Abstract
Due to their versatility, polyurethane (PU) foams have many different applications, such as sponges, filling materials in furniture, automotive seats and clothes, among others. It is also one of the main refrigerator components serving as a heat insulating material. As PUs find different application niches, they must be largely produced and, consequently, lots of waste are generated. In this work we intend to contribute to the recycle of this waste. The recovery of polyol from flexible polyurethane foams was carried out using the glycolysis process and testing different catalysts. Grounded polyurethane and a solvent, diethyleneglycol (DEG), were kept at 200 °C and under nitrogen atmosphere during three hours in the presence of a catalyst. All catalysts tested promoted the polyol mixture formation, with Zinc acetate producing the best depolymerization rate. The catalysts efficiency for the depolymerization reaction follows the order: DBTDL< BTO< HBTO< DEA ≈ Ba(Ac) 2 < MEA ≈ KAc< Zn(Ac) 2 .
Highlights
O materials in furniture, automotive seats and clothes, among others
Aiming to find the best depolymerization reaction conditions, it was initially carried out a reaction without catalyst (Table 1, entry 1) and reactions using well-known catalysts, such as MEA[1,13] (Table 1, entry 2,3 and 4) and DEA[1,13] (Table 1, entry 5) were performed
The activity order of the transesterification reaction obtained for polyurethane degradation is in agreement with the results reported in the literature for different metallic complexes in the transesterification reaction[15]
Summary
O materials in furniture, automotive seats and clothes, among others. It is one of the main refrigerator components serving as a heat insulating material. The recovery of polyol from flexible polyurethane foams was carried out using the glycolysis process and testing different catalysts. The main objectives of this work are the recovery as a heat insulating material[3,4] In this scenario, is clear of the polyol from flexible polyurethane foams and that the quantity of polyurethane waste is increasing and the use of different catalysts in the glycolysis process recycling has become an urgent and important issue[5]. The commercial PU foam is, the case of polyurethane foams, due their crosslinked structure, adequate processes to treating this residue typically, obtained by the polymerization reaction between a polyol and an isocyanate accompanied by the expansion
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