Linear economy is a process which has been normalized through several decades, it consists in turning natural resources into products that are taken for disposal once they are not useful anymore, or, can they still be usable in a proper way? It depends on the action that follows. By taking initiatives as recycling and reusing, the social and environmental impact decreases. Reducing the consumption and, therefore, the generation of waste is also another alternative. These actions are fundamental premises of the circular economy.
Many organizations and companies all around the European Union are concerned about providing solutions regarding the issue. The PUReSmart project aims to change and improve the current polyurethane lifecycle through applicable methods that will transform the component into a more sustainable material. Polyurethane (PU) is a thermoset polymer, therefore, PU foams such as mattresses and upholstery are extremely difficult to recycle, in fact, most of them are sent to landfills or to incineration plants with energy recuperation, little is recycled mechanically. The PUReSmartproject rises to the challenge of implementing technologies focused on an efficient chemical recycling process.
This is only possible due to a consortium constituted by nine members from six European countries that will be developing smart sorting technologies to separate EoL PU materials in order to create new PU products. The most competent companies in the field are taking care, each institution contributes in a different way, REDWAVE is the part in charge of providing automated sorting solutions in order to recover PU foams from waste streams, in this way, the demand for raw materials and waste is reduced.
The smart sorting strategy will last four years during which partners will be working together with the final goal being to recover 90% of the end-of-life PU material.The investment of 6 million Euros is funded by the European Union within the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program.
Katharina Ander, member of REDWAVE’s R&D team, explains that “Within the PUReSmart project we are testing different sensors to find the best solution to differentiate the PU foams. Thanks to the broad chemical knowledge of the consortium, we have a solid database. At the end of the project, our technology will be able to sort the end-of-life PU foams into different fractions. These fractions will subsequently be fed to either chemical or mechanical recycling processes. And of course, we are aiming high: Despite the large volume of the foams, we want to be able to handle high feed rates to make PU recycling economically feasible.”