Page 8 - CFA_SG25

CISUFLO PROJECT

As the CISUFLO project comes to an end this year, we spoke
to Ine De Vilder, Research Scientist at Centexbel, and Project
Coordinator Guy Buyle about the achievements of the project
and also some of the challenges that it has faced. Centexbel is
the coordinating organisation of the project, and is the Belgian-

based collective centre which provides an extensive range
of activities like R&D and services to the textile, plastics and
flooring sectors.

he CISUFLO project, in which the recycled PVC, as it is an extrusion-based becomes difficult if you have a carpet with a
CFA is a trade association partner, is technology – different from cushioned vinyl. very short pile. This approach therefore will
Tfounded on collaboration. It brings You can use mechanically recycled materials probably not be for the commercial market,
together different materials – laminate, such as window profiles or end-of-life LVT but only domestic. So that looks like the main
vinyl, carpet – as well as all different for this and the technology works well. But drawback of our mono-material approach so
players involved and their complementary flexible resilient remains an issue, because far.
fields of expertise. Ine De Vilder likens it you cannot just substitute virgin material with “We are still looking at a separation layer
to a puzzle, figuring out who can do what, recycled vinyl. approach meaning that you can combine
seeing where cooperation is possible and End-of-life carpet needs to have above it with a conventional backing. By melting
bringing in contacts from outside, and 85% Polyamide 6 content to make it the back of the piles you don’t need latex to
eventually you have a consortium working economically viable to be recycled as a mono- fix them,” says Ine De Vilder. “If you add a
together. material carpet. An eco-designed carpet separation layer, you can put a conventional
The cooperation which CISUFLO produced by Edel Carpets was installed at backing for a carpet tile for example. This
embodies has certainly led to good results. FITA’s Loughborough Training Centre. Aquafil, separation layer can be loosened at end-of-
The project ran pilots for each of the three an Italian company that for over 50 years life by heating it, which re-melts it, allowing
types of floorcovering in its focus, one of has been a leading player in the production the separation of both layers.
8 which has actually made the transfer to an of Polyamide 6 and which claims to be the “We also looked at the potential for
industrial line. It is quite rare that this happens only company in the world to produce 100% recycling conventional carpet, that is carpet
with a pilot line during the life of an EU recycled nylon, reports that technical tests which was not designed with recycling in
project, say Ine De Vilder and Guy Buyle. This have so far been successful. The carpet mind. The PolySep technology involves a
year the Unilin laminate pilot line in France was recently uplifted to be assessed as an solvent treatment, followed by exposure to
will be rebuilt into an industrial line and the end-of-life carpet to ascertain the impact of steam, the aim being to separate the different
plant is aiming to launch by the end of the the installed tackifier and the continuity of its layers. However it turned out that the pilot line
year, greatly increasing capacity. recyclability. was not fit for carpets, because you have to
“The laminate recycling line is the main You need the 85% Polyamide 6, which start by shredding the carpet, and this creates 
achievement of the project, a really nice
result,” says Ine. “It does not happen often
within this type of European project that you
get an industrial line within this timeframe. In
my view it is exceptional that you get that far.”
Vinyl presents a unique challenge
because you can only add a maximum of
5–10% recycled content in the backing layer
using the conventional plastisol technology.
After that, the viscosity of the material
starts changing too much for it to be used.
PVC from recycled materials behaves
differently to virgin PVC and doesn’t work
well, although there is work going on with
extrusion and calendaring processes which
might lead to a breakthrough. Recycled PVC
is not compatible with the current plastisol
technology, so there needs to be a shift in
production technologies.
“With LVT you can add up to 100%

Flexible resilient remains an issue, because

you cannot just substitute virgin material

with recycled vinyl

CFA Guide to Sustainability 2025/26