circular economy provides a sustainable substitute for the traditional sequential model of take-make-use-dispose, transforming it into the “make-use-reuse-remake-recycle” framework.

Recycling is a key strategy in waste management and sustainability efforts. Its goals are to reduce environmental degradation and promote sustainable material use, which aligns with global sustainability goals. Thus, recycling offers several environmental benefits, including reducing the need to extract virgin resources and helping to conserve forests, minerals, and fossil fuels. Many recycling activities have been oriented towards valorising various solid wastes, including plastics,^2–4 polymers,^5,6 lithium-ion batteries,^7–10 agricultural products,¹¹ and textile materials.^12–14 Furthermore, producing items using recycled resources typically consumes less energy than manufacturing them from raw materials. For instance, recycling aluminum saves as much as 95% of the energy required to produce new aluminum from bauxite.¹⁵ Additionally, recycling helps reduce greenhouse gas output by preventing methane release while also conserving water and further lowering greenhouse gas emissions by minimising the need for new raw materials.

Polymers, particularly thermoplastic materials made up of long molecular chains, have been extensively investigated in various industrial fields. However, the widespread use and production of polymers pose significant environmental challenges. They contribute to the substantial accumulation of waste and the release of microplastics into ecosystems. Consequently, polymer recycling is an essential sustainable waste management strategy that supports the circular economy by decreasing waste, preserving resources, and mitigating environmental damage.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has emerged as one of the most widely utilized thermoplastic polymers in terms of global polymer consumption. Annually, over 350 million tons of thermoplastics, including 60 million tons of PVC, are produced worldwide.^16,17 Due to its low cost and high performance, PVC can be used in various short-life products, including packaging materials, textiles, and medical devices. In addition, PVC is used in long-life products such as cable insulation, floor coverings, pipes, and window frames. Currently, global PVC consumption exceeds 35 million tons, with demand increasing at a rate of 3%, which could lead to around 50 million tons of usage in the coming years.¹⁸ Consequently, the volume of discarded PVC products entering the waste stream is steadily rising. However, the ecological impacts throughout the life cycle are significant. Recycling polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is crucial for mitigating the environmental consequences of PVC waste, which can require decades to decompose in landfills. Various methods for PVC recycling and energy recovery have been discussed in the literature.^19–24

Some chemical recycling techniques for PVC materials, such as landfilling and composting, are not optimal because of the potential risks associated with the oxidative breakdown of PVC in the environment.²⁵ Similarly, pyrolysis and energy recovery through incineration are typically avoided, as the chlorine content in PVC results in the generation of significant amounts of hydrogen chloride and other harmful substances during processing.^26,27 Furthermore, the mechanical method is the most recommended and developed approach in industries for recycling PVC waste.²⁸ In essence, the mechanical recycling method has been extensively studied over many years for post-consumer PVC waste.^{23,24,29–34}

The Mechanical recycling of different PVC items from various sources, including pipes, windows, electrical wires, and consumer bottles, has been extensively researched. Sukkaneewat et al.³⁵ investigated the recycling of rigid PVC pipes by enhancing and plasticizing them with cling film. The mechanical (static and dynamic), thermal, and morphological characteristics of the recycled PVC were analyzed and compared to those of unmodified rigid PVC. Their study confirmed the effectiveness of cling film as both a toughening agent and a self-plasticizer for PVC in future applications. They proposed a novel approach for minimizing PVC waste and assessing its potential applications. Merlo et al.³⁶ explored the feasibility of utilizing plastics recovered from PVC wires as substitutes for aggregates in mortars. Their study assessed the impact of PVC reused from copper electrical cables, used as a replacement for mineral aggregate at various content levels (5, 10, 15, and 20% by volume), on the mechanical properties of mortar samples. They concluded that using PVC wire waste as a substitute for inert aggregate allows for the creation of an eco-friendly product, supports the conservation of natural resources, and preserves adequate mechanical properties for non-structural applications. Other authors have investigated the use of PVC polymers recovered from electronic waste to improve the mechanical characteristics of concrete, bricks, and value-added products used in the construction of building components.^37–39 Their experimental investigations showed that electronic waste provides reinforcing properties of building components (such as mortar, concrete, and brick) greater than those of conventional products. They revealed that utilizing electronic waste building materials lowers the construction costs of the project. Additionally, it conserves natural resources through the use of waste in building projects and reducing environmental hazards.

The literature has explored the use of PVC wastes in r-PVC composites⁴⁰ and rubber-reinforced composites.^41,42 Ye et al.⁴³ explored the combination of recycled PVC granules and paper waste in various ratios to create PVC/paper bio-composites with outstanding mechanical properties through hot molding (180°C, 73.8 MPa, 1 h). These bio-composites could be utilized in everyday furniture manufacturing and decoration, and they may also provide raw materials for vehicle floor and door panels. Scientists have also developed methods for recycling PVC polymer from coated fabric waste.^44–50 Nevertheless, there are currently insufficient reports and research on using PVC waste reused from artificial leather to produce new value-added products.^49,50 Consequently, the primary objective of this research is to create and analyze recycled nonwoven fabrics by examining the usability of PVC artificial leather waste. Our research is intended as a preliminary feasibility investigation aimed at demonstrating the potential for valorizing 100% post-consumer PVC-coated textile waste without any pre-treatment or sorting. PVC-coated fabric scraps are grinded, pulverized, and hot-pressed to obtain the recycled new fabric. During the hot-pressing process, the plasticized PVC melts and acts as a thermoplastic binder that fuses and holds the PET fibers together. This fusion mechanism leads to a bonded structure where PVC significantly contributes to the cohesion and integrity of the material. Although the resulting material exhibits characteristics of a fiber-reinforced composite due to the interaction between the fibers and the PVC matrix, our classification aligns with the definition of thermally bonded nonwovens—specifically melt-bonded nonwovens. Several physic-mechanical characteristics, including the thickness, the weight per unit area, the tensile strength, the elongation, the tear strength, and the abrasion resistance of the recycled fabrics, were assessed. Thus, an experimental section was established to verify the applicability of artificial leather waste in producing recycled nonwoven materials through a mechanical recycling process, which would yield a new value-added product.

Experimental section

Non-woven samples preparation

The PVC-coated fabrics (also known as artificial leather) were collected and used in this study. The process of PVC-coated waste preparation is summarized in Figure 1. The scraps were firstly chipped using the GMB Grinder machine (Model MS36), which is responsible for the primary grinding, to obtain size-reduced sheets. The particles refer to the grinder outlet designed as (GOW). A plastic pulverizer (Model SMF 600) is responsible for the secondary grinding operation to obtain a fine powder of PVC-coated fabric waste. In this grinding process, utilizing a vibrating screen is essential to achieve the targeted particle size. The SMF-Pulverizer mill was equipped with two outlets: the fine powder outlet (labeled as PO) and the coarse powder outlet (labeled as FO). The fine PVC particles (labeled as POW) successfully passed through the screen mesh and were gathered at the fine powder outlet. However, the PET fibers (designed as FOW) were trapped by the sieve, extracted, and collected at the coarse powder outlet. Therefore, three different types of waste were investigated in this study: particles collected at the primary grinder mill (GOW), PVC powder waste (POW) received from PO, and PET fiber waste (FOW) collected at FO. The composition of GOW, POW, and FOW samples in terms of PVC and PET fibers amounts were calculated by Chaouch and Msahli⁴⁹ and presented in Table 1. Recycled non-woven fabrics were developed by the hot compression molding method at 190°C for 2 min using the heat press machine (model VEVOR heat press 15*15 inch). During the hot-pressing process, the plasticized PVC melts and acts as a thermoplastic binder that fuses and holds the PET fibers together. This fusion mechanism results in a bonded structure, where PVC significantly contributes to the cohesion and integrity of the material. Even if the obtained material shows a composite-like behavior, it is more accurate to describe it as a thermally bonded non-woven, where the plasticized PVC acts as both the matrix and the binding agent, leading to improved fiber adhesion and mechanical performance.

Figure 1.

PVC-coated fabric waste preparation process.

Table 1.

PVC-coated fabrics waste compositions⁴⁹.

Wastes composition		Average (g)	Percentage (%)	CV (%)
POW	PET fibers	3.07	6.15	18.51
POW	PVC	46.19	92.39	2.62
FOW	PET fibers	36.09	72.17	4.32
FOW	PVC	12.54	25.08	5.80
GOW	PET fibers	7.89	15.77	3.34
GOW	PVC	41.88	83.75	1.35

Non-woven samples characterization

The recycled non-woven fabrics obtained from POW, FOW, and GOW materials were designed as R-P, R-F, and R-G, respectively. The mass per unit area, thickness, tensile, tear, and abrasion evaluations were performed to analyse the mechanical characteristics of the developed non-woven fabrics made from recycled PVC-coated waste. The mass per unit area and the thickness of the prepared recycled non-woven samples were determined according to ISO 9073-1 and ISO 9073-2, respectively. The tensile characteristics of the samples were measured with a Lloyd universal testing apparatus (model LR5K) in accordance with ISO 527-4. Rectangular specimens measuring 120 mm by 10 mm were tested. The gauge length was established at 50 mm with a crosshead speed of 100 ± 20 mm/min. The elongation at break E (%) and the tensile strength St (N/mm²) were calculated using the following equations. Five tests were conducted for each developed non-woven material, and their average was analysed.

S t (\frac{N}{m m^{2}}) = \frac{f r a c t u r e f o r c e (N)}{c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l a r e a (m m^{2})}

E (%) = \frac{L 2 - L 1}{L 1} * 100

where L2 was the final length after the break, and L1 was the initial length of the specimen. The tear measurements were carried out using the Elmendorf Tearing strength tester (model Elma Tear-James Heal) according to ISO 6383-2. The abrasion assessment was conducted following ISO 12947-3 using the Abrasion and Pilling Tester (James H Heal Nu - Martindale 403). The LEICA M50 optical transmission microscope was used to observe the morphology of the developed recycled samples.

Results and discussions

Analysis of physicomechanical properties

The thickness, weight per unit area, tensile strength, elongation, and tear strength characteristics of the developed non-woven fabrics recycled from PVC-coated waste are presented in Figure 2(a, b) and Figure 3. The results show that the thickness of the R-G sample was significantly higher than those of R-P and R-F samples (as seen in Figure 2(a)), which indicates that the secondary grinding process affected the thickness parameter of the obtained fabric recycled from the PVC-coated wastes. Indeed, the thickness of the obtained fabrics decreases gradually with the decrease of the size of waste particles using the pulverizer machine. Thus, more regular size particles of POW and FOW, as compared to those of GOW, contribute to a more compact structure of the obtained non-woven fabrics, which makes R-G non-woven fabric thicker than R-P and R-F samples. The weight per unit area is among the most important non-woven parameters: its value for the R-F sample is higher than those of the R-P and R-G samples (as seen in Figure 2(a)). It is evident that the rising proportion of PET fibers from 6 % to 72 % increase the mass per unit area of the non-woven samples from 1831 to 2211 g/m² (see Figure 2(a) and Table 1). In contrast, the weight per unit area of the R-G sample is lower than that of the R-P sample, which contains 15% PET and 6% PET respectively. This may be due to the low compactness of the R-G non-woven compared to the R-P non-woven. After the secondary grinding process (using a pulveriser), the size of the waste particles is reduced. Thus, all PET fibers and PVC particles are aligned in the fabric plane, which resulting a compact structure of R-P non-woven after hot compression molding. Consequently, the compactness of the fabric was improved, the pores of the non-woven were closed, and then the areal density was increased. Figure 2(b) depicts the tensile strength and elongation characteristics of the developed non-woven fabric made from PVC-coated fabric waste. The tensile strength of the R-P sample (28.03 N/mm²) was approximately 2.3 times higher than that of R-F (12.20 N/mm²), which contains 92% and 25% PVC polymer, respectively (as seen in Table 1). This is probably related to the self-aggregation or clustering of the PVC particles among themselves as the PVC polymer concentration was elevated. It was revealed from the sectional observations in Figures 4(d) and 4(f) that the PVC particles were perfectly adhered and showed a compact structure in the R-P sample compared to the R-F. The loose structure of R-F fabric was the origin of the reduction in the tensile strength. In addition, PVC as a thermoplastic polymer was more resistant than the PET polymer, which certainly led to the increased tensile strength of the R-P sample, which contains 92% PVC.

Figure 2.

Thickness (a), Weight per unit area (a), Tensile strength (a), Elongation (b) test results.

Figure 3.

Tear Strength test result of the recycled non-woven fabrics.

Figure 4.

Microscopic observations of the surfaces and the cross-sections of R-P (a,d), R-F (b,e), and R-G (c,f) non-woven fabrics.

Despite the presence of 83 % PVC polymer in the GOW material, the tensile strength of R-G non-woven fabric, which is equal to 9.50 N/mm², is lower than that of R-P fabric. This behavior resulted from the structural flaws and reduced density of the R-G sample compared to the R-P sample, as demonstrated by microscopic observation in Figures 4(d)-4(f). The elasticity of the non-woven fabric can be shown in the elongation at break. Accordingly, as seen in Figure 2(b), the R-F sample showed lower elongation at a break of 13% as compared to the R-P sample, which is characterized by 39% elongation. As the amount of reclaimed PVC increases, the elasticity of the repurposed non-woven fabric improves. This is attributed to the inclusion of a plasticizer in the pure PVC polymer, which makes the material more flexible. Previous studies have reported comparable findings.^51–53

Figure 3 presents the tear strength results of the developed non-woven fabrics from recycled PVC-coated wastes. The average tear strength for R-P and R-G non-woven fabrics was found to be approximately 6.22 and 7.38 N/mm when the fabric structure contained 92 and 83% PVC polymer, respectively. However, the average tear strength for the R-F, which contains 25% PVC, was determined to be 3.11 N/mm, as illustrated in Figure 3. In comparison to the R-F sample, the rise in PVC polymer content resulted in an enhancement of the tear resistance of the non-woven fabrics.

As seen in numerous prior studies, tear strength is linked to crack propagation.^54–56 Consequently, the increased PVC content helps to impede the formation of micro-cracks, leading to enhanced tear strength of the developed non-woven samples. In addition, as shown in Figures 2(a) and 3, the tear strength was inversely proportional to the areal density of the developed non-woven fabrics. The obtained result agrees with Yilmaz et al.'s report.⁵⁷

Analysis of abrasion resistance performance

Abrasion resistance is a crucial factor that primarily affects the durability and service life of non-woven products.⁵⁸ The abrasion resistance of the recycled non-woven fabrics was evaluated based on the weight loss and visual appearance of the fabric after a specified number of abrasion cycles. Table 2, Figures 5, 6, and 7 illustrate the abrasion results in terms of appearance and weight loss after 2500 abrasion cycles of the developed R-P, R-F, and R-G non-woven fabrics, which were recycled from PVC-coated waste materials POW, FOW, and GOW, respectively. The initial weights (g) of the samples, the weight loss (g), and the weight loss percentages after the abrasion test are given in Table 2 and Figures 5-6.

Table 2.

Abrasion test results of the recycled non-woven samples.

Samples	Initial weight (g)	Weight (g) after 100 cycles	Weight (g)after 250 cycles	Weight (g)after 500 cycles	Weight (g) after 750 cycles	Weight (g)after 1000 cycles	Weight (g)after 2500 cycles	WeightLoss (%)
R-P	13.2	12.98	12.76	12.44	12.42	12.39	11.39	13.71
R-F	19.85	19.82	19.62	19.45	19.4	19.29	18.62	6.20
R-G	19.48	19.22	18.76	18.44	18.35	18.32	17.65	9.40

Figure 5.

Weight loss (g) of the recycled samples after abrasion test.

Figure 6.

Weight Loss (%) of the recycled samples following the abrasion test.

Figure 7.

Appearance of R-P, R-F, and R-G non-woven samples before and after 2500 cycles of abrasion test.

As illustrated in Figures 2(a) and 5, the weight loss diminished as the mass per unit area increased. In fact, a higher quantity of fibers per unit area resulted in enhanced bonding among the fibers, making them more resistant to abrasion.⁵⁹ Likewise, the obtained values of weight loss relative to the R-F non-woven sample are significantly lower than those of the R-P and R-G samples. Conversely, the R-G non-woven sample, which has high values of weight loss, exhibits mediocre abrasion resistance.

As presented in Table 2 and Figure 6, the R-F non-woven sample with a higher ratio of PET fibers (72 %) in the blend PVC/PET showed a lower weight loss percentage than the R-P samples with a reduced ratio of PET (6%). Then, PES fibers act as crack arresters, which delays the abrasion. This is why including a high quantity of PET fibers in the PVC-recycled non-woven enhances the abrasion resistance. Figure 6 shows no difference between weight loss percentages relative to R-P and R-G non-wovens samples, at abrasion cycles from 100 to 1000. Nevertheless, at 2500 abrasion cycles, the R-P and R-G samples were abraded with weight loss percentages, respectively, of 13.71% and 9.39% (as seen in Figure 6). This can be attributed to the increased thickness of the R-G sample compared to the R-P sample.

Figures 7(a)-(f) depict the visual appearance of R-P, R-F, and R-G following the abrasion of 2500 cycles. As shown in Figures 7(a), (d), (b), and (e), the surfaces of R-P and R-F samples did not change significantly after the test, with no structural modification. As shown in Figures 7(c) and 7(f), after 2500 abrasion cycles, the R-G non-woven sample was remarkably abraded (as seen from the black circled zone in Figure 7(f)). The resistance of R-F and R-P samples compared to R-G was due to the larger size of the GOW particles, which resulted in a lower number of waste particles per unit area. In this case, the significant decrease in abrasion resistance (in terms of visual appearance) of the R-G sample can be attributed to the poor cohesion and entanglement of GOW particles within the sample structure during friction. Conversely, a higher density of waste particles contributes to greater cohesion among the sample particles, making them more difficult to abrade.⁶⁰

According to a prominent quality-focused automobile manufacturers, weight loss is deemed acceptable if it remains below 1 g at 1500 cycles.⁶¹ Consequently, the optimal recycled sample, exhibiting the lowest weight loss of 0.56 g at 1000 cycles and 1.23 g at 2500 cycles, was the R-F non-woven fabric. This sample also demonstrated good abrasion resistance in terms of visual appearance, as shown in Figures 7(b) and 7(e).

Statistical analysis results

For the obtained results of thickness, weight per unit area, tensile strength, elongation, tear strength, and weight loss after abrasion cycles of the recycled fabrics, statistical analysis was carried out to verify the existence of differences between groups—waste material with different PET/PVC ratios. Thus, to examine whether the characteristics of PVC/PET waste material influenced the quality of the recycled fabric, statistical methods such as the independent samples t-test and statistical significance function were utilized, as suggested by Bejaxhin et al.⁶² Furthermore, correlational analysis was employed to investigate and verify the binary association between variables. The statistical significance functions, as arbiters of data analysis, aim to demonstrate a relationship between two or more variables. Based on the established statistical tests for testing hypotheses for significance, an acceptance level of 0.05 was adopted for this study as a 95% confidence level to accept null hypotheses, before rejecting or accepting the null and alternative hypotheses as proposed by Purwanto et al.⁶³ High values of t-value indicate that there is a significant difference between the two groups of values. Whereas, a small t-test value indicates that the groups are similar, and there is no statistically significant difference between the means.⁶⁴

In this section, the collected data were analyzed statistically using SPSS software to determine whether there was/or not a statistically significant change in the studied parameters when using a different type of waste materials. Table 3 displays the results of independent samples t-tests comparing the means of thickness, weight per unit area, tensile strength, elongation, tear strength, and weight loss after abrasion cycles of the recycled fabrics produced from three different types of waste materials. This table shows the degree of freedom (df), the mean difference, the t-value, the significance level (sig.), and the 95% confidence interval of the difference for each parameter. According to the t-test, the type of the waste material has a significant positive effect on the thickness parameter (t-value = 7191 and sig. = 0.019 < 0.05), with a mean difference of 2.51333. The waste material category has maintained a significant positive effect on the weight per unit area of the recycled fabrics (t-value = 7822 and Sig. = 0.016), with a mean difference of 1816.33333. However, the t-test indicates that there is no significant effect of the waste material category on either the tensile strength and the elongation of the recycled fabric, with Sig values of 0.103 and 0.081, respectively, which are higher than the acceptance level of 0.05. This is due to the inherent variability of the PVC/PET-coated material used in this study. Moreover, the correlation for the waste material category on the tear strength had a significance level (Sig.) of 0.049, which is lower than the acceptance level of 0.05. Hence, there is a statistically positive impact of the type of waste material on the tear strength of the recycled fabrics, with a t-value of 4369 and a mean difference of 5.57000. When the correlation between waste material category and the weight loss after abrasion of the recycled fabric was considered, the level of significance is 0.014, which is lower than the acceptance level. These results indicate that there is a significant impact of the waste material composition on the weight loss of the recycled fabric after 2500 abrasion cycles, with a t-value of 8251 and a mean difference of 1,62333.

Table 3.

Statistical analysis of the waste material type.

Tests of waste type effect
Parameters	df	Mean difference	Significance level		95% confidence level
Parameters	df	Mean difference	t-value	Sig	Lower	Upper
Thickness (mm)	2	2,51333	7191	0.019	1,0094	4,0173
Weight per unit area (g/m²)	2	1816,33333	7822	0.016	817,2116	2815,455
Tensile strength (N/mm²)	2	16,57000	2865	0.103	−8,3112	41,4512
Elongation (%)	2	25,00000	3302	0.081	−7,5792	57,5792
Tear strength (N/mm)	2	5,57000	4369	0.049	0,0851	11,0549
Weight loss (g)	2	1,62333	8251	0.014	0,7768	2,4699

We are focused in the statistical significance of the effect of the type of waste material on the selected parameters. Indeed, the type of waste material depends mainly on the size of the waste particle, as well as the ratios of PET and PVC. Therefore, the waste material category has a significant effect on several properties of the recycled fabric, such as the thickness, the weight per unit area, the tear strength, and the weight loss after 2500 abrasion cycles. Consequently, the size of the waste particles, as well as the PET and the PVC ratios in the waste material, significantly affect all properties of the recycled fabric, excluding the tensile properties. Whereas, the original artificial leather, which is derived from various textile structures and coating processes, gives waste material with a heterogeneous nature. This could explain the non-significant effect of the type of waste material on the Tensile strength and elongation of the recycled fabric.

Conclusions

The current study highlights the mechanical recycling of PVC/PET artificial leather wastes to produce non-woven fabrics. Three PVC/PET powder blends with different proportions of PET fibers and PVC polymer (GOW, FOW, and POW), which were obtained by grinding and pulverization processes, were used as raw materials (powder). The R-G, R-F, and R-P non-woven fabrics were produced using the hot compression molding of PVC/PET powder. The physico-mechanical properties of the recycled non-woven fabrics, such as thickness, weight per unit area, tensile strength, and tear strength, were assessed. It was observed that the tensile strength and elongation of R-P, with a high content of PVC polymer, increased significantly compared to the R-F and R-G samples. Furthermore, the tear strength increased notably, with the R-G non-woven sample showing a value of 7.38 N/mm, while the R-F sample recorded a value of 3.11 N/mm. Moreover, as the weight per unit area of the non-woven sample decreased, the tear strength of the sample significantly improved. On the other hand, the abrasion resistance of the R-F non-woven sample, which contains 72% PET fibers, was significantly improved as compared to the R-P and R-G non-woven fabrics. This suggests that investigating PVC/PET artificial leather waste presents a promising solution for producing new value-added products, with the advantages of material recovery and cost savings.

Products made from PVC/PET artificial leather waste can be used in various application fields, such as automotive carpets, footwear soles, and insulation panels. Future research will aim to extend the application fields, improve the mechanical quality, and ensure the serviceable life of the recycled fabrics by blending the PVC-coated waste with various other natural waste materials (e.g., natural leather, denim, and paper wastes). In addition, it was recommended to quantify the sustainability benefits, including reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, raw material consumption, and energy use, to evaluate the broader relevance of our work. Consequently, as long-term objectives, we are planning a follow-up study that will include such a quantitative environmental assessment based on standardized full life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies and a detailed environmental impact analysis.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2025R246), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

ORCID iD

Asma Rahmouni

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2025R246), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

Kirchherr

Reike

Hekkert

. Conceptualizing the circular economy: an analysis of 114 definitions. Resour Conserv Recycl 2017; 127: 221–232.

Cruz Sanchez

Boudaoud

Camargo

, et al. Plastic recycling in additive manufacturing: a systematic literature review and opportunities for the circular economy. J Clean Prod 2020; 264: 121602.

Shamsuyeva

Endres

. Plastics in the context of the circular economy and sustainable plastics recycling: comprehensive review on research development, standardization and market. Composites Part C: Open Access 2021; 6: 100168.

Johansen

Christensen

Ramos

, et al. A review of the plastic value chain from a circular economy perspective. J Environ Manag 2022; 302: 113975.

Shanmugam

Das

Neisiany

, et al. Polymer recycling in additive manufacturing: an opportunity for the circular economy. Mater Circ Econ 2020; 2: 11.

Kemona

Piotrowska

. Polyurethane recycling and disposal: methods and prospects. Polymers 2020; 12(8): 1752.

Velázquez-Martínez

Valio

Santasalo-Aarnio

, et al. A critical review of lithium-ion battery recycling processes from a circular economy perspective. Batteries 2019; 5(4): 68.

Mossali

Picone

Gentilini

, et al. Lithium-ion batteries towards circular economy: a literature review of opportunities and issues of recycling treatments. J Environ Manag 2020; 264: 110500.

Ali

Khan

Pecht

. Circular economy of li batteries: technologies and trends. J Energy Storage 2021; 40: 102690.

10.

Neumann

Petranikova

Meeus

, et al. Recycling of lithium‐ion Batteries—Current state of the art, circular economy, and next generation recycling. Adv Energy Mater 2022; 12(17): 2102917.

11.

De Corato

. Agricultural waste recycling in horticultural intensive farming systems by on-farm composting and compost-based tea application improves soil quality and plant health: a review under the perspective of a circular economy. Sci Total Environ 2020; 738: 139840.

12.

Ribul

Lanot

Tommencioni Pisapia

, et al. Mechanical, chemical, biological: moving towards closed-loop bio-based recycling in a circular economy of sustainable textiles. J Clean Prod 2021; 326: 129325.

13.

Juanga-Labayen

Labayen

Yuan

. A review on textile recycling practices and challenges. Textiles 2022; 2(1): 174–188.

14.

Fan

Meng

, et al. Current recycling strategies and high-value utilization of waste cotton. Sci Total Environ 2023; 856: 158798.

15.

Georgitzikis

Mancini

Delia

, et al. Sustainability aspects of bauxite and aluminium, 2021 (Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, EUR): 30760.

16.

Ait‐Touchente

Khellaf

Raffin

, et al. Recent advances in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) recycling. Polym Adv Technol 2024; 35(1): e6228.

17.

Vyas

Swaminathan

Chakraborty

, et al. Study on enhancing waste PVC management through predictive machine learning analysis of TGA and its economic benefits. Energy Convers Manag 2024; 22: 100556.

18.

Altarawneh

Al-Harahsheh

Dodds

, et al. Thermal degradation kinetics of polyvinyl chloride in presence of zinc oxide. Thermochim Acta 2022; 707: 179105.

19.

Jabrail

Awad

Matlob

. Dechlorination of landfill poly (vinyl chloride) waste and estimation of recovered chlorine. Polym Polym Compos 2021; 29(8): 1273–1281.

20.

Zhou

Peng

, et al. Upcycling waste polyvinyl chloride: one-Pot synthesis of valuable carbon materials and pipeline-quality syngas via pyrolysis in a closed reactor. J Hazard Mater 2022; 427: 128210.

21.

Cheng

, et al. Chemical recycling technologies for PVC waste and PVC-Containing plastic waste: a review. Waste Manag 2023; 166: 245–258.

22.

Svadlenak

Wojcik

Ogunlalu

, et al. Upcycling of polyvinyl chloride to hydrocarbon waxes via dechlorination and catalytic hydrogenation. AppliedCatalysisB:Environmental 2023; 338: 123065.

23.

Bernat

. Post-consumer plastic waste management: from collection and sortation to mechanical recycling. Energies 2023; 16(8): 3504.

24.

Lai

Cheng

Yuan

, et al. Mechanochemical reclaiming and thermoplastic reprocessing of waste Acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR)/Poly (vinyl Chloride)(PVC) insulation materials. Waste Manag 2023; 158: 153–163.

25.

Moe

Chungprempree

Preechawong

, et al. Recycling waste nonmetallic printed circuit boards for polyvinyl chloride composites. Polymers 2022; 14(17): 3531.

26.

Bai

Zhang

, et al. Comparative study on pyrolysis behaviors and chlorine release of pure PVC polymer and commercial PVC plastics. Fuel 2023; 340: 127555.

27.

Kajda-Szcześniak

Czop

. Comparison of pyrolysis and combustion processes of vinyl floor panels using thermogravimetric analysis (TG-FTIR) in terms of the circular economy. Energies 2022; 15(4): 1516.

28.

Lamtai

Elkoun

Robert

, et al. Mechanical recycling of thermoplastics: a review of key issues. Waste 2023; 1(4): 860–883.

29.

Janajreh

Alshrah

Zamzam

. Mechanical recycling of PVC plastic waste streams from cable industry: a case study. Sustain Cities Soc 2015; 18: 13–20.

30.

Cholake

Pahlevani

Gaikwad

, et al. Cost-effective and sustainable approach to transform end-of-life vinyl banner to value added product. Resour Conserv Recycl 2018; 136: 9–21.

31.

Gohatre

Jaidev

Suresh

, et al. Composition and recyclability analysis of poly (vinyl chloride) recovered from computer power cables and commercial wires. J Vinyl Addit Technol 2020; 26(3): 213–223.

32.

Briassoulis

Pikasi

Hiskakis

. Recirculation potential of post-consumer/industrial bio-based plastics through mechanical recycling-techno-economic sustainability criteria and indicators. Polym Degrad Stabil 2021; 183: 109217.

33.

Wędrychowicz

Papacz

Walkowiak

, et al. Determining the mechanical properties of solid plates obtained from the recycling of cable waste. Materials 2022; 15(24): 9019.

34.

Kroell

Chen

Küppers

, et al. Near-infrared-based determination of mass-based material flow compositions in mechanical recycling of post-consumer plastics: technical feasibility enables novel applications. Resour Conserv Recycl 2023; 191: 106873.

35.

Sukkaneewat

Sanetuntikul

Naknaen

, et al. Reutilization of waste cling film as a toughening agent and self-plasticizer in recycled poly (vinyl chloride) pipe for semi-rigid building material applications. Cleaner Materials 2024; 12: 100244.

36.

Merlo

Lavagna

Suarez-Riera

, et al. Mechanical properties of mortar containing waste plastic (PVC) as aggregate partial replacement. Case Stud Constr Mater 2020; 13: e00467.

37.

Abdi Moghadam

Abbasi Oshaghi

. Evaluation of mechanical properties of concrete reinforced with polyvinyl chloride (pvc) fibers made of wire sheath. Civil and Project 2023; 5(1): 38–50.

38.

Muthupriya

VigneshKumar

Shankar

. Experimental investigation on e-waste plastic (PVC wires) bricks. Mater Today Proc 2023.

39.

Wędrychowicz

Kurowiak

Skrzekut

, et al. Recycling of electrical cables—current challenges and future prospects. Materials 2023; 16(20): 6632.

40.

Gohatre

Biswal

Mohanty

, et al. Effect of silane treated fly ash on physico‐mechanical, morphological, and thermal properties of recycled poly (vinyl chloride) composites. J Appl Polym Sci 2021; 138(19): 50387.

41.

Colom

Cañavate

Carrillo

, et al. Acoustic and mechanical properties of recycled polyvinyl chloride/ground tyre rubber composites. J Compos Mater 2014; 48(9): 1061–1069.

42.

Dobrotă

Petrescu

Dimulescu

, et al. Preparation and characterization of composites materials with rubber matrix and with polyvinyl chloride addition (PVC). Polymers 2020; 12(9): 1978.

43.

Jiang

Yang

, et al. Ultra-strong and environmentally friendly waste polyvinyl chloride/paper biocomposites. Adv Compos Hybrid Mater 2023; 6(2): 81.

44.

Saffert

. Recycling of PVC-Coated fabrics. J Coat Fabr 1994; 23(4): 274–279.

45.

Adanur

Hou

Broughton

. Recovery and reuse of waste PVC coated fabrics. Part 1: experimental procedures and separation of fabric components. J Coat Fabr 1998; 28(3): 37–55.

46.

Adanur

Hou

Broughton

. Recovery and reuse of waste PVC coated fabrics. Part 2: analysis of the components separated from PVC coated PET fabrics. J Coat Fabr 1998; 28(2): 145–168.

47.

Ambroziak

Kłosowski

. Mechanical properties for preliminary design of structures made from PVC coated fabric. Constr Build Mater 2014; 50: 74–81.

48.

Kumagai

Hirahashi

Grause

, et al. Alkaline hydrolysis of PVC-Coated PET fibers for simultaneous recycling of PET and PVC. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 2018; 20: 439–449.

49.

Chaouch

Msahli

. Development of a reliable and efficient combined grinding and separation process for PVC-Coated fabric waste. C R Chim 2023; 26(S1): 95–112.

50.

Chaouch

Msahli

. Recycled PVC content and particle size distribution effects on morphological and mechanical properties of expanded PVC layer for floorcoverings. C R Chim 2024; 27(S3): 7–27.

51.

Ghasemi Hejran Doost

Kalaee

Zaarei

. Evaluation of effective parameters on rheological and mechanical properties of automotive plastisol coatings reinforced with nano silica using taguchi method. Advanced Materials and New Coatings 2019; 7(27): 1925–1936.

52.

Perito

Guerra

Giovanela

, et al. Chemical, thermal and mechanical evaluation of poly (vinyl chloride) plastisol with different plasticizers. J Elastomers Plast 2022; 54(8): 1277–1294.

53.

Ledniowska

Janik

Nosal‐Kovalenko

, et al. Epoxidized esters of succinic acid, oleic acid and propylene glycol as an effective bioplasticizer for PVC: a study of processing conditions on the physico‐chemical properties. J Appl Polym Sci 2024; 141: e55218.

54.

Yin

Zhou

Luo

, et al. Reinforcing effect of aramid fibers on fatigue behavior of SBR/Aramid fiber composites. Polym Test 2019; 80: 106092.

55.

Bao

Zhang

. Tearing analysis of PVC coated fabric under uniaxial and biaxial central tearing tests. J Ind Textil 2022; 51(6): 900–925.

56.

Zhang

Bao

, et al. Tearing behaviors of coated fabric membrane structures. Thin-Walled Struct 2023; 183: 110427.

57.

Yilmaz

Sabuncuoglu

Yildirim

, et al. A brief review on the mechanical behavior of non-woven fabrics. Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics 2020; 15: 1558925020970197.

58.

Azmami

Sajid

Boukhriss

, et al. Mechanical and aging performances of palm/wool and palm/polyester non-wovens coated by waterborne polyurethane for automotive interiors. Ind Crop Prod 2021; 170: 113681.

59.

Palak

Karagüzel Kayaoğlu

. Analysis of the effect of production parameters on sound absorption and abrasion resistance performance of needlepunched non-wovens for automotive carpet applications using taguchi method. J Ind Textil 2021; 51(5): 714–739.

60.

Zaghloul

MMY

Steel

Veidt

, et al. Wear behaviour of polymeric materials reinforced with man-made fibres: a comprehensive review about fibre volume fraction influence on wear performance. J Reinforc Plast Compos 2022; 41(5-6): 215–241.

61.

Atakan

Sezer

Karakas

. Development of non-woven automotive carpets made of recycled PET fibers with improved abrasion resistance. J Ind Textil 2020; 49(7): 835–857.

62.

Bovas Herbert Bejaxhin

Brucely

Rose

, et al. Revolutionizing agriculture: a comprehensive research on IoT controlled fluid circulation in hydroponics using plumbed PVC planting pipes for enhanced crop growth and disease detection with CFD analysis. Environ Fluid Mech 2024; 24(6): 1235–1262.

63.

Purwanto

(2022). The role of green innovation and green supply chain management on the sustainability of the performance of SMEs. Available at SSRN 4219607 .

64.

O’Rourke

Wurzer

Murray

, et al. Diverted from landfill: reuse of single-use plastic packaging waste. Polymers 2022; 14(24): 5485.