The ECOVAL mattress recycling plant has been realised by the industrial group Cauval (mattress producers), in cooperation with the local authorities and with the support of the French Government, in order to requalify their mattress manufacturing facility located in Flaviac, which was closing (ADEME, 2013). The facility has recently been acquired and is currently managed by Secondly Sud-Est.
In the recycling plant, launched in 2012, the following operations are carried out:
- sanitisation and disassembly of end-of-life mattresses, obtaining cushioning materials (latex, foam), textiles, metals and wood;
- shredding of textiles, which are transformed into fibrous material, and chipping of wood;
- reprocessing of the cushioning materials by applying an airlay technology developed by the Italy-based company Cormatex.
The main components of the airlay processing line are: a waste material shredder, a granulator, a thermo bonding oven, a lap formair (vertical or horizontal) and a longitudinal and cross cutter. In this processing line, the recovered foam and latex are granulated and homogeneously mixed within feeding silos. Thermal bonding components (i.e. bico fibres) are added to the granulated mix, which enters the thermo bonding oven and subsequently the lap formair, producing a panel that can have different heights and material densities. This output material is then used for new mattresses, but in minor quantities is also employed for producing insulating panels and cushioning materials for vehicles or packaging.
Treatment capacity and sorting rates of the plant:
- Mattresses recycled: about 180 000 mattresses per year, foreseen 470 000 at full capacity (~ 10 000 t/year).
- Recovered materials: 4 500 t/year (93 % sorting rate).
Technical performance:
- Sanitisation process: 100 mattresses per cycle; 2.5 hours sanitisation time per cycle.
- Deconstruction process: from 400 to 600 mattresses per day (~ 10–12 t/day).
- Cutting and granulation of foam and latex: 600 kg/hour.
- Shredding of textiles (2 machines): 800 kg/hour.
- Chipping wood: 2 t/hour.
- Airlay line: 1 t/hour.
