Recycling of Kooltherm Phenolic Resin Insulation Boards

硬质绝缘泡沫广泛用于建筑领域，并且通常被结合到空心墙、屋顶空间和混凝土地板下。它是提高建筑物热效率的优良材料，具有优异的耐火性和寿命。然而，目前还没有回收绝缘泡沫的方法;一旦泡沫破裂，就无法再加工，因为泡沫结构已被破坏，只有填埋和燃烧是唯一可行的处置形式。由于绝缘泡沫的预期寿命至少为50年，因此很少考虑为此类材料开发可持续的报废命运。在本项目中，我们将开发酚醛树脂绝缘板的化学回收方法。聚合物材料的化学再循环提供了新的单体，可以重新制成原始聚合物（在这种情况下是绝缘板），或者可以在其他部门重新使用的其他化学物质。保温板化学回收的成功开发将为保温材料的循环经济铺平道路，通过减少浪费和重复使用材料而不是依赖新鲜的化学原料，使建筑行业更加绿色和可持续。

Rigid insulation foam is widely used in the construction sector, and is routinely incorporated into cavity walls, roof spaces, and under concrete floors. It is an excellent material for improving the thermal efficiency of buildings, and has excellent fire resistance and longevity. However, there are currently no methods for recycling insulation foams; once the foam has been broken up, it cannot be reprocessed because the foam structure is compromised, leaving landfill and combustion the only viable forms of disposal. Since insulation foams have an expected lifetime of at least 50 years, there has been little consideration to developing a sustainable end-of-life fate for such materials.In this project, we will develop a method for the chemical recycling of phenolic resin insulation boards. Chemical recycling of polymeric materials affords new monomer which can be re-made into virgin polymer (in this case insulation boards), or else other chemical species that can be reused in other sectors. The successful development of chemical recycling of insulation boards will pave the way to a circular economy of insulation materials, making the construction sector greener and more sustainable by reducing waste and reusing materials rather than relying on fresh chemical feedstocks.