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The Netherlands has 180,000+ waterproof mattresses in the healthcare sector, of which
annually 40,000+ mattresses are discarded. Owing to the rapidly aging population it is
expected to increase the demand for these waterproof mattresses in the consumer sector as
well. Considering the complex nature of functional mattresses, these valuable resources are
partly incinerated. One of the most difficult parts to recycle is mattress cover due to its
complex structure and chemistry (coating). To achieve a circular economy, Dutch Government
aims for a 50% reduction in the use of primary raw materials in five key economic sectors
including 'consumer products' by 2030.
Within the scope of this GOCH.KIEM. KGC02.104 (period 7th March 2022 till 6th March 2023)
research project, Saxion together with partners (CFC BV, Deron BV, MRE BV & Klieverik Heli
BV) will bring emphasis on Recycling of two type of mattress cover. Other aspects such as
reuse of PU coated mattress cover have been explored up to certain extend. Re-designing part
is beyond the scope of this project proposal, for which a bigger consortium have been built
during this project. A case under study is a water-impermeable mattress cover made of 100%
polyester with polyurethane (PU) coatings. The goal is to enable the circular use of textiles
with (multilayer) 'coatings', which are not recyclable yet. These 'coatings' comprise functional
coatings as well as adhesion layers. The coatings will be activated by a specific trigger (bio)-
chemical solvation, heat, pressure, etc. The emphasis is to develop a scalable separation of
multilayer mattress cover.
Work has been carried out to identify and analyze the structure of the PU coated textile cover.
Literature research on recycling processes for PU foam was performed and a method for
removing the PU coating from the ticking using solvent-based agitation was developed (as a
benchmark). Attempts were also made to fully recycle the separated PU coating using
enzymatic degradation, heat, pressure etc. Finally, recommendations are made for reuse of
both the coated and the uncoated ticking for other products within the medical sector.
Another type of mattress cover (multilayer mattress ticking samples) was received from the
partner MRE bv. Here the focus on mechanical recycling or separation of multiple layers.
Towards the end an optimal mechanical separation tool has been designed after evaluating
several concepts. Cost calculations have been made to evaluate the commercial feasibility of
such work. For MRE, a set of concept machinery was developed which slices and splits
mattresses into its constituent layers. The device is based on a set of rollers that feeds
mattresses over a razorblade that moves back and forth like the shuttle on an old timey loom,
slicing through the stitching that packs the layers together. This machine would absolve the
labor intensity of MRE’s first step in mattress recycling; a process where workers would
manually cut open mattresses to split them into stacks of similar materials.
The KIEM GoChem KCC02.104 was an important instrument that allowed us (Saxion, MRE BV,
CFC and Klieverik Heli BV) to explore several possible routes toward recycling of coated
mattress cover from the healthcare sector. With this KIEM GoChem project, we have started
understanding challenges related to mattresses in the healthcare sector. Recycling of coated
mattress cover is an essential component for achieving circularity in the mattress supply chain.
This work has allowed us to build larger consortia which have been granted Raak MKB project
ReMat – Reinventing circular and functional Mattresses for the healthcare sector (Raak mkb
16.006). At least 8 students have worked on this KIEM project.
This proposal is a resubmission of an earlier proposal (Dossier nr: GOCH.KIEM.KGC02.079) which was not approved because of the too ambitious planning. As advised by the commission, the focus is kept only on the recycling of the mattress cover.
The Netherlands has 180,000+ waterproof mattresses in the healthcare sector, of which yearly 40,000+ mattresses are discarded. Owing to the rapidly aging population it is expected to increase the demand for these waterproof mattresses in the consumer sector as well. Considering the complex nature of functional mattresses, these valuable resources are partly incinerated. To achieve a circular economy, Dutch Government aims for a 50% reduction in the use of primary raw materials in five key economic sectors including ‘consumer products’ by 2030.
Within the scope of this research, Saxion together with partners (CFC BV, Deron BV, MRE BV & Klieverik Heli BV) will bring emphasis on Recycling (sustainable chemistry) of mattress covers. Other aspects such as reuse and re-designing are beyond the scope of this project proposal, for which a bigger consortium will be built during the course of this project. A case under study is a water-impermeable mattress cover made of 100% polyester with polyurethane (PU) coatings. The goal is to enable the circular use of textiles with (multilayer) ‘coatings’, which are not recyclable yet. These ‘coatings’ comprise functional coatings as well as adhesion layers. Therefore, novel triggerable molecular systems and the corresponding recycling processes will be developed. The coatings will be activated by a specific trigger (bio)-chemical solvation, heat, pressure, humidity, microwave, or combination of thereof. The emphasis is to develop a scalable coating removal process.
Learnings will be used to build larger (inter)-national consortia to develop multiple industry closed-loop solutions required for 100% mattress circularity with desired functionality. The generated knowledge will be used for education at Saxion.