Chemical recycling of flexible polyurethane foams by aminolysis to recover high-quality polyols

Grdadolnik, Maja (author), Zdovc, Blaž (author), Drinčić, Ana (author), Önder, Özgün Can (author), Utroša, Petra (author), Garcia Ramos, Susana (author), Dominguez Ramos, Enrique (author), Pahovnik, David (author), Žagar, Ema (author)

Polyurethane foams (PUFs) are widely used commodity materials, but most of them end up in landfills at the end of their life, which is not in line with the circular economy approach. Here, we introduce microwave-assisted aminolysis with amine reagents that contain primary and tertiary amino groups in the structure. These reagents enable complete degradation of the urethane groups in the structure of the flexible PUFs with a much lower amount of degradation reagent than is typically required for solvolysis reactions. The purified, recovered polyols are close equivalents to the corresponding virgin polyols in terms of their structural and molar mass characteristics. Therefore, they can be used for the production of high-quality PUFs without having to adapt the synthesis process. The flexible PUFs made from recovered polyols have comparable mechanical properties to those made from virgin polyols.

• Language: English
• Keywords: sustainable chemistry, waste prevention, chemical recycling, aminolysis, flexible polyurethane foam, microwave chemistry, degradation, mixtures, polyols, reagents, substitution reactions
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FKKT - Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: Str. 10864–10873
• Numbering: Vol. 11, iss. 29
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-152637
• UDC: 620.1/.2
• ISSN on article: 2168-0485
• DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c02311
• COBISS.SI-ID: 158950403
• Publication date in RUL: 01.12.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering
• Shortened title: ACS sustain. chem. & eng.
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• ISSN: 2168-0485
• COBISS.SI-ID: 519846169

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: materiali, poliuretanske pene, odlagališča, razgradnja, odpadki

Projects

• Funder: EC - European Commission
• Funding programme: H2020
• Project number: 820665
• Name: Demonstration of Innovative Technologies towards a More Efficient and Sustainable Plastic Recycling
• Acronym: POLYNSPIRE

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P2-0145
• Name: Polimeri in polimerni materiali s posebnimi lastnostmi