loader image

CIRCULAR FOAM – Systemic expansion of territorial CIRCULAR Ecosystems for end-of-life FOAM

Lehrstuhl:

Kompetenzfeld/er:

Über das Projekt

The project "CIRCULAR FOAM - Systemic expansion of territorial CIRCULAR Ecosystems for end-of-life FOAM" will develop and demonstrate all technological steps required to achieve circularity of plastics in post-consumer applications, using the example of rigid polyurethane (PU) foams used as insulation in refrigerators and construction. The CIRCULAR FOAM consortium is composed of all actors required to complete the circular value chain (process industries, manufacturing, waste management, technology providers, incl. also research partners, logistics, social scientists and economists working with the public sector and citizens).

The CURE consortium develops together with its partners in work package 1 (WP 1) the analytical foundations and knowledge for developing the systemic solution for regional cross-sectorial symbiosis clusters in PU waste management. The systemic solution (and blueprint) includes strategic and cultural elements such as a collaboration model. WP 1 will develop regional clusters (hubs for circularity) of stakeholders focusing on collection, sorting, dismantling as well as reverse logistics for the recycling of urban waste containing polyurethane rigid foam and converting this waste into new raw materials for such foams, in the refrigerated appliance application and for construction. A blueprint model for building up circular symbiosis structures will be provided for the development of clusters in three regions: North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, the Greater Amsterdam Region in the Netherlands, and the Silesian Metropolis centred in Katowice, Poland.

Besides WP 1 the CURE team also participates in other work packages such as WP 7. The objective of WP 7 is to analyse and design the regional systems from the collection of the PUR-containing waste (appliances and construction elements) over the sorting and separation to the chemical treatment, separation, and feed into the production of MDI. The goal is to optimize cost, environmental and social footprint by designing the individual elements based on an overall view that takes all major degrees of freedom into account simultaneously.

Visit the official Circular Foam website for more information about the project.

Projektlaufzeit

Projektstart:
10/2021
Projektende:
09/2025

Projektpartner

Covestro
Interseroh
Electrolux Italia S.p.A.
The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS)
Wroclaw University of Economics and Business
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Metropolis GZM
Euro-Centrum Science and Technology Park
IZNAB Sp. z o.o.
All project partners

Gefördert von

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101036854

Projektart

Verbundprojekt