Conversion of polyurethane technological foam waste and post-consumer polyurethane mattresses into polyols – industrial applications

Abstract

Researches were carried out to determine the possibility of reusing polyols produced in the chemical recycling process of polyurethane (PUR) foam technological waste and post-consumer mattresses for the production of mattresses and thermal insulation panels. It was found that such PUR waste can be converted into repolyol by similar processes that are currently used at Dendro Poland LTD Sp. z o.o. The mixture containing repolyols was used to produce rigid and flexible polyurethane-polyisocyanurate (PUR-PIR) foams. It was found that a mixture of polyols containing up to 50 wt % of repolyols can be used in the production of flexible PUR-PIR foams. The most suitable application for recycled polyol from post-consumer foam waste was identified as rigid PUR-PIR foam for thermal insulation. The produced rigid foams showed good performance in the foaming process, foam structure and dimensional stability. The practical application of chemical recycling of post-consumer mattresses is of great environmental importance and, additionally, the obtained repolyol is cheaper than the standard polyol.