Burning issues at API event

Efforts in Europe and North America to establish new disposal routes for polyurethane waste will feature prominently at the Polyurethanes 2005 Technical Conference & Trade Fair, according to event sponsor the Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry (API) Arlington/Virginia, USA.

The conference to be held Oct 17-19 in Houston, Texas, will include papers on how the PU industry is adapting to regulatory moves to phase out landfill disposal, on both sides of the Atlantic. A recycling session will cover European regulations for waste sectors such as packaging, automotive and electronic goods, said API. Presentations will include a Dow Europe report on the use of PU scrap as a co-fuel in power, cement and lime production plants, and the findings of a joint study into PU combustion by DeCloet Greenhouse and Advanced Resource Equipment. Don Schomer, chair of the API Polyurethane Recycle and Recovery Council said: “Polyurethanes have a recoverable energy value comparable to coal and less than that of fuel oil. Ultimately, waste-to-energy combustion can reduce the volume of solid waste and dependence on fossil fuels.”