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Recycling of automotive headliners has been carried out by grinding them and forming composites with isocyanate-based binders. Rear-seat-to-back-window trim panels have been prepared. Composites with 80-90 wt.% of scrap manufactured in plant runs exhibited mechanical properties comparable to the existing products. The rear-seat-to-back-window trim panel composites were produced by compression molding ground scrap-binder pre-preg sheets for 30 seconds at moderate temperatures, with no postcuring. This is the best indication that the utilization of the scrap headliners is both technically and economically sound. The plant runs have confirmed the feasibility of production of large parts with relatively complex shapes such as headliners. The adhesion of decorative materials to the composite substrates was excellent. More importantly, the decorative materials can be applied to the substrate during compression molding without any additional adhesive.

Between 10- and 11-million scrap vehicles are being recycled each year in the United States by the automotive shredder industry. Presently, they are able to recover 95%of the ferrous and non-ferrous metals in an automobile, which translates to roughly 75% of the total car weight. However, up to 3-million tons of waste, commonly known as fluff or automotive shredder residue (ASR), are generated and landfilled by automotive shredders every year. In order to increase the efficiency of recovery of both ferrous and non-ferrous metals from the shredded vehicles, many new developments have been made in separation technology in the last few years. This paper describes recent developments in shredder downstream separation processes and recycling options for automotive shredder residue.

Process temperature profiles of a two-component rigid poly(urethane-isocyanurate) foam system were studied and compared with the predictions of a one-dimensional numerical simulation. This model is based on experimentally determined thermophysical properties including thermal diffusivity, enthalpy of reaction, and rate of reaction. Temperature profiles were measured at three positions within the foam and at the foam surface for mold temperatures of 25°C and 55°C. High rate of reaction and heat of reaction, along with low thermal diffusivity, cause temperatures near the foam center to be insensitive to mold temperatures for thick samples. Thermal analysis and spectroscopic methods were used for determination of thermophysical properties. Temperature dependent heat capacity was evaluated using dynamic DSC. Reaction kinetics were studied using FTIR and isothermal DSC measurements.

In this paper, we review the synthesis, morphology, and physical and mechanical properties of IPN’s as well as the related pseudo-IPN’s in which only one of the polymers is cross-linked. Recent studies have shown that the degree of phase separation achieved in these materials is strongly dependent on the compatibility of blends of the linear polymer constituents of the IPN components, as well as the kinetics of chain extension and the presence of grafting between component polymers. We illustrate this by a series of IPN’s consisting of a polyurethane and an acrylic copolymer. The acrylic is a typical automotive enamel. An enhancement in properties results which is dependent on the amount of grafting and the kinetics of polymerization. Also discussed are IPN’s of a polyurethane and an epoxy, which exhibited a synergism in adhesive properties, and IPN’s of a RIM polyurethane with several epoxies and unsaturated polyesters.