No Cover Image

Journal article 117 views 9 downloads

Selective Recycling of Steel Sandwich Polyisocyanurate (PIR) Foam Insulation Cladding

Diana Meza Rojas, James Holliman, David Penney Orcid Logo, Anthony Lewis, Peter Holliman Orcid Logo

Recycling, Volume: 11, Issue: 4, Start page: 69

Swansea University Authors: Diana Meza Rojas, James Holliman, David Penney Orcid Logo, Anthony Lewis, Peter Holliman Orcid Logo

  • 71663.VoR.pdf

    PDF | Version of Record

    © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.

    Download (3.99MB)

Check full text

DOI (Published version): 10.3390/recycling11040069

Abstract

A method has been developed to delaminate the organic components (paint, foam) from the steel skins of composite polyisocyanurate (PIR) steel insulation panels at ambient temperature and in 20 min using selected solvents combined with ultrasonication. Using this method, polyisocyanurate foam can be...

Full description

Published in: Recycling
ISSN: 2313-4321
Published: MDPI AG 2026
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71663
Abstract: A method has been developed to delaminate the organic components (paint, foam) from the steel skins of composite polyisocyanurate (PIR) steel insulation panels at ambient temperature and in 20 min using selected solvents combined with ultrasonication. Using this method, polyisocyanurate foam can be selectively delaminated from polymer-based paint (PVC plastisol) and, in turn, the polymer paint can be selectively delaminated from the galvanised steel. Both the foam and paint are removed as intact layers, leaving the galvanised steel intact for the next steps of recycling, enabling the subsequent individualised recycling of each sub-component or layer. Several solvents have been tested, and the data show that H-bonding solvents (e.g., H2O, alcohols) are less effective at delaminating these polymers. Whilst high polarity, medium H-bonding acetonitrile and DMSO remove PVC paint and some PIR foam, the most effective solvent for both PIR foam and PVC paint removal is medium polarity, medium H-bonding acetone.
Keywords: delamination; organic coated steel; insulation foams; paint; infrared spectroscopy; corrosion inhibitor; circular economy
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Funders: UKRI (EP/S018107/1, EP/Y528638/1)
Issue: 4
Start Page: 69

Similar Items