ReProcess_Shoe: Recycling processes and dismounting of general footwear components, including electronic modules, with ways of reusing components and materials, based on a modular construction

Abstract

The aim was to disassemble shoes in such a way that the shoe components could be separated as accurately as possible. For this purpose, a composition of proposals was developed for modular shoe design and production-adapted construction, which enable the disassembly and fractionation of the specific shoe components. The residual fractions obtained are to be reused. For this purpose, options for reuse and recycling were investigated using a number of processes such as pyrolysis and hydrolysis. The process with the greatest ecological reuse potential was then determined. In order to meet the requirements of a zero-waste economy and - taking into account the increasingly relevant topic of smart shoes - the Electronic Devices Act and to reduce the amount of waste, it is necessary to be able to recycle the materials used in production. This leads to shoes that can be dismantled. The separation of material-specific shoe components such as soles, leather, textiles and electronics should be possible with the help of a shoe fractionation plant developed at PFI. The shoe modules investigated and adapted as part of the project will be used to further develop the dismantling steps of the fractionation plant so that they can be separated, categorized and sorted accordingly during fractionation. The aim is to optimize the energetic and combined material use of the residual fractions of the shoes at the end of their useful life for a sustainable use of the available residual materials. The project aim has been achieved.