Polyurethane Composites Recycling with Styrene-Acrylonitrile and Calcium Carbonate Recovery.

The glycolysis process of flexible polyurethane foams containing styrene-acrylonitrile and calcium carbonate as fillers was explored in detail. The use of DABCO as a catalyst allowed us to reduce the catalyst concentration and the polyurethane-to-glycol mass ratio to 0.1% and 1:1, respectively. The glycolysis process allowed us to obtain a high-purity polyol (99%), which can totally replace raw polyols in the synthesis of new flexible polyurethane foams, maintaining the standard mechanical properties of the original one and modifying the ratio of isocyanates employed to correct the closed cell structure caused by the impurities present in the recovered polyol. This isocyanate mixture was also optimized, resulting in a ratio of 30 and 70% of the isocyanates TDI80 and TDI65, respectively. Additionally, the fillers incorporated in the glycolyzed foams were recovered. Both recovered fillers, styrene-acrylonitrile and calcium carbonate, were fully characterized, showing a quality very similar to that of commercial compounds. Finally, the replacement of commercial fillers by the recovered ones in the synthesis of new polyurethane foams was studied, demonstrating the feasibility of using them in the synthesis of new foams without significantly altering their properties.

Recycling of Flexible Polyurethane Foam by Split-Phase Alcoholysis: Identification of Additives and Alcoholyzing Agents to Reach Higher Efficiencies.

Split-phase alcoholysis of flexible polyurethane (PU) foam yields an apolar phase containing the recycled polyether polyol, and a lower, polar phase of the alcoholyzing agent and aromatic compounds. However, multiple purification steps are required to render the polyether polyol suitable for synthesis of new flexible PU foams; the unfavorable mass balance limits industrial applications. In this work, 2-pyrrolidone was identified as a performant additive for accelerating the dissolution and depolymerization process. By applying a lactam to PU foam in a weight ratio of 0.1:1, the glycol to PU foam weight ratio can be decreased from 1.5:1 to only 0.5:1, without loss of purity or yield of the recycled polyether polyol. Diglycerol was discovered as a novel, promising alcoholyzing agent; it allows the recycling of the polyether polyol in high purity (97 %) and excellent yields (98 %), and after a single washing with diglycerol, a sufficiently low hydroxyl value (61 mgKOH g-1 ) is reached. The recycled polyether polyol can replace the virgin polyether polyol (48 mgKOH g-1 ) for up to 50 % in the synthesis of new flexible PU foams with effects on the foam quality that stay within the limits of generally accepted specifications. A first step towards the valorization of the lower phase was also taken by applying hydrolysis of the newly formed carbamates to toluenediamines, which are readily reintegrated in new PU foams.