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means less waste and the effective<br />
preservation of resources. through<br />
the continual further development<br />
of intelligent functional materials,<br />
duropal is enabling this advantage<br />
to be used in an increasing number<br />
of application areas.<br />
PHASE 3: RECYCLING<br />
at the end of the life cycle of an HPL<br />
material, it is ideally disposed of by<br />
combustion for energy recycling,<br />
rather than material recycling. and<br />
this is for a good reason, because<br />
however surprising it may sound,<br />
the possible recycling of HPL is less<br />
advisable than environmentallycompatible<br />
energy recycling. While<br />
recycling would mean further con-<br />
68 _ HPL World<br />
Energy recycling by<br />
suitable combustion<br />
sumption of energy, combustion<br />
converts the energy bound up in<br />
the materials into usable heat or<br />
electricity. due to the high calorific<br />
value, a large proportion of<br />
the energy needed for the production<br />
of HPL is recovered, thereby<br />
completing the cycle.<br />
<strong>THE</strong> BALANCE<br />
at every phase from production<br />
to use and on to energy recycling,<br />
HPL shows itself to be an environmentally<br />
compatible material.<br />
the individual balances such as<br />
raw material consumption, energy<br />
consumption, carbon dioxide emissions<br />
and waste levels also stand<br />
up to the closest scrutiny — particu-<br />
Hygienic + durable<br />
thanks to high resilience<br />
larly if one also considers the long<br />
useful life of HPL. this results in a<br />
clearly positive overall balance. the<br />
life cycle analysis according to the<br />
cradle-to-cradle principle (“From<br />
the cradle to the grave and back”)<br />
produces all in all a positive environmental<br />
profile. this reinforces<br />
the good reputation of high-pressure<br />
laminates — including in the<br />
environmental area. the environmental<br />
profile simultaneously<br />
confirms the years of quality work<br />
of HPL manufacturers. duropal will<br />
continue to follow this path in future<br />
with additional and consistent<br />
efforts in the field of research and<br />
development.<br />
This article is based on the results of a scientifically-founded, internationally recognised comprehensive life cycle analysis under ISO (Draft)<br />
14040–14043, which was carried out by the well-known independent Dutch testing institute Intron.<br />
<strong>THE</strong> LIFE CYCLE OF HIGH-PRESSURE LAMINATE<br />
RECYCLING PRODUCTION<br />
USE<br />
raw materials<br />
Paper + resins<br />
Environmentally-friendly<br />
production
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