What is it about?
This book chapter examines how polyurethane (PU) materials — widely used for polyurethane foams in mattresses, insulation, cushions, and car seats — can be made more sustainable. Currently, polyurethanes are difficult to recycle because of their chemical structure and often end up in landfills or incinerators. The chapter explores design principles to make PUs more easily recyclable or reusable, including approaches that use renewable carbon sources or even captured carbon dioxide to produce new materials. It covers different circular strategies, such as mechanical processing, chemical breakdown, and designing special connectors in PUs that allow the materials to be taken apart on demand. Overall, it explores strategies to shift plastics production and recycling toward a more circular carbon system, helping to cut waste and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
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Why is it important?
Polyurethanes are essential in modern society because of their versatility and performance, but their durability also makes them difficult to recycle, contributing to persistent waste and climate impacts. By proposing design principles and recycling pathways that enable easier reuse, this chapter supports a critical transition toward a circular carbon economy for plastics. Using renewable feedstocks and captured carbon dioxide to manufacture new PUs can help reduce the reliance on fossil resources, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and limit plastic pollution. These strategies are timely and could make a significant impact on making polyurethane production more climate-friendly and sustainable.
Perspectives
Prof. Weidner from Fraunhofer UMSICHT invited me to contribute to this handbook chapter, and I gladly accepted. It gave me the opportunity to dive deeply into topics we pursued during my time at Covestro. That was a great time, filled with innovation and collaboration, and I am glad to see many of the concepts we developed back then now being realized.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Ernst Müller
Ruhr-Universitat Bochum
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Green Approaches to Polyurethane Sourcing and Carbon Management, January 2025, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-66209-6_12.
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