USCAR's VRP Sees Potential in Recycling Automotive Foams

The United States Council for Automotive Research's Vehicle Recycling Partnership is evaluating a process that could potentially divert 250,000 tons of post-consumer shredder residue foams from landfills annually.

The VRP – composed of researchers from DaimlerChrysler AG, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. – is evaluating a glycolysis process that converts post-consumer shredder residue foam into usable automotive foams, as one of many potentially promising recycling solutions for the remnants of end-of-life vehicles.

Currently, more than 84 percent by weight of materials, of each vehicle in the United States is recycled, with 95 percent of the vehicles going through the existing infrastructure. The glycolysis process being evaluated addresses the unrecycled portion of ELVs, which comprises the shredder residue that often ends up in landfills.

The method has been developed by Troy Polymers Inc., one of several private firms working to develop shredder residue recycling solutions. The process uses elevated temperatures to “melt” the foams into a new polyol, free of residual contaminants. This can be used to make new polyurethane foam.

The foams derived from the Troy Polymers’ tests were compared to foam standards currently employed by the VRP partners and demonstrated characteristics suitable for use in a number of flexible and rigid automotive foam applications.