The company's independent foam processing facility in Corby, Technical foam Services, recognizes the potential of new materials and production technologies and is important in enhancing the foam industry environment. At the same time, the company believes that in the next decade It is necessary to reduce the environmental impact of the foam industry.
After 25 years of market supply, Technical Bubble Services cooperates with suppliers and customers to develop and produce innovative products and high quality products.
The company's general manager Duncan Geddes explained how the foam is produced. 'The production foam has little effect on the environment. The reaction does not produce flammable gas. It is actually a fairly clean process. The only major impact on the environment is The energy consumed by the foam line is also true for polyethylene foam and rubber.
Unlike other facilities, the construction of foaming plants is not very resistant. For example, the Fritz Nauer foaming plant in Switzerland is located in the heart of a beautiful Swiss town with no environmental concerns. There is also a problem in Croydon, London. A polyethylene foaming plant is surrounded by houses. Therefore, in addition to ensuring the safe storage of chemicals, the foam itself has no major impact on the environment. The foam is not biodegradable.
Foam recycling
'A foaming plant produces 60 cubic meters of primary foam, and most of the time, there may be another 5-10 cubic meters of foam discoloration, or wrong size or poor pore structure. The foam industry is now very good at not wasting these foams. It is taken away and turned into granules in the factory. The same thing is done in the processing of foam. For example, scraps, scraps are ground into granules and then made into a carpet lining.
'Until a few years ago, all our waste materials that could not be granulated, such as foam dust and foam laminated to other materials, were sent to landfills. Now we send these wastes to the incineration plant to produce Energy means that we don't send any waste to the landfill. '
'I think 90% of the waste from foam producers and processors will actually be reused.'
Mr. Geddes said: 'For many applications, there is no alternative to foam, and the demand for foam is growing year by year. Demand for polyurethane, polyethylene and rubber is rising, not falling.'
'Foam is a unique material. If you don't use it, what would you use? When you see a sofa, a mattress, a sponge, what else besides the foam? Especially polyurethane, in the furniture industry, there are spring mattresses, But this has relatively higher performance requirements. In terms of cleaning, some people may use cloth, but people will choose foam because it is the preferred material.
In terms of reuse, he pointed out that 'the actual cost and logistics cost of returning the foam to the factory is quite high. Moving waste around the world will generate a huge carbon footprint, making the actual cost of the product higher, and usually not as good as the quality. Original material. This is why reconstituted foam is not used in retail products.
'For example, a local company produces packaging substrates. Their trucks ship products to retailers across Europe, and then empty trucks will go to a nearby processing plant to recycle waste foam. This is a huge carbon footprint, but they do It can maintain high efficiency. '
In terms of consumer expectations, he explained that the foam is not biodegradable because the design hopes it will last. The main market and driving force of polyurethane is furniture – mattresses and cushions, followed by domestic sponges and auto parts. Now, If people buy bed pads, they want the foam to last and maintain its physical properties for as long as possible. This is true for all such markets.
'The difficulty facing the bubble industry is that the public's perception of the bubble, once the bubble reaches the end of its useful life, because the bubble is a fairly large product, if people have mattresses, cushions and sofas are no longer used, for the foam industry It's a difficult problem. They can't sell naturally degradable foam because it affects the quality of the finished product. The foam is designed to be used for as long as possible, which means when the product reaches the end of its life. The problem is coming.
Reduce waste
Mr. Geddes said: 'In terms of production technology, the company has always wanted to reduce the amount of waste foam produced. To this end, we have studied different cutting and processing techniques. For example, if we want to cut two round bubbles we always I hope to reduce the gap between these foam sheets, and the space around the foam sheets.
We now have laser jet cutting and water jet cutting, which were not possible to do by our own company a decade ago. By investing in more modern and efficient processing techniques, we are able to reduce the amount of waste foam we produce. Implementing new technologies The cost can be high, and there is no big return in terms of capacity, but reducing waste can reduce waste.
He said: 'Energy recovery should be the key to avoiding landfills. Any responsible processor should use waste to generate energy. We work with local waste disposal companies to make sure we have no waste to be landfilled. In my opinion Manufacturers and processors should establish close working relationships with these companies, which is exactly what we do.'
'Each foam company has a responsibility to ensure that waste is not landfilled and reused in some way. ' It must be an important part of every bubble company concept.'
Mr. Geddes said: 'In the future, environmental sustainability is the industry's top priority. I know that chemical plants and foam manufacturers are always negotiating to explore how to make their chemicals more environmentally friendly.
'In recent years, the industry has been paying attention to the injection of foam to make it more durable. For example, because silver is antibacterial, sometimes silver is put into the foam. Manufacturers are always looking to make the foam cleaner, A more lasting method. '
'We all want the bubble to be cleaner, but it is driven by people's financial expectations. Unfortunately, the bubble is considered disposable and can be discarded. People tend to buy sponges for cleaning as cheaply as they know They will throw them away soon. Although, because the bath sponge feels better, people will spend more money. But people will not spend more money because the product will last longer.
'A big challenge is how to deal with contaminated bubbles that cannot be reused. 'With regard to the use of local sponges, end users usually throw these products into the bin and then throw them into the trash. Buried. Many people now have special recycling cards and plastic recycling bins, but none of them are used for foam. Maybe this will be a future concern. Bubbles that cannot be reused can be burned to produce energy, reduce The amount of landfill. He stressed that there is still work to be done. He said: 'These are real challenges, and they are related to public perception, because most people think that this is just a little bubble.'