Research on new recycling process technologies and bio-based materials for circular artificial turf (TuftCirc)
Program: CIRCULAR ECONOMY R+D+i DGA
Ref. No.: EC-14-2021
Resolution Date: 11/30/2021
Date of execution: 09/2021-30/09/2023
The main motivation of this project focuses on solving the existing problem due to the waste generated by artificial turf fields when they reach the end of their useful life. The first artificial turf fields deinstalled a few years ago were sent directly to landfill with the high environmental and economic impact that this entailed. Currently MONDO has substantially improved end-of-life management, incorporating the environmental variable from the design phase, resulting in products with a higher degree of recyclability, but it has not yet reached a fully circular lawn, pending research in recycling processes and ways of recovery of all materials that make up the artificial turf system. In order to achieve the same objective, research into bio-based materials for incorporation into the system is also intended to improve and facilitate the carbon footprint of the entire system.
Therefore, this project aims to investigate on the one hand, in recycling processes of traditional turf and thermo-welded turf for the valorization of the materials of the different subcomponents (polyolefins and polyurethane or latex in traditional turf and polyolefins and polyesters mainly in thermo-welded turf), and on the other hand in the development of formulations of plastics from natural sources (bio-based or bioplastics) to meet the requirements of this product, taking a step towards the complete ‘circularity’ of artificial turf. Thus, the general objective of this project is the research on new technologies of bio-based materials and recycling processes for a 100% ‘circular’ artificial turf.
Mondo Tufting SA
Aragon Institute of Technology
TOTAL PROJECT BUDGET: 643,601.50 €.
TOTAL BUDGET ITAINNOVA: 249,000 €.
TOTAL PROJECT GRANT: 370,358.36 €.
TOTAL FINANCING ITANNOVA: 124.921,87 €.
The TuftCirc project whose reference is EC-14-2021 has been financed by
Department of Economy, Planning and Employment of the Government of Aragon.
