An overview of the CISUFLO project has been provided to Multilayer Modular Flooring Association (MMFA) members, an organization which represents the leading producers of flooring in Europe and their suppliers. It has been also explored the challenges tackled by CISUFLO.

1. CISUFLO
presentation
1 July 2021

2. Meeting Etiquette
• Participant’s can choose to active/deactivate their video.
• Please mute your microphone to avoid background noise.
• Participation is encouraged so:
• Use Chat to ask questions.
• Raise Hand to speak.

3. CISUFLO scope
Circular Sustainable Floor coverings
‘Laminate’
‘Vinyl’
‘Textile’

4. • Set-up a systemic framework for circular and sustainable floor covering
• Minimize the total environmental impact of the sector
• From linear to circular flow
CISUFLO main goals
Raw
materials
Flooring
producer
Installer
Client
(B2B, B2C)
Remover
Waste
collector
Energy
recovery
Flooring
Producers
Installer
Remover
Maintenance
Collector
Sorter
Separation
Recycling
Secondary
raw material
Primary raw
materials
Energy recovery

5. • Develop solutions for recycling current Floor Covering waste streams
(open or closed loop)
• Adapt the composition and manufacturing of current products to enable a
higher Recycled Content
• Design, manufacture and market novel flooring products and services,
that are fully fit for the circular economy
• Demonstration via pilots
CISUFLO key objectives

6. CISUFLO Pilots
Manufacturing Use phase End-of-Life
Pilot 1
‘Circular floor
covering’
Other sectors
WASTE:
incineration,
biodegradation
Shredding
Identification
& sorting
PolySep
process
Energy
recovery
Secondary
Raw materials
Other sectors
Sorted waste streams
enriched for specific
component
(wood, PA, PVC, PP, …)
Pilot 4
‘Laminate
Recycling’
Pilot 5
‘PVC Recycling’
Pilot 6
‘Circular carpet’
Main streams
Minor
streams
Cross-sectorials
streams
Pilot 3
‘Separation
’
Primary Raw
materials
Chart simplified from CISFULO
proposal
Pilot 2
‘Sorting’

7. • PILOT 1 – Manufacturing of CFC (at UNILIN, BIG, EDEL and MOGU)
Expected output: prototypes for the 3 flooring types (laminate, vinyl and textile), maximizing recycled content and recyclability,
including ‘tagging’.
• PILOT 2 – Sorting of flooring waste (CentexBel CTB)
Expected output: automated system for inline recognition of floor covering waste.
• PILOT 3 – Separation of material fractions from complex flooring waste (CentexBel CTB-
Polysep)
Expected output: batch type separation for complex flooring waste mixtures like PVC/glass fibre for resilient or PA/PET for textiles.
• PILOT 4 - Laminate flooring recycling (UNILIN)
Expected output: ‘defibring’ line for laminates.
• PILOT 5 - Vinyl flooring recycling (BIG)
Expected output: production of resilient flooring with increased recycled content, showing industrial symbiosis with construction
sector.
• PILOT 6 - Textile flooring recycling (PA carpets, EDEL, CWS, AQUA)
Expected output: demonstration of full circularity of PA carpets
6 Pilots

8. Implementation: 8 Work Packages
WP 5 Industrial Uptake
WP 8 Coordination
WP 4 Piloting circularity
WP 1 Technical
aspects
WP 2 Integrated
Product
Information System
WP 3 Socio-
economic aspects
WP
6
Sustainability
and
Economic
assessment
WP
7
Dissemination,
communication
&
exploitation
Take up phase
Pilot phase
Preparation
phase

9. Consortium

10. Transition Support Group

11. Transition Support Group

12. H2020 call text
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/ce-sc5-28-2020
• Develop and pilot circular systems in plastics, textiles and furniture sectors

13. • EUFCA presented a ‘call for action’ for this EC call at ECP4 event
• Interested in call because of:
▪ ‘Systemic approach’, involvement of ‘all stakeholders’
▪ Floor coverings, covers, textile and plastics and furniture
• Centexbel and TNO responded and worked out proposal
Background for CISUFLO

14. • Provide an umbrella / a framework for past (& coming) projects on
‘circular flooring products’
• Examples of past/running projects:
▪ ECOMETEX: Design approaches for circular carpet constructions,
e.g. via mono-material and via easy-to-separate materials.
▪ REMADYL: Recycling of PVC, identification of legacy additives (Pb and plasticizers),
removal of legacy additives (using extractive extrusion processes and melt filtration
techniques).
▪ CIRCULARFLOORING: recovery of PVC from post-consumer PVC floor coverings
and separation of legacy plasticizers to create recycled material for new PVC floor
coverings.
• These projects cover only a (small) part or a specific aspect
of the (circular) value chain
Motivation for CISUFLO

15. Why Centexbel as coordinator
• And the collaboration with EuFCA
Centexbel
Collective research and
technical centre
Focus on ‘Textiles’ and
‘Plastics’
Membership organisation
180 collaborators - 3 sites
Research and Innovation
Strategy
Close to industry:
▪ Needs
▪ Opportunities
Sustainability:
▪ Resource efficiency
▪ Recycling materials
▪ Biopolymers (industrial
implementation)
Our activities

16. • Call: H2020-SC5-28-2020
• Type of action: IA - Innovation action
• Grant Agreement: 101003893
• Total budget: € 9,03 mio
• EC funding: € 7,69 mio
• Starting date: June 1, 2021
• Duration: 48 months
• Coordinator: Centexbel
Project data & ackowledment
This project has received funding from the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme
under grant agreement No 101003893.

17. Why is CISUFLO relevant?
“There is no more urgent need for acceleration than when
it comes to the future of our fragile planet.
Our current levels of consumption of raw materials,
energy, water, food and land use are not sustainable.
We need to change how we treat nature, how we produce
and consume, live and work, eat and heat, travel and
transport.
It is about making systemic modernisation across our
economy, society and industry. It is about building a
stronger world to live in.”
State of the Union 2020

18. Challenges in flooring
• Complex value chains and
linked to various other sectors
• Multiple product types and raw
materials
• Lengthy product lifetimes
Introduce RC
Design for recycling
Product information system
Circular business models Adapt processes where necessary
LCA
Techno-economic assessment
Automated sorting system
Seperation system
Industry
wide
uptake
• Vinyl flooring
Laminate flooring
Textile flooring
• Demonstration via pilots

19. • PILOT 1 – Manufacturing of CFC (at UNILIN, BIG, EDEL and MOGU)
Expected output: prototypes for the 3 flooring types (laminate, vinyl and textile), maximizing recycled content and recyclability, including ‘tagging’.
• PILOT 2 – Sorting of flooring waste (CentexBel CTB)
Expected output: automated system for inline recognition of floor covering waste.
• PILOT 3 – Separation of material fractions from complex flooring waste (CentexBel CTB - Polysep)
Expected output: batch type separation for complex flooring waste mixtures like PVC/glass fibre for resilient or PA/PET for textiles.
• PILOT 4 - Laminate flooring recycling (UNILIN)
Expected output: ‘defibring’ line for laminates.
• PILOT 5 - Vinyl flooring recycling (BIG)
Expected output: production of resilient flooring with increased recycled content, showing industrial symbiosis with construction sector.
• PILOT 6 - Textile flooring recycling (PA carpets, EDEL, CWS, AQUA)
Expected output: demonstration of full circularity of PA carpets
4 pilots for vinyl floorcoverings

20. • PILOT 1 – Manufacturing of CFC (at UNILIN, BIG, EDEL and MOGU)
Expected output: prototypes for the 3 flooring types (laminate, vinyl and textile), maximizing recycled content and recyclability, including ‘tagging’.
• PILOT 2 – Sorting of flooring waste (CentexBel CTB)
Expected output: automated system for inline recognition of floor covering waste.
• PILOT 3 – Separation of material fractions from complex flooring waste (CentexBel CTB - Polysep)
Expected output: batch type separation for complex flooring waste mixtures like PVC/glass fibre for resilient or PA/PET for textiles.
• PILOT 4 - Laminate flooring recycling (UNILIN)
Expected output: ‘defibring’ line for laminates.
• PILOT 5 - Vinyl flooring recycling (BIG)
Expected output: production of resilient flooring with increased recycled content, showing industrial symbiosis with construction sector.
• PILOT 6 - Textile flooring recycling (PA carpets, EDEL, CWS, AQUA)
Expected output: demonstration of full circularity of PA carpets
4 pilots for vinyl floorcoverings

21. MMFA - Multilayer Modular Flooring Association
maximize recycled content and
recyclability, include ‘tagging’
automated system for inline recognition of floor covering waste
separation for complex flooring waste mixtures
production of resilient flooring
with increased recycled
content, showing industrial
symbiosis with construction
sector

22. MMFA - Multilayer Modular Flooring Association
M1: Pilot requirements collected. 1st dissemination campaign.
M2: First CFC guidelines available. Start of Pilot 1 activities.
M3: Start of Pilots 2, 3, 4 & 5.
M4: Best practice CFC guidelines available. Start of Pilot 6 and of 'Take up'
events.
M5: Pilot 1 finished. LCA & TEA info. Start of
tailoring circular business plans.
M6: Handover for
‘beyond’ CISUFLO

23. • Develop a prototype for Vinyl floorings with high RC and high recyclability,
including tagging (WP1 – pilot 1).
• Upscale the concept (WP4 – pilot 5).
• Show industrial symbiosis with the construction sector by cooperating with
partner Deceuninck on PVC recycling (window frames)
B.I.G.s main tasks

24. • Can we introduce recycled PVC in coated CV products in a stable,
consistent way at high recycled content?
• Can we increase recycled PVC content in LVT further?
• Can we include recycled PVC from other sectors such as construction?
• Can we redesign the product for increased recyclability and increased
recycled content?
• Can we close the loop in CV and LVT flooring?
• What tagging methods are feasible for CV and LVT?
A lot of open questions

25. • Fully equipped testing laboratories
• Lab equipment for prototype development
• CV and LVT manufacturing lines to pilot increased RC and integrate tagging
• R&D team & knowledge in CV and LVT manufacturing
• LCA team & knowledge
• Membership of MMFA, ERFMI, EUFCA…
B.I.G. is committed to utilize

26. CISUFLO won’t tackle
• Legacy additives (other projects: Remadyl, Circular Flooring …)
CISUFLO will tackle
• Automated sorting
• Separation of complex flooring constructions
• Guidelines for circular flooring
• Guidelines for product tagging and passports
• Closed loop and open loop circular systems
• Circular business models and systemic transition support
Conclusion

27. CISUFLO is
• An ambitious project spanning the whole value chain
• An opportunity to become circular and to collaborate within our sector
• An opportunity to collaborate cross-sector
Conclusion

28. Femke Faelens
RED Project Manager Sustainability
femke.faelens@bintg.com
+32 471 93 12 61
CISUFLO contact persons within
B.I.G.

29. THANK YOU
info@eufca.org
info@mmfa.eu
femke.faelens@bintg.com
gbu@centexbel.be
ivi@centexbel.be