We claim:
1. A sustainable pallet for industrial supply chains and logistics operations, wherein the
pallet comprises crumb rubber (recycled rubber) as a primary or partial material in
combination with sawdust and/or wood, wherein the crumb rubber is derived from
recycled waste tyres and is processed into granules or powder for forming pallet
components.
2. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the crumb rubber is combined with binders/additives
selected from the group consisting of methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) /
diphenylmethane diisocyanate, epoxy resins, or other polymer-forming compounds .
3. The pallet of claim 1, wherein optionally other elastomeric materials selected from the
group consisting of EPDM, TPE, polyurethane rubber, silicone rubber, butyl rubber,
natural rubber, and recycled rubber materials is used in place of or in combination with
crumb rubber.
4. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the sawdust is mixed with crumb rubber granules and/or
powder in a proportion of 0% to 20%.
5. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the pallet is a four-way entry pallet having a combination
of crumb rubber-based blocks and wooden deckboards.
6. The pallet of claim 2, wherein MDI is pre-polymerized or chemically modified to adjust
reactivity, viscosity, or mechanical properties.
7. The pallet of claim 2, wherein the Polyurethane-based binders used in the invention
are formed by the reaction of MDI with one or more polyols.
8. The pallet of claim 2, wherein the binder formulation may also include additional
additives or curatives.
9. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the pallet comprises at least one of the following
configurations:
a. all components made entirely of crumb rubber.
b. leadboards, center deckboards, and blocks made of crumb rubber, while the
remaining components are wooden.
c. only supporting blocks made of crumb rubber, while the remaining components are
wooden.
d. leadboards and center deckboards made of crumb rubber, with wooden blocks and
other components.
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e. any combination where crumb rubber constitutes more than 0% and less than
100% of the material composition.
10. A method for manufacturing a sustainable pallet as claimed in claim 1, comprising the
steps of:
a. collecting and sorting used tyres;
b. shredding tyres into smaller pieces;
c. granulating tyre pieces into crumb rubber of desired particle size;
d. removing metal components using a magnetic separator;
e. mixing crumb rubber with binders to form a composition;
f. compression molding the crumb rubber composition into pallet components such
as deckboards, leadboards, or blocks;
g. assembling the pallet by fastening the crumb rubber-based components with
wooden components, if any, using nails or adhesives;
h. curing and cooling the assembled pallet for structural stability.
11. The method of claim 5, wherein the crumb rubber undergoes an additional cryogenic
grinding step to achieve finer particle sizes for enhanced bonding and structural
integrity.
12.The pallet of claim 1, wherein the pallet has the strength, durability, tenacity and other
features required for its intended use and also can withstands extreme weather
conditions ranging from -18°C to +55°C without any deformation.