New EURO-MOULDERS Factsheet & Video on Recyclability of PU Parts from ELVs

Plastics account for ~10% of the total mass of the vehicle and polyurethanes are the second most-used plastic in cars (up to 24 kg per vehicle). They are used in automotive interiors due to their versatility, customisability, durability, and – above all – comfort properties.

The proportion of polyurethanes in vehicles is set to further increase as the automotive sector transitions away from combustion engines towards e-mobility solutions and changes specifications on noise, vibration, harshness (NVH) and thermal insulation, amongst others.

With the new EU End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation (ELVR), it will be required to increase recycling rates of automotive plastics, and integrate recycled content in plastics used in vehicles. While there is still potential for improvement in the current design and waste treatment technologies, dedicated recycling pathways are proving that a “life after the road” is possible for PU via mechanical recycling, depolymerisation (chemical recycling), and thermochemical recycling.

To further improve recyclability of PU and to make it more scalable and reliable, the right conditions are needed:

• Shifting toward Design for Recycling and monomaterial concepts: some examples of pioneering technologies already exist, where modularity is the core principle of the conception work. This is the case of modular seats, which reimagine the architecture of a traditional car seat through the assembly of a limited number of modules.

• Improving sorting technologies: recent collaborations, such as the project between Dow and Gruppo Fiori, have introduced breakthrough technology which eliminates the disassembly step and produces a clean polyurethane waste stream directly from end-of-life vehicles, with the purity necessary for depolymerization and chemical recycling.

• Improving recycling technologies to ensure access to waste streams clean enough for chemical recycling.