Dow and Gruppo Fiori Develop Recycling Process for Polyurethane Waste

Dow, in collaboration with Gruppo Fiori, has jointly developed a recycling process for automotive waste. This process allows for the recovery of polyurethane waste from end-of-life vehicles without the need for disassembly. This process opens a new pathway for end-of-life vehicle materials by integrating Gruppo Fiori's established automotive recycling ecosystem and Dow's expertise in materials science. Polyurethane foam is an essential part of automotive interiors. A typical car contains about 28 kg of PU, 10-15 kg of which is in seats. Traditional recycling of vehicles, however, requires disassembly of automotive components, creating cost and complexity for recyclers.

Dow and Gruppo Fiori's process eliminates this step, resulting in a simplified recovery for PU waste stream with the purity required to facilitate depolymerisation (chemical recycling).