Methods for the Recycling of Polyurethane and Polyurethane Composites

摘要

Product specific applications for polyurethane have become so diverse in recent years that the wide range of products being manufactured from this extremely versatile raw material is simply overwhelming. The chemical cross-linking that occurs at the micro cellular level during the formation of polyurethane will in most cases generate certain strategic advantages and superior material properties over the vast majority of available thermoplastics and other materials. These same advantages, which are to some extent based on the chemical cross-linking, have traditionally presented obstacles in terms of the materials' environmental friendliness and have challenged the potential to recycle polyurethane effectively. Several new developments in recent years have lead to more viable recycling technologies for a wide range of polyurethane types and products. Aside from any such methods that involve the recycling of polyurethane through chemical means, several technologies based on the mechanical recycling of polyurethane and polyurethane composites have made considerable advances in recent years. These new technologies, among with some of the more traditional methods, are described in further detail in this technical paper.