In the area of regional transformation, the political, societal and economic conditions were assessed that support or hamper the introduction of PU rigid foam circular value chain and its potential for the implementation in three EU pilot regions: Rheinisches Revier in Germany, Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA) in the Netherlands, and Upper Silesia / Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia (GZM), Poland. We started with a status quo analysis focusing on assessing the regional circularity readiness and an identification of key stakeholders. The readiness in the regions is diverse. Whereas the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area is vividly pursuing their target of becoming fully circular by 2050 and is already listed as one of the model cities, they are not yet looking specifically at the recycling of PU foams. The German Rheinisches Revier already unites all the important preconditions for circularity, however, it still lacks a clear political circularity agenda and the public awareness of chemical recycling and PU foams is rather low. Finally, Upper Silesia was found to have adequate potential as well as key actors and convenient infrastructure in the region, nevertheless, leaders with clear determination on the administrative level as well as appropriate financial incentives are missing. Whereas the concept of circularity as such is well known, there is different understanding of circular economy and the potential of chemical recycling is totally unknown. The following indicators were found to be of highest importance : alliance of change with clear agents, binding policy goals, public mindset in regions and culture and direction of innovation.
Further, the consortium was working on setting design guidelines around the material and products that will enhance and facilitate the recycling. It involves the development of digital product passport. The goals are also to improve the material and product design for easy dismantling of the appliances and insulation boards to allow for their increased recyclability.
Major work was done on the chemical recycling of PU rigid foams using two chemical recycling technologies, chemolysis and smart pyrolysis. In both routes amine precursors to isocyanate have been obtained, which is novel for PU rigid foam recycling, for which the focus is usually on the generation of a re-polyol rather than closed-loop recycling to both polyol and amine.
To satisfy the systemic approach, ensure both economic and environmental feasibility, collection, sorting, dismantling and processing systems, as well as products, must be designed for maximum overall efficiency throughout the whole waste utilization system, meaning that the materials should be recovered and reused at the highest possible value and with the least input of resources. Establishing a circular value-chain for end-of-life PU requires participation of various stakeholders, development of technologies, and even changing the consumer behaviour; therefore, it is a complex task. Therefore, we model, analyze and optimize the overall system for the upcycling of polyurethane containing waste.
Special attention is also given to the maximization of the impact through dissemination, exploitation and result protection activities.
