RECOVERY OF POLYOL FROM FLEXIBLE POLYURETHANE FOAM WASTES

Economic pressures and environmental issues make plastics recovery and recycling processes important. This work sought to determine a suitable technique for the recovery of polyol from commercial flexible polyurethane waste and to optimise this process in terms of product quality and yield. In particular, the recovered polyol had to be suitable for re-introduction to the existing formulation as a partial or total replacement for virgin material. Possible techniques, such as glycolysis, hydroglycolysis, aminolysis, and a lactam melt process were examined on the laboratory scale. It was found that hydroglycolysis provided a pathway by which a high quality polyol could be regenerated. The recycled polyol as used to produce polyurethane foam with physical properties similar to the parent foam.