Sustainable Plastics - October 2021 - 27

Q&A
Dow has put an ecosystem
in place to close the loop
with mattresses
foam circularity'. How does
that work?
I'm not the expert in blockchain,
but for the pilot we are
using a blockchain platform developed
by ChemChain which
is being funded under the EU's
Horizon 2020 program, and
which is really tailored for the
chemical industry. It can transfer
verified product information
securely within the Renuva
mattress recycling programme.
We needed it because it is
vital that we know what is in
the old foam or in the old mattresses
that are being recycled.
Fifteen years from now, we are
unlikely to know who produced
the mattress or what went into
that mattress. We needed a
system that would track that information.
That's why the blockchain
is so useful - it gives us
access to that information, but
at the same time, it allows our
customers to keep their data
- formulations, for example -
confidential.
We see the blockchain pilot
as a way of demonstrating that
yes, we can load those data in,
and get it encrypted so it can be
passed on to the diff erent players
in the value chain. The really
great thing about the RENUVA
project is that we have those
players: the people that we've
been working closely with. And
hopefully we can demonstrate
that it is actually possible to
track the composition of the different
products and to release
that information only on a strict
need-to-know basis for each of
the players. Without any compromise
of confidentiality.
My concerns are less about
security and more practical in
nature: where do you attach
the label on the mattress, so
that it can be scanned or read
after 15 years?
These are questions that we
still don't have the answer to.
It'll be interesting to see what
other questions arise and how
we can solve them. And for
the industry in general to understand
whether blockchain
could be the solution.
You mentioned that right now
the project is not focused on
creating a circular mattress,
but about recycling or reusing
as many as possible. Is circularity
ultimately an aim?
I really think we've heard a lot
about the circular economy and
how we need to make it happen.
And yes, we really need to
start making that happen now.
Let's show that polyurethanes
really are recyclable and take it
from there.
At Dow Polyurethanes, we are
also looking at feedstocks other
than fossil-based naphtha - for
example bio-naphtha, or feedstocks
from waste plastics pyrolysis
- to produce the material.
It's important that we address
all those challenges
along the polyurethane lifecycle.
For me, I'm happy we are
trying to close the loop with
mattresses, but I have to say: if
there's a huge demand for polyols
in other rigid foam applications,
if we see that the market
really wants this product, I'm
fine with using it in other applications
as well. As long as we're
reusing the product, I'd be open
to other options. But right now,
we are focused on producing
and scaling-up the production
of RENUVA polyols. That's the
first challenge!
INDUSTRIAL PROCESS CONTROL
INTERNATIONAL SPECIALIST IN INTEGRATED TEMPERATURE AND
PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR THE PLASTICS, COMPOSITES,
CALENDARING AND CHEMICALS INDUSTRIES.
HOT RUNNER CONTROL
MOLD TEMPERATURE CONTROL
VALVE GATE CONTROL
PRODUCTION & PROCESS MONITORING
www.sise-plastics.com - sise@sise-plastics.com
October 2021
27
http://www.sise-plastics.com
Sustainable Plastics - October 2021

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