There are a lot of old mattresses, sofas, cushions and upholstered chairs around the world. And that's before we start thinking about automotive upholstery. For every new polyurethane foam mattress sold there is a mattress that has to be disposed of. All of which is pretty obvious. But it raises the question, in Europe at least: What are we going to do with the things when we throw them away? On a theoretical and semi-commercial level, there's quite a lot that can be done with old flexible polyurethane. It can be reduced to a polyol-based mixture by acidolysis; alternatively it can be converted to synthesis gas and used as a chemical feedstock. It can be composted or ground up, chopped up and rebounded into carpet underlay. As a last resort, it can be burned for power.
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