Abstract
In the European Union, the demand for polyurethane is continually growing. In 2017, the estimated value of polyurethane production was 700,400 Tn, of which 27.3% is taken to landfill, which causes an environmental problem. In this paper, the behaviour of various polyurethane foams from the waste of different types of industries will be analyzed with the aim of assessing their potential use in construction materials. To achieve this, the wastes were chemically tested by means of CHNS, TGA, and leaching tests. They were tested microstructurally by means of SEM. The processing parameters of the waste was calculated after identifying its granulometry and its physical properties i.e., density and water absorption capacity. In addition, the possibility of incorporating these wastes in plaster matrices was studied by determining their rendering in an operational context, finding out their mechanical resistance to flexion and compression at seven days, their reaction to fire as well as their weight per unit of area, and their thermal behaviour. The results show that in all cases, the waste is inert and does not undergo leaching. The generation process of the waste determines the foam’s microstructure in addition to its physical-chemical properties, which directly affect building materials in which they are included, thus offering different ways in which they can be applied.
Highlights
According to the latest report published by Plastic Europe-the Facts 2017 [1], the demand for plastic in Europe in 2016 was 49.9 MTn, 3.1% higher as regards to 2014
In order to determine the viability of using polyurethane waste cells and outline the possibility of its use in new building materials, five types of wastes were selected from different industries and chemical characterization tests were carried out using elemental analysis (CHNS), thermal gravimetric analysis and waste leaching test
As regards foams that come from scrapped vehicle seats (SG), it can contain metals linked to elements from the actual seat such as copper or aluminium, which will later be identified in the scanning electron microscopy test
Summary
According to the latest report published by Plastic Europe-the Facts 2017 [1], the demand for plastic in Europe in 2016 was 49.9 MTn, 3.1% higher as regards to 2014. Of this demand, 7.5% is polyurethane, which implied an annual demand of 3.78 MTn in 2017. Of the 2.62 MTn of PU foam, approximately 27%. The majority of polyurethane products such as low- and high-density foam are thermostable [2]. As regards recovery techniques based on incineration in order to regain energy, there are environmental disadvantages due to the emission of atmospheric
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