Summary:
Plastic production is increasing globally reaching 390,7 Mt in 2021. Most of the plastics are used in low value applications were after a short period of time are disposed, contributing to the problem of plastic waste. Chemical recycling to monomer is one of the most promising technologies for the end of life of discarded plastic products. This approach enables to obtain the original monomer that can be infinitely recycled obtaining new polymer with the same physical properties. The European funded PolyRec project will design polyurethanes that can be chemically recycled and that show good physical properties.
Objective:
Since the development of the first fully synthetic plastics at the beginning of the 20th century, these materials have become ubiquitous in our daily life. Today’s plastics are designed for performance, cost, durability, and disposability without taking into consideration their recyclability. Thus, the plastic waste problem is one of the most challenging objectives of the European Union.
Among different polymer families polyurethanes are one of the most versatile. By selecting the appropriate monomers materials with a wide range of physical properties can be obtained. The main advantages of polyurethanes are the durability, toughness and excellent chemical resistance. Thus, polyurethanes are used in a wide range of applications such as building and construction. transport, furniture and bedding, coatings etc.
Conventional polyurethanes are prepared by step-growth polymerization employing diisocyanates and diols or polyols. However, once they reach their end of life they are difficult to recycle. Thus, in this project PolyRec, chemically recyclable polyurethanes will be designed that show a good physical performance and thus, can compete with conventional polyurethanes that are used nowadays in the market.
