Study on Green Degradation Process of Polyurethane Foam Based on Integral Utilization and Performance of Recycled Polyurethane Oil-Absorbing Foam

Ester exchange glycolysis of flexible polyurethane foam (PU) usually results in split-phase products, and the recovered polyether polyols are obtained after separation and purification, which can easily cause secondary pollution and redundancy. In this paper, we propose a green recycling process for the degradation of waste polyurethane foam by triblock polyether, and the degradation product can be used directly as a whole. The polyurethane foam can be completely degraded at a minimum mass ratio of 1.5:1. The secondary full utilization of the degradation product as a whole was directly synthesized into recycled polyurethane foam, and the compression cycle test proved that the excess glycolysis agent had less effect on the resilience of the recycled foam. The hydrophobic modification of the recycled foam was carried out, and the oil absorption performance of the recycled foam before and after the hydrophobic modification was compared. The oil absorption capacity for diesel oil ranged from 4.3 to 6.7, while the oil absorption performance of the hydrophobic modified recycled foam was significantly improved and had excellent reusability (absorption-desorption oil processes can be repeated at least 25 times). This economical and green process has large-scale application prospects, and the hydrophobic recycling foam can be applied to the field of oil and water separation.

Automated summary

This paper proposes an environmentally friendly recycling process for the degradation of waste polyurethane foam using triblock polyether. The degradation product can be directly utilized to synthesize recycled polyurethane foam, which has excellent oil absorption performance and reusability after hydrophobic modification. This economical and green process shows great prospects for large-scale applications.