Advantages of recycled Polyurethane

One of my LinkedIn contacts shared an interesting article from IPUR (Rigid Polyurethane Industry Association in Spain). This association was founded in 2003, under the mission of promoting this product in thermal isolation applications.

The document was about recycling polyurethane. If you are one of my frequent readers, you already know my concerns about environmental sustainability and circular economy, so although our application is as a glue or coating and not for rigid foaming applications I will reproduce and share some of their ideas about this issue and maybe there is some potential for crossed innovations that could be also applied to our safety surfacing business.

Polyurethanes are very versatile and safe and can be used in a lot of applications for consumer and industrial products that never stop increasing.

Now that we are in what, I hope, will be the end of a health pandemic, it should be noted that polyurethanes are also commonly used in medical applications, including catheters and tubing products in general, hospital bedding, surgical drapes, dressings for wounds, as well as a wide variety of injection moulded devices. Today’s polyurethanes have been formulated to provide good biocompatibility, allowing even to manufacture artificial hearts, intra-aortic balloon pumps, dialysis devices and a lot of other medical implants and devices.

Polyurethane is a material obtained from the chemical reaction of two elements (polyol and isocyanate). One of the main uses is as insulation in new construction and rehabilitation, which is done in situ by projection or by casting to apply it to walls, facades, floors, roofs, and ceilings. It can also be used in PU sheet or sandwich panel format. In addition, polyurethane is present in everyday life in multiple situations, given its versatility, resistance, and durability.

Can polyurethane be recycled?

Yes, polyurethane is 100% recyclable, as is polyurethane foam. In fact, waste can be recycled in various ways to give it a new life. They are too valuable to end up in landfill, so they are ground and processed to produce other insulation products or to recover the energy they contain.

What uses can be given to recycled polyurethane?

One of the applications given to foam is to produce high-density panels and profiles, widely used to replace wood and its conglomerate. The advantage is that polyurethane resists mildew and is rot-proof, which is why it is also used in bathroom and kitchen furniture, boats, trains, and trucks.

The waste is also used to manufacture other insulation products, especially thermal and acoustic to apply to floors. In addition, they can be transformed into packaging material for the polyurethane insulation products themselves. Other alternatives could also be developed, such as the manufacture of floors for schoolyards among others.

Much of the raw material to manufacture polyurethane foam comes from chemical recycling of waste. This process consists of the chemical conversion of polyurethanes to produce polyols, to generate new applications. Moreover, about 30% of the polyols used in polyurethane foam come from this recycling, keeping their performance intact.

If neither of these options is feasible, the alternative is energy recovery in a sustainable way. Polyurethane contains a significant amount of energy, which is why it is very useful in incinerators that produce electricity, and to generate heat in buildings and in industrial processes. This solution is applicable even for waste contaminated by other materials.

Benefits of using recycled polyurethane

The most important advantage is for the environment. Recycling polyurethane saves on raw materials, waste, CO2 emissions and energy costs. In addition, it represents significant economic savings.

The use of recycled polyurethane is one more example of why this material is environmentally friendly. It helps to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, which means energy and emissions savings. On the other hand, its great durability, the transport savings implied by its lightness and its good handling, result in a low carbon footprint throughout its useful life.

Take care

References:

Sobre IPUR