Environmental problems faced by the hottest polyur

Environmental problems faced by polyurethane foam production

environmental problems faced by polyurethane foam production

July 10, 2018

[China paint information]

Technical foam services, an independent foam processing agency based in Corby, recognizes the potential of new materials and production technology, and is very important in enhancing foam industrial environment. At the same time, the company believes that it is necessary to reduce the impact of the foam industry on the environment in the next decade

after 25 years of market supply, technology foam service company cooperates with suppliers and customers to develop and produce innovative products and high-quality products

Duncan Geddes, general manager of the company, explained how the foam came into being, "The actual impact of foam production on the environment is very small. Addworksatr146 has been proved to have superior thermal stability when applied to TPO compounds. The reaction does not produce combustible gases, which is actually a fairly clean process. The only significant impact on the environment is the energy consumed by the foaming production line, as far as polyethylene foam and rubber are concerned.

unlike other facilities, the resistance to the construction of a foaming plant is small. For example, the foaming plant in Fritz nauer, Switzerland, is located in the center of a beautiful Swiss town, without environmental concerns. There is also a polyethylene foaming plant in Croydon, London, surrounded by houses. Therefore, in addition to ensuring the safe storage of chemicals, the manufacture of foam itself has no major impact on the environment. Foam is not biodegradable. "

foam recovery

"A foaming factory produces 60 cubic meters of first-class foam, and most of the time, there may be another cubic meters of foam that changes color, or has the wrong size or poor pore structure. The foam industry is now very good at not waving. 5. Comprehensive protection: 6-sided totally enclosed protection fees for these foam. It is taken away and turned into particles in the factory. Foam processing also does the same thing, for example, crumbs and leftover materials will be ground into particles and then made into carpet bottoms Lining

"until a few years ago, all our wastes that cannot be made into particles, such as foam dust and foamed plastics laminated to other materials, were sent to landfills. Now we send these wastes to incineration plants to generate energy, which means that we will not send any wastes to landfills."

"I think 90% of the waste from foam producers and processors will actually be reused."

"foam is a unique material. If you don't use it, what will you use? When you see sofas, mattresses and sponges, what else is there besides foam? Especially polyurethane. In the furniture industry, there are spring mattresses, but this has relatively higher performance requirements. In terms of cleaning, some people may use cloth, but people will choose foam, because it is the preferred material."

in terms of reuse, he pointed out, "The actual cost and logistics cost of returning foam to the factory are quite high. Handling waste materials around the world will produce a huge carbon footprint, making the actual cost of products higher, and usually the quality is not as good as using raw materials. This is why recycled foam is not used for retail products.

"For example, a local company produces packaging substrates. Their trucks transport products to retailers across Europe, and then empty trucks will go to a nearby processing plant to recycle waste foam. This is a huge carbon footprint, but they do their best to maintain efficiency."

in terms of consumer expectations, he explained that foam is not biodegradable, because the design hopes it will last. The main market and driving force of polyurethane is furniture - mattresses and cushions, followed by domestic sponges and auto parts. Now, if people buy bed mats, they want foam to last and maintain its physical properties for as long as possible. This is true of all such markets

"The difficulty faced by the foam industry is the public's view of foam. Once the foam reaches the end of its service life, because foam is a quite large product, it is a difficult problem for the foam industry if people no longer use the mattresses, cushions and sofas they have. They cannot sell foam that is naturally degraded, because it will affect the quality of finished products. Foam is designed for use for as long as possible Made, which means that when the product reaches the end of its life, the problem comes

waste reduction

geddes said: "In terms of production technology, the company has always hoped to reduce the waste generated. Another reason for internal testing is to improve the process to control the amount of foam. For this reason, we have studied different cutting and processing technologies. For example, if we want to cut two circular foam, we always hope to reduce the gap between these foam sheets and the space around foam sheets.

we now have laser jet cutting and water jet cutting, and these Ten years ago, it could not have been done by our own company. By investing in more modern and efficient processing technologies, we can reduce the amount of waste foam we produce. The cost of implementing new technologies may be high and there will be no great return in terms of production capacity, but waste can be reduced by reducing waste

he said: "energy recovery should be the key to avoiding landfill. Any intentional processor should use waste to generate energy. We have a warranty with local waste treatment companies: the warranty is for 1 year to ensure that we do not have waste to be landfilled. In my opinion, manufacturers and processors should establish close working relations with these companies, which is what we do."

"every foam company ensures that the waste will not be landfilled and will be reused in some way." It must be an important part of the philosophy of every foam company. "

geddes said, "in the future, environmental sustainability is the top priority of the industry. I know that there are always negotiations between chemical plants and foam manufacturers to explore how to make their chemicals more environmentally friendly.

"In recent years, the industry has been focusing on injecting foam to make it more durable and clean. For example, because silver is antibacterial, sometimes silver tablets are put into foam. Manufacturers have been looking for ways to make foam cleaner and more durable."

"We all want foam to be cleaner, but it is driven by people's financial expectations. Unfortunately, foam is considered disposable. People tend to buy sponges for cleaning as cheaply as possible because they know they will soon throw them away. Although, because bath sponges feel better, people will spend more money. But people will not spend more money because products will keep cleaning longer.

"A considerable challenge is how to deal with the polluted foam that cannot be reused." For the use of local sponge puffs, end users usually throw these products into the dustbin, and then throw them into the landfill. Many people now have special recycling cards and plastic recycling bins, but none of them are used for foam. Maybe this will also be a matter of concern in the future. Foam that cannot be reused can be burned to generate energy and reduce the number of landfills. He stressed that there was still work to be done. "These are the real challenges, related to public awareness, because most people believe that this is just a little foam," he said