Layman Report Engl

8/14/2019 Layman Report Engl

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Layman's report

LIFE ENV/D/000398

"Large scale polyurethane recycling"

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List o !ey or#s an# a$$re%iations

APPs aromatic polyester polyols(often used in the manufacture ofinsulation materials)

DKR Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Kunststoff-Recycling mb (German company

dealing !ith the recycling of plastics)

D"D Duales "ystem Deutschland (German!aste disposal system)

R#A $%%% Recycling plant !ith a capacity of$ tonnes

Recypol Registered brand name ofrecycling-polyolsproduced by RA&P'

Recypur Registered brand name of PR-"ystems

produced by RA&P'

Petol rand name of aromaticpolyester-polyols manufactured byRA&P' from post-consumer P*+

P*+ Polyethylenterephthalate, a plasticfrom !hich soft-drin bottles andpacaging are mostly manufacturedno!adays

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&ontents list

Project goals ........................................................................................................................... 4

Polyurethane recycling ........................................................................................................ 4

Large-scale polyurethane recycling ..................................................................................... 5

Description of the process ..................................................................................................... 6

Description of the plant ........................................................................................................ 7

Details of the plant ................................................................................................................ 7

Products ................................................................................................................................. 9

PUR-yste!s ....................................................................................................................... "#

Results .................................................................................................................................. ""

u!!ary .............................................................................................................................. "$

% &ord of than's ................................................................................................................. "4

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ro(ect goals

+he o.erall goal of the /0'* Pro1ect !as to demonstrate a real economically andecologically .iable recycling (cycle) of all polyurethane plastics (PR) and then toeffecti.ely implement it2&ore than 324 million tonnes of PR are produced annually in the * !hich arerecycled either directly or only partially after ha.ing been used, other!ise they areincinerated20t is possible to recycle all PR !aste5 to sa.e resources and also to a.oid5 to a largee6tent5 both !aste products and the liberation of #73through the !idespread use oflarge-scale demonstration plants and ne! processes2A further area of application5 !hich became apparent during the course of thepro1ect5 is the recycling of post-consumer P*+ !aste in the large-scale recyclingplant !hich came into being during the pro1ect2

+he final product of this is a high 8uality aromatic polyester-polyol !hich ise6ceptionally !ell suited to the production of insulation foams2

olyurethane recycling

Polyurethane (PR) is produced from a basic li8uid materials5 polyol (A-components)and isocyanate (-components)2 After the t!o components ha.e been mi6ed (in.arious proportions)5 hardening spontaneously begins follo!ed by cross-lininggi.ing rise to PR-polymer2 y adding .arious reagents5 numerous PR foams !ith

.arious properties can be produced2 +he plastic5 polyurethane5 in the form of fle6iblefoams (mattresses5 seats)5 insulation foams5 integral foams (car parts5 shoe soles)and compact elastomeres (coatings) has become an indispensable part of oure.eryday li.es2 0n fact5 about $9 of the total !orld consumption of plastics is forpolyurethane2 +he consumption in :estern *urope !as 324 million tonnes in ;


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ence it is the only recycling process !hich is !orthy of the name chemicalrecycling2 0t has no disad.antages and is the only process !hich offers thepossibility of producing high-8uality polyurethane products from ;%%9 recycledpolyols2

Large)scale polyurethane recycling

Glycolosis has long been no!n as a process for the chemical reco.ery of rigid andintegral foams2RA&P' *cosystems has5 in cooperation !ith ' Aalen and !ith the support of the* /0'*-Programme5 de.eloped three ne! types of processes (partial glycolosis5polyolysis5 acidolysis) and has also used them for the first time technically on a largescale for the reco.ery of ra! materials5 including semi-rigid and fle6ible PR foams2+he processes !ere pre.iously only used in small laboratory and technicalapplications2 RA&P' *cosystems Gmb #o2 KG has no! managed to incorporateall the abo.e-mentioned recycling processes in a recycling plant specially create#$y *+,F Ecosystems !hich has made industrial applications possible-

'ig2 ;B R#A $%%%

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Description o the process

PR !aste is broen do!n into small pieces of about $ cm in a slicer for theproduction of recycling polyols2

+hese are continuously introduced into a depressurised reaction container5 in !hichthere are already process reagents as basic substances depending on the type ofresidual substances5 namely polyol5 glycol or carbo6ylic acid5 as !ell as catalysts anddeaminating agents2 At temperatures of about 3%% degrees centigrade and !ithconstant stirring5 the PR molecular chains are split2 After the completion of thereaction process (lasting about C hours)5 the resultant li8uid5 !hich is a mi6ture ofpolyols and lo!-molecule urethane5 is filtered2 'iltration residues consist e6clusi.elyof incidental foreign matter2 +hese can easily be remo.ed through incineration !ithno after-effects and resultant energy may be reused2'inally the recycling polyol !hichhas been produced is either put into storage tans5 0#-containers or barrels5 asre8uested by the customer2+he final product5 !hich is a high-8uality recycling polyol (R*#P7/E)5 may be usedeither alone or mi6ed !ith ne! polyol for the production of PR-foams2As polyurethanes are only partially decomposed by using basic components ofpolyols5 the former product properties are preser.ed by cross-lining !ith isocyanate2

Fig. 2: The RAMPF-process principle

0n future5 about


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Description o the plant

+he industrial plant de.eloped by RA&P' *cosystems essentially consists of threecomponentsB

+he temperature e8ualisation unit+he materials-handling technology unit+he reactor unit

&a6imum attention !as gi.en to fle6ibility and automation at the stage !hen the siFeand conception of the plant parts !ere being decided

Abb. 3: RCA 5000

Details o the plant

+he temperature e8ualisation unitB

+he temperature e8ualisation unit consists of a gas burner utilising thermal oil as a heattransfer medium2

At e.ery possible site5 there are interfaces to ensure the future e6pansionpossibilities of the plant and the inclusion of energy)sa%ing measures-A heat accumulatorhas already been installed2 0t ser.es as a buffer !hich can storethe hot thermal oil during the cooling process and in this !ay can again ser.e as a

heating medium during the ne6t production application5 !ithout necessitating afurther large e6penditure of energy2 A burner has been housed in a container on itso!n5 close to the production halls as protection against fire5

The materials-handling technology unit:

"tringent re8uirements !ere placed on the materials-handling technology in order togi.e the ma6imum number of PR producers the possibility of recycling their residualsubstances2 +he materials-handling technology unit enables RA&P' *cosystems tohandle residual substances ha.ing different po!der densities at the rate of about ;2$

tonneshour2 Rampf *cosystems de.eloped a concept consisting of t!o materials-handling units5 so as to be able to satisfy such e6tremes of transportation !ithin thesystem2

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+he result is a recycling plant !hich is able torecycle residual PR substances regardless oftheir shape at the time of deli.ery2It is the irst reprocessing plant o its !in#

in the orl# or .* recycling hich can$e implemente# on an in#ustrial scale in allthe pre%iously !non chemical recyclingprocesses or .*-


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The reactor unit:

+he reactor is a impellent-type mi6er measuring 4mH in .olume surrounded by half-pipe coil 1acets filled !ith thermal oil for temperature e8ualisation2

+he stirring de.ice I specially de.eloped to match the specifications of RA&P'*cosystems I is used to homogeneously set the temperature as !ell as to mi6 thesample !ith the residual substances2 +he plant is endo!ed !ith .arious pumps!hich introduce reagents by fully automatic means in .arious 8uantities into thereactor2*6haust air !hich does not contain pollutants from this recycling method is separatedfrom the condensate by passing o.er a glass cooler2 +his re-enters the reactor and isthen allo!ed to enter the atmosphere after passing o.er an additional acti.e carbonfilter2After completely con.erting the residual PR substances into a recycling-polyol5they are then put into .arious pacing drums2 +o this end5 the recycling-polyol5 !hichhas no! cooled to about J%#5 passes through a filtration path !ith t!o self-cleaninglateral dis filters of different nominal !idths at its core2 y using the feed ductdesigned by RA&P' *cosystems5 it is possible to put recycling polyol into either 3%%l barrels5 0# container or storage tans5 as desired2

+he entire recycling plant is controlled and monitoredby a "iemens "P" control system !hich !asspecifically programmed for that purpose by RA&P'*cosystems specifications2 'urthermore5 allnecessary data concerning the process can be

documented by this control system2 +he usefulness ofthis au6iliary function is not to be underestimated !ithregard to 8uality control2

Fig.4:SPS-Control RCA 5000

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ro#ucts

*ecypol

+he Recycling-polyol (RecypolE) !hich has beenproduced during the recycling process is to beconsidered to be a basic polyol2Almost all forms of polyurethane can beindustrially recycled in the plant !hich has beencreated for this5 due to the processes !hich ha.ebeen specially de.eloped during the pro1ect2 Allrecycling processes ha.e been tailor-made forthe customers and hence the resultant Recypolis created to satisfy the e6act re8uirements of a

particular customer2Recypols are particularly !ell suited for selling tocustomers !ho create their o!n formulae or forthat matter to system-.endors that are in aposition to raise these recycling-polyols to thele.el at !hich these become systems2

Fig. 5: Recypol

Fig. 6: Glycolysis

*ecypur

An additional aim of the pro1ect5 Lindustrial polyurethane recyclingL5 foresa! thepossibility for PR producers5 !ho only deal !ith ready-to-use systems5 thus beingable to recycle their residual material and thereby reintegrate them as polyols in thecurrent production2ence5 only as a result of specific formulation in.ol.ing the addition of cross-liningagents5 e6tenders5 catalysts5 stabilisers and propellants is it be possible for

specifications to be achie.ed2 :ithin the scope of our o!n foam-production5 ne!PR systems ha.e been and are also currently being manufactured on the basis ofrecycling polyols and sold under the brand name of Recypur2

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Recycling polyols5 are based on PR residual materials and hence already containstabilisers and catalysts2+he follo!ing formulation is hence less comple6 and also less e6pensi.e2"ince recycling polyols are in fact high-grade5 li8uid polyols5 not only can these be

added in small 8uantities to the system-polyol5 but they can in fact be used ;%%9 asthe main polyol2 :hen using recycling polyols5 no additional in.estments arere8uired5 nor is a refitting of machines re8uired by someone using PR2

.*)ystems

"ome PR systems !hich !ere produced !ithin the frame!or of the * /0'*pro1ect on the basis of Recypol5 ha.e been presented in e6cerpts2RA&P' *cosystems carried out the recycling of integral rigid foam residual productson demand most successfully2

0n this !ay5 ra! materials from the production of casings and !indo!-frames can besuccessfully reintegrated into the original manufacturing process in the form ofrecycling polyol2Ad.antages in using the product become apparent5 the surface properties of mouldsare better2?umerous ne! processes !ere de.eloped in the area of semi-rigid PR foams2 0nthis conte6t5 residual substances from production !ere used5 including themanufacture of shoe soles5 arm rests and barrel casings2

0t !as also possible to manufacture PR systems!ith up to 4%9 of recycling-polyol2

Fig. : !ntegrals"in parts

with up to 62% Recpol

Ta#.$: rigid integral system mit 62% Recypol &'ource: R(hl-Puromer)

Foaming arameters

(i)ing Ratio "## * "+,

el i!e +# s

Rising i!e 6# s/ree Rise Density "7# g0l

hysical roperties

Density 7## g0l

1ardness 2hore D3 64

ensile strength +# 0!!

longation at rea' "$

ensile !odulus "6$ 0!!8

1ead % est 4 !!

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olyol Formulation

Recypol: 6+;#

ater ";#


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0n the field of semi rigid foams a lot of ne! processes !ere de.elopped by RA&P'*cosystems during the pro1ect2 +he !aste !as taen out of shoe sole 5 arm rests5automoti.e spoilers and beer eg productions2 0t !as possible to create PR-blendings !ith 4% 9 of such a Recypol in it2 +hey ha.e sho!n no 8uality loses

against the original systems

Fig. *: semirigid integral +oams ,ith up to 6%

Recypol

hysical roperties *ecypol1 *2200

204 *ecypol15

6est 7 *esults

riginal ) ystem

6est ) ,etho#

Tensile strength [N/mm] 5,2 3,8 DIN 53504

Elng!tin !t "re!# [$] 464 473 DIN 53504

Te!ring strength [N/mm] 10,1 8,7 DIN 53507

%!r&ness ['hre (] 57 57 DIN 53505

)le*i"ilit+ 100000 100000 DIN 53543

Ta#.2: physical properties o+ a semi rigid integral system ,ith 6% Recypol

*esults

1 +he 8uality of post-consumer residues of fle6ible foams from old automobilesand refrigeration parts is still too lo!2 "een from a purely technical point of .ie!5

+he production of polyols using fle6ible foam !aste from shredder residue isabsolutely feasible2 (so-called L"hredderleichtfrationL)2 +he inade8uate purity ofresidues (at the present time) ne.ertheless results in an economically non-.iable polyol (as there is no maret for it)2 Post-consumer P*+ from the D"D-Duales "ystem Deutschland (German !aste disposal system) is a.ailable inade8uate 8uantities and 8uality2 +he success of P*+-recycling as !ell as theproduction of aromatic polyester polyols has led to the creation of a cooperationMglyolysis from P*+22N !ith the DKR - Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Kunststoff-Recycling (German company dealing !ith the recycling of plastics)2Appro6imately $% tonnes of petol ha.e5 till no!5 been produced annually2

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32 0n the field of systems formulation5 a ne! ready-to-use5 !ater-propelled5 fire-protected rigid foam systems !ere de.eloped5 containing up to


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ummary

nder normal conditions of production5 $ - ;%9 of the PR are residual substancesfrom !ithin the plant2

+his in turn means that for any one company5 these residual materials represent anincrease in costs(such as disposal fees of some ;%% - 3%% tonne) as !ell as%alua$le ra materials hich are aste#2 +here is clearly a real necessity for ra!materials to be reintegrated into the production cycle5 i2e2 the reutiliation o ramaterials-

+he declared aim of RA&P' *cosystems are therefore the sa%ing o %alua$le ramaterialsand #ecreasing the $ur#en put on aste #isposal #umps!hilst at thesame time decreasing costs and re#ucing aste #isposal e:penses2+herefore5 by reusing PR5 the ecological and economic factors are once againbeing brought into harmony22:ith the help of the recycling plant !hich has been supported by the * /0'*-Programme and de.eloped by RA&P' *cosystems5 all PR producers !ere5 for thefirst time5 gi.en the possibility of reintegrating their residual substances into theproduction in the form of a recycling-polyol20t is furthermore possible to recycle the large 8uantities of Lpost-consumerL !aste5such as P*+ bottles5 pro.ided that the necessary purity of the post-consumerresidues still permit a recypol to be maretable2

+he use of recycling-polyol offers special ad.antages to the userB

Preser.ation of former product characteristics by means of cross-lining *asy integration into the production cycle !ithout the necessity of retrofitting

machines Adding the recyclate to the ne! product !ithout a loss in 8uality of the final

product 7b.ious cost-sa.ing !ith regard to the primary polyol ;004 reintegration o the aste materials "a.ing on disposal fees by re-processing the residual PR-substances Possible compliance !ith the legal ordinances5 regulations and conditions -

(+A"iGerman :aste Disposal 7rdinance) 0mage boost through impro.ed en.ironmental balance sheets

+he reprocessing plant de.eloped by RA&P' *cosystems enables the PRprocessing industry the possibility of recycling PR5 something !hich has hardlybeen done till no!2+his maes the recycling of PR on a large scale possible, the immediateconse8uence of !hich is the a.oidance of PR-!aste5 preser.ing resources and thea.oiding #732 +he result is an .ery significant relief for the en.ironment2

+ or# o than!s

A !ord of thans is e6tended to all those !ho lent their support for this pro1ect !ithinthe frame!or of the * /0'*-Programmes2

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