Recycling and Disposal Methods for Polyurethane Foam Wastes

TLDR

Polyurethane foam waste is abundant, and disposal options include landfill, incineration, and recycling. The study compares disposal methods and concludes that recycling is the most desirable option. Physical recycling is effective short‑term, chemical recycling is currently impractical for large‑scale production, and future recovery utilization is the ultimate goal.

Abstract

With the wide application of polyurethane foam materials, a large number of polyurethane foam wastes need to be disposed. There are mainly three types of disposal technology, landfill, incineration and recycling in the world. In this paper, through comprehensive comparison, recycling is the most desirable way. Physical recycling method, due to the simple operation and relatively active application, in the short term is an effective means. Chemical recycling method, due to its higher technical difficulty, is difficult to realize large-scale industrialized production in the short term. And in the future, recovery utilization is the ultimate method.