Design and development of fully recyclable automotive seat cover

The aim of this thesis was to develop a fully recyclable automotive seat cover without the need for any sorting. In addition to the upholstery fabric, seat covers consist of many components such as plastic profiles, metal wires, sewing thread, metal wire assembly fabric and zipper. Long research and preliminary study were carried out in order to develop automotive seat cover components that can replace the currently used ones. In this study, all the seat cover components were designed using polyethylene terephthalate polymer, which is suitable for recycling because of its thermoplastic structure. Twenty automotive seat cover upholstery fabrics were produced using alternative lamination methods and materials for seat cover application. Five upholstery fabrics produced by using conventional methods were also added to the study for to make a comparison. All the fabrics were tested according to the specified automotive standards. As a result of the tests, 4 fabrics that meet the specifications with low cost were selected to produce 2 different automobile seat covers. The test results showed that both of the seat covers fulfill the specified automotive specifications and requirements. One of the most remarkable aspects of this thesis is commercialization of the novel and environmentally friendly automotive seat covers developed as a result of this study. The seat covers were included to a new project by one of the most important automotive companies in the world, and commercialization studies have started.