Foamplant B.V., Koninklijke Auping B.V. and the University of Groningen, assisted by subsidy consultancy Asqa Subsidies, valorise the chemical modification technology for the realisation of a circular mattress production chain with a closed-loop foam to foam recycling. The follow-up development within this valorisation project monitors the further development of sustainability in the production chain such as reducing the carbon footprint of circular mattresses, enabling foam to foam recycling on pilot production scale and setting up an innovative pilot production line for disassembly/disassembly. In particular, the possibility to cleanly disassemble a used mattress and process the foam so that it can be brought back to granulate and can be extruded again as a mattress foam (foam-to-foam recycling) is extremely innovative and very challenging. The collaboration between Foamplant, Auping and the University of Groningen in this valorisation project results in a production chain for innovative circular mattresses (baby mattresses, mattresses and toppers) with a closed-loop mattress foam with the ultimate goal of 100 % mattress foam recycling which is not possible with traditional PUR foams. The innovative biopolyester foam material from Foamplant will be part of Auping’s circular mattress platform. The objective of project partners within this project is to develop the pilot production technology for the different production steps of foam extrusion, production of circular mattresses, disassembly/disassembly of used mattresses and reextrusion and controlling the different production and recycling process parameters. There are no proven process protocols for the intended new biopolyester foam extrusion processes with recycled technical foams. A complete infrastructure for the circular process will be developed around this. The development of Foamplant’s foam extrusion product platform in combination with Auping’s circular product platform has many possibilities to create new features, features and applications that are of value for further development in the mattress and furniture foam market.
