Authors

Abstract

Today, polyurethanes are effectively not recycled and are made principally from non renewable, fossil-fuel derived resources. This study provides the first high-resolution material flow analysis of polyurethane flows through the U.S. economy, tracking back to fossil fuels and covering polyurethane-relevant raw materials, trade, production, manufacturing, uses, historical stocks, and waste management. According to our analysis, in 2016, 2900 thousand tonnes (kt) of polyurethane were produced in the U.S. and 920 kt were imported for consumption, 2000 kt entered the post-consumer waste streams and 390 kt were recycled and returned to the market in the form of carpet underlayment. The domestic production of polyurethane consumed 1100 kt of crude oil and 1100 kt of natural gas. With the developed polyurethane flow map, we point out the limitation of the existing mechanical recycling methods and identify that glycolysis, a chemical recycling method, can be used to recycle the main components of post-customer polyurethane waste. We also explore how targeting bio-based pathways could influence the supply chain and downstream markets of polyurethane, and reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and the exposure to toxic precursors in polyurethane production