<p>Bengaluru: In a major breakthrough for sustainable technology, scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, have developed a way to transform difficult-to-recycle polyurethane (PU) foam into high-value materials for 3D printing.</p>.<p>PU foams, commonly found in mattresses, furniture, and insulation, are notoriously tough to recycle due to their complex chemical makeup and additives. Between 2015 and 2022, nearly 14.4 million tonnes of PU waste were generated globally, most of which ended up being incinerated or dumped in landfills.</p>.<p>Now, a team led by Professor Suryasarathi Bose and Professor Subodh Kumar at IISc has created a patented technology called SaLSO that offers a new path forward.</p>.IISc, nine others win challenge to tackle drug-resistant infections.<p>Samir Mandal, a PhD student involved in the research, explained that the method “selectively cleaves” certain chemical bonds in PU foams, breaking them down into usable components. These components can then be used as feedstock for 3D printing.</p>.<p>"This is a major leap in plastic waste management,” said Bose. “We’ve developed a sustainable solution to upcycle materials that were previously considered unrecyclable and patented a technology to convert long-unrecyclable PU foams and other challenging plastics into valuable 3D printing materials, breaking a major barrier in plastic waste management,” he added.</p>.<p>The process works on both hard and soft PU foams and has an efficiency of over 98%. What’s more, the technology isn’t limited to just PU. The team has also demonstrated its ability to process other tough-to-recycle plastics — such as epoxy, unsaturated polyesters, and upcycle polyolefins — into 3D-printable materials.</p>.<p>“This holistic approach gives us a powerful tool to address a broader range of plastic waste,” said researchers Indranil, Bhaskar, and Ashis, who are part of the team.</p>.<p>The 3D-printed products created from these recycled materials have shown promising performance, indicating real potential for applications across industries.</p>.<p>Globally, the PU market reached over 26 million metric tonnes in 2023 and is expected to grow to 31.27 million metric tonnes by 2030. With nearly 30 per cent of that production turning into waste each year, technologies like SaLSO could make a meaningful difference by promoting a circular economy — where waste is transformed into valuable new products rather than discarded.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: In a major breakthrough for sustainable technology, scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, have developed a way to transform difficult-to-recycle polyurethane (PU) foam into high-value materials for 3D printing.</p>.<p>PU foams, commonly found in mattresses, furniture, and insulation, are notoriously tough to recycle due to their complex chemical makeup and additives. Between 2015 and 2022, nearly 14.4 million tonnes of PU waste were generated globally, most of which ended up being incinerated or dumped in landfills.</p>.<p>Now, a team led by Professor Suryasarathi Bose and Professor Subodh Kumar at IISc has created a patented technology called SaLSO that offers a new path forward.</p>.IISc, nine others win challenge to tackle drug-resistant infections.<p>Samir Mandal, a PhD student involved in the research, explained that the method “selectively cleaves” certain chemical bonds in PU foams, breaking them down into usable components. These components can then be used as feedstock for 3D printing.</p>.<p>"This is a major leap in plastic waste management,” said Bose. “We’ve developed a sustainable solution to upcycle materials that were previously considered unrecyclable and patented a technology to convert long-unrecyclable PU foams and other challenging plastics into valuable 3D printing materials, breaking a major barrier in plastic waste management,” he added.</p>.<p>The process works on both hard and soft PU foams and has an efficiency of over 98%. What’s more, the technology isn’t limited to just PU. The team has also demonstrated its ability to process other tough-to-recycle plastics — such as epoxy, unsaturated polyesters, and upcycle polyolefins — into 3D-printable materials.</p>.<p>“This holistic approach gives us a powerful tool to address a broader range of plastic waste,” said researchers Indranil, Bhaskar, and Ashis, who are part of the team.</p>.<p>The 3D-printed products created from these recycled materials have shown promising performance, indicating real potential for applications across industries.</p>.<p>Globally, the PU market reached over 26 million metric tonnes in 2023 and is expected to grow to 31.27 million metric tonnes by 2030. With nearly 30 per cent of that production turning into waste each year, technologies like SaLSO could make a meaningful difference by promoting a circular economy — where waste is transformed into valuable new products rather than discarded.</p>