Towards Circular Economy: Different Strategies for Polyurethane Waste Recycling and the Obtaining of New Products

Lorena Ugarte,Itziar Gonzalez-Gurrutxaga,Oihane Etxeberria,Cristina Peña-Rodriguez,Maria Angeles Corcuera,Tamara Calvo-Correas,Arantxa Eceiza

doi:10.3390/proceedings2231490

Lorena Ugarte, Itziar Gonzalez-Gurrutxaga + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2231490

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Abstract

As a consequence of the high production and simultaneous consumption of polyurethanes (PU) a great volume of PU waste is landfilled. In this scenario, suitable and efficient routes for PU waste recycling have been searched for many years. In this work two series of PUs using different recycled PU sources were synthesized: a thermoplastic PU series using a glycolysated polyol obtained from the glycolysis of elastomeric PU waste (chemical recycling) and a PU flexible foam series loaded with PU dust waste created in the shaping of PU surf tables (mechanical recycling). Results showed that the incorporation of recycled components in the formulation improved mechanical properties both in the case of thermoplastic polyurethanes and polyurethane foams. The optimum glycolysated polyol was fixed in 15% over the total polyol weight for thermoplastic PUs. In the case of foams, a maximum of 20% PU dust over the polyol weight was incorporated.

Highlights

Global demand of polyurethane (PU) products reached 15 million tons in 2013 and it is expected to reach 22 million tons in 2020
Sources: a thermoplastic PU series using a glycolysated polyol obtained from the glycolysis of elastomeric PU waste [4] and a PU flexible foam series loaded with PU dust waste created in the shaping of PU surf tables
When comparing the spectra of poly(ethylene-butylene adipate) diol (PEBA) and Gly, the presence of OH groups was identified at around 3500 cm−1 in both polyols

Summary

Introduction

Global demand of polyurethane (PU) products reached 15 million tons in 2013 and it is expected to reach 22 million tons in 2020. As a consequence of the high production and simultaneous consumption of these materials, a great volume of PU waste is landfilled. In this scenario, suitable and efficient routes for PU waste recycling have been searched for many years. Recycling techniques can be classified as primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary. Concerning chemical recycling of polyurethanes, glycolysis is one of the most studied techniques [1]. It consists on a transesterification reaction implying an exchange of the ester group of the urethane by the hydroxyl group of a glycol, Proceedings 2018, 2, 1490; doi:10.3390/proceedings2231490 www.mdpi.com/journal/proceedings

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