Current events

Green and recyclable polyurethanes without isocyanate

Polyurethanes (PUs) are valuable plastic materials used in a variety of consumer products ranging from shoes we wear to the foams in our mattresses and in a huge number of industrial applications.

IVAs 100-lista 2023

Year:

2023

Category:

Circular economy, Green & blue industries

University:

Lund University

Responsible Researcher:

Sang-Hyun Pyo, Rajni Hatti Kaul

Visit Project Website

The global market for PU was valued at over USD 45 billion in 2020. The main drawback is however that they are made using hazardous isocyanate, which entails strict safety procedures during their manufacture and risk of leakage during their use.

Elevated levels of such chemicals in humans are a cause of several serious ailments such as depression, breast and prostate cancer, asthma, obesity, etc. The other problem is that the current PUs are non-recyclable.

We have developed an alternative patented route for producing non-isocyanate thermoplastic polyurethanes that are biobased and recyclable, and hence suited for circular economy.

IVA’s 100 List 2023 - Technology in the service of humanity

IVA’s 100 List 2023 highlights a diverse range of research projects from Swedish universities, under the theme Technology in the Service of Humanity within in climate change, energy supply, welfare technology, cybersecurity and crisis preparedness. The projects have been selected based on their great potential to create value through commercialization, business and method development, or societal impact. All participating researchers are interested in increased contacts with the business sector for the application and further development of their projects.

Named contact persons for each research project on the 100 List are responsible for the accuracy of the information presented.

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