"FEDER PURPOL" FEDER PURPOL-RESEARCH ON CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL RECYCLING OF POLYURETHANE FOAMS FOR THE GENERATION OF POLYOLS FOR USE IN WOOD ADHESIVES DESCRIPTION One of the main problems facing the planet today is the management of plastic waste. The threats posed by plastics to the environment and health arise from their accumulation and persistence in nature. Much of this waste is made up of polyurethane-derived plastics. Polyurethane is one of the most versatile polymers. It is created from the reaction between polyisocyanates with a wide range of polyols. Within the furniture sector, polyurethane varnishes and adhesives are the most commonly used materials from these families. Flexible polyurethane foams (PUFs) are also commonly used in mattresses. Every year, a huge number of mattresses are thrown away, most of which end up in landfills or incinerators. The flexible polyurethane foams (PUFs) from these mattresses take up a lot of space due to the porosity of the material. For this reason, both economically and environmentally, it is important to treat waste PUF materials and recycle them to form new products. Because PUFs are thermosetting polymers with a cross-linked structure, mechanical methods are not the most appropriate, for this reason, chemical and biological recycling of PUFs has become a research topic of interest. Thus, in the PURPOL project, flexible polyurethane foams (PUFs) will be revalued in adhesives for the furniture sector. These PUFs come from mattress waste, which will allow to reduce the waste produced in the industry and close the production cycle, promoting a circular economy with new products beneficial for different industries in the Valencian Community. To obtain adhesives from recycled PUFs, it is necessary to study chemical and biological recycling methods that allow obtaining a quality polyol. In this way, the same developed products can be recycled again at the end of their useful life. OBJECTIVES The general objective of the project is based on the recycling of flexible polyurethane foams (PUFs), derived from mattress waste, in order to obtain good quality polyols similar to the starting products. These recycled polyols will ultimately be used to formulate adhesives for the wood industry. Polyurethane adhesives are the most commonly used materials for wood. They use polyisocyanate resins, which generally come from fossil and virgin products, which makes a significant negative contribution to the carbon footprint and environmental impact in general. Project Number: 22400060 Grant Agreement: IMDEEA / 2024/40 Duration: From 01/07/2024 to 30/06/2025 Coordinated at AIDIMME by: SOLERA GADEA, GEMA R&D Line: CIRCULAR ECONOMY PUBLISHED NEWS general broadcast https://x.com/AIDIMME/status/1882708480781602994 (...) https://www.facebook.com/100057361453408/posts/110451635 (...) https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:728 (...) https://actualidad.aidimme.es/2024/12/16/investigacion-d (...) GRANT 145.100 € "This project is supported by the Valencian Government's Ministry of Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism, through IVACE+i, and is funded by the European Union, through the Valencian Community FEDER Programme 2021-2027. Programme: R&D projects in collaboration with companies." TARGET AUDIENCE AND IMPACT MEASUREMENT 1924 Access to the project website 167 Access to news published on own websites. Total Accesses: 2091 Objective Sectors by CNAE CNAE: 2016 - Manufacture of plastics in raw forms - Number of target companies: 77 (32 from the Valencian Community) CNAE: 3103 - Manufacture of mattresses - No. of target companies: 149 (41 in the Valencian Community) CNAE: 3109 - Manufacture of other furniture - No. of target companies: 5592 (1333 in the Valencian Community) CNAE: 3821 - Treatment and disposal of non-waste - Number of target companies: 20 (14 from the Valencian Community) CNAE: 2052 - Manufacture of glues - No. of target companies: 69 (25 in the Valencian Community) Objective Sectors by Activity HOME FURNITURE - Number of target companies: 4409 (1267 of the Valencian Community) TAILS AND ADHESIVES - Number of target companies: 80 (27 of the Valencian Community) MATTRESS / REST. - No. of target companies: 205 (56 from the Valencian Community) TRACTOR COMPANIES Thanks to its support and signature of the "declaration of participation" the project has been funded. VISCO-FOAM, SL KLEBENTECH, SL LAGRAMA, SL COMOTEX REST SYSTEMS, SL COMPANIES DIFFUSION R&D PROJECTS They want to know first-hand the evolution of the project, and its progress to the final result. COMPANIES TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE They will implement technologies, develop strategies or look for new models based on the results.