Abstract
The shredding of end-of-life refrigerators produces every year in Italy 15,000 tons of waste polyurethane foam (PUF), usually destined for energy recovery. This work presents the results of the investigation of the oil sorption potential of waste PUF according to ASTM F726–17 standard. Three oils (diesel fuel and two commercial motor oils) having different densities (respectively, 0.83, 0.87, and 0.88 kg/dm3) and viscosities (respectively, 3, 95, and 140 mm2/s at 40 °C) were considered. The waste PUF was sampled in an Italian e-waste treatment plant, and its characterization showed 16.5 wt% particles below 0.71 mm and 13 wt% impurities (paper, plastic, aluminum foil), mostly having dimensions (d) above 5 mm. Sieving at 0.071 mm was applied to the waste PUF to obtain a “coarse” (d > 0.71 mm) and a “fine” fraction (d < 0.71 mm). Second sieving at 5 mm allowed an “intermediate” fraction to be obtained, with dimensions between 0.71 and 5 mm. The oil sorption tests involved the three fractions of waste PUF, and their performances were compared with two commercial oil sorbents (sepiolite and OKO-PUR). The results of the tests showed that the “fine” PUF was able to retain 7.1–10.3 g oil/g, the “intermediate” PUF, 4.2–7.4 g oil/g, and the “coarse” PUF, 4.5–7.0 g oil/g, while sepiolite and OKO-PUR performed worse (respectively, 1.3–1.6 and 3.3–5.3 g oil/g). In conclusion, compared with the actual management of waste PUF (100 wt% sent to energy recovery), the amount destined directly to energy recovery could be limited to 13 wt% (i.e., the impurities). The remaining 87 wt% could be diverted to reuse for oil sorption, and afterward directed to energy recovery, considered as a secondary option.
Highlights
97,000 tons of waste temperature exchange equipment were collected in Italy in 2020, mostly consisting of end-of-life (EoL) refrigerators [1]
The idea at the base of this work was to obtain, in the same WEEE treatment plant producing the waste polyurethane foam (PUF), secondary PUF ready for a new life, which could be considered a by-product according to EU regulations (e.g., “destined for a use for which there is a market and without any harm for the environment and human health, after the application of processes common in the industrial practice”) instead of a waste
A simple sieving process performed on waste PUF with two-dimensional cuts (0.71 and 5 mm) allowed the impurities to be separated, while the rest could be diverted to reuse as an oil absorbent
Summary
97,000 tons of waste temperature exchange equipment were collected in Italy in 2020, mostly consisting of end-of-life (EoL) refrigerators [1]. This type of waste falls into category 1 of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE, or e-waste), as defined by the Directive 2012/19/EU [2]. After the Paris agreement, signed in 2015 by members of the United Nations on the reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the New Circular Economy Action Plan, stated in 2020 by the European Commission, WEEE management optimization become a strategic issue in urgent need of optimization. With the aim of exploring the potential perspectives for material recovery from waste PUF, the scientific and technical literature was surveyed according to the following two complementary points of view:
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