A systematic review of methodologies and solutions for recycling polyurethane foams to safeguard the environment

Description

Elnaz Zarezadeh, Mahbubeh Tangestani, and Ahmad Jonidi Jafari review ways to recycle polyurethane foam in a 2024 article. The foam is tough, sticky, and everywhere, from seats to insulation, and most of it ends in landfills. Its piles keep growing, so finding sound ways to reuse it has become an environmental need.

The review gathers recent work across the main recycling routes: physical, chemical, and biological, plus newer twists on how the foam itself is made. The authors searched major scientific databases for studies through early 2024 and sorted the methods by how they work and what they yield. Their map of the field shows where recycling is practical now and where new ideas are still needed, a guide for cutting plastic pollution from this stubborn material.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC11647846