Girma M. Gebreselassie

Utilization of Polyurethane Foam Scrap as a Sole Binder for Recycling of Automotive Interior Trim Products

A number of rear-seat-to-back-window trim panels (CHMSL covers) were manufactured by thermoforming ground polyurethane-cored headliner (UROCOR) scrap with PMDI as a binder with and without water as a component of the composite mixture utilizing industrial equipment at a Lear plant in Holland, Michigan. Unexpectedly, it was found that UROCOR scrap which contains a significant amount of flexible and semi-rigid polyurethane foam can be thermoformed without addition of PMDI. In order to confirm that the polyurethane scrap can be used as a binder, the polyurethane seating foam scrap was successfully recycled as the sole scrap and in 75/25 and 50/50 mixtures with resinated fibers.