INNOVATIONS | POLYURETHANES
conditions that can degrade polyurethane.” Polynspire is a four-year EU-sponsored project
that began in late 2018. Its title is “Demonstration of Innovative Technologies towards a more Efficient and Sustainable Plastic Recycling.” It is not devoted solely to polyurethanes. However, one of three technologies it is looking at is “chemical recycling assisted by microwaves and smart magnetic catalysts as a path to recover plastic monomers and valuable fillers (carbon or glass fibres).”
Above: Mattress recycling lines at RetourMatras in Zeeland, Netherlands
Transforming thermosets At the beginning of 2019, Belgian polyurethanes specialist Recticel announced the four-year PUReSmart project, supported by €6m in funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. Recticel says the PUReSmart collaborative
Above: Recycling and bonded foam production at RetourMatras in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands
ers from along the supply chain, as well as two academic organisations. Its aim is to develop new approaches for recycling PUR materials. One is ReUSE, a new form of granulation aimed
at in-house recycling of waste occurring at the manufacturer of PUR products. ReCYCLE is chemical recycling of post-consumer material. “End-of-life products consist of many different PUR types and ReCYCLE must be a platform which can handle as many of these types as possible,” says project leader Anders Lindhardt at the Danish Technological Institute. “ReCYCLE is focused on developing innovative and mild chemical reaction
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consortium gathers nine partners from six different countries and seeks ways of transitioning from the current linear lifecycle of polyurethane products to a circular economy model. The PUReSmart project will explore new methods, technologies and approaches in order to overcome challenges to recycling this thermosetting material and transform PUR into a true circular material. PUReSmart targets the recovery of over 90% of end-of-life PU with the goal of converting it into valuable inputs for new and known products. The project consortium plans to develop “smart” sorting technologies to separate a diverse range of PU materials into dedicated feedstocks. These feedstocks will be broken down into their basic components as inputs for existing PU products, and as raw materials for a newly designed polymer that merges the durability of thermosets with the circularity of thermoplastics. The PUReSmart consortium comprises industrial players and dedicated research partners. Members are Germany-headquartered Covestro, a world leader in production of polyols and isocyanates;
IMAGE: RETOURMATRAS
IMAGE: RETOURMATRAS
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