Recycling Nonwoven Fabric and Polypropylene Selvage to Create Composite Fabric

Two layers of 7.0 D polyester (PET) nonwoven fabric enclosing polypropylene (PP) selvage were needle punched and thermally bonded to form a compound base cloth. This manufacturing technique not only reuses selvage, creating an environmentally friendly material, but also increases the mechanical strength of the compound geotextile. When the base cloth weighed 150 g/m2, it displayed optimal mechanical properties, with a selvage content of 10 % and a thermal bonding temperature of 220 °C. The linear velocity of the thermal compress roll was 0.5 m/min and its needle punch density was 400 punches/cm2. Its tensile and tear strength and geotextile application were evaluated by the ASTM D4632 and ASTM D4533 test standards.