Covestro Opens Pilot Plant for Chemical Recycling of High-Performance Elastomers

Covestro has commissioned a pilot plant for the chemical recycling of high-performance elastomers at its Leverkusen site in Germany. The project, involving an investment in the double-digit million-euro range, scales up a process previously developed at laboratory level for the polyurethane elastomer “Vulkollan”.

The technology is designed to recover chemical building blocks from selected end-of-life “Vulkollan” materials. According to Covestro, more than 90% of the input material by mass can be recycled under defined process and feedstock conditions. The company says the recovered material could reduce the carbon footprint by up to two-thirds compared with virgin fossil-based material.

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“Vulkollan” is used in applications including forklift wheels, railway buffers, automotive bump stops and vibration-damping components. The pilot plant will be used to investigate different end-of-life material streams, optimise process parameters and generate data for the potential industrial-scale deployment of the recycling technology.

Covestro also plans to use the facility to investigate selected speciality cast elastomers and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU). In parallel, the company is working with customers, recyclers, waste management companies, logistics providers and other partners on collection and take-back systems.

The aim is to secure suitable end-of-life material streams in sufficient volumes and of consistent quality for potential closed-loop recycling systems. Any future industrial implementation will depend not only on the technical scalability of the process, but also on the availability of suitable feedstock and the economic viability of the overall value chain.

The pilot plant forms part of Covestro’s activities to develop circular solutions for polyurethane elastomers. By moving the technology from laboratory to pilot scale, the company aims to assess the technical and economic conditions required for a potential industrial rollout.

More information: www.covestro.com

Covestro AG, Leverkusen, Germany

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