Spain: innovation in footwear materials recycling
08/07/2014
Recycled foam is obtained through a chemical process called glycolysis, which consists of using a solvent, glycol, to the break down the polymer chains; this is Cartif’s idea. This then allows the manufacturers to obtain polyol, the key component for new PU foam.
In general, complexity and cost have made chemical recycling less popular than mechanical methods. Creating new PU foam with a high level of performance needs wider access to glycol, which raises the production price. For use in industrial footwear, the new foam also requires dyes and other additives. La Rioja-based Centro Tecnológico del Calzado experimented with a way round this and manufactured a recycled PU foam with the same high-performance in traction and tear-resistance. However, this method used high quantities of isocyanate, making it no better value.
Because of these difficulties, Cartif worked on developing a modified polyol. This gave a slightly lower-performance recycled PU foam, but has proved better from an environmental and economic point of view. Cartif has now patented its technique and is making it available for footwear manufacturers to use.
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