Polyurethane foam is widely used in everyday products, including automotive seats, mattresses, and furniture. However, used foam is frequently incinerated or sent to landfill, while conventional mechanical recycling generally restricts its use to lower-value applications. Chemical recycling offers the potential to recover important raw materials, such as polyols and amines, and thereby help close the loop in flexible polyurethane foam production.
Evonik’s pilot plant for PU recycling in Hanau, Germany (Source: Evonik)
Within the partnership, Toyotsu Chemiplas will coordinate the initiative and contribute its collection network and logistics expertise. Sanyo Chemical will provide its expertise in polyol development and process technology, while Evonik will contribute its proprietary hydrolysis-based chemical recycling process and technical expertise.
“This collaboration with our Japanese partners represents an important step toward developing a practical recycling model for polyurethane foam in Japan. It also reflects Evonik’s ambition to scale polyurethane recycling by building strong partnerships across the value chain. By combining local collection and logistics expertise with polyol development and our chemical recycling technology, we aim to recover valuable raw materials for use in new, high-quality polyurethane foams and support more circular polyurethane value chains,” said Dr. Martin Trocha, head of Comfort & Adhesives in Evonik’s Interface & Polyurethane Additives business line.
The partners plan to develop a system for collecting both post-consumer polyurethane foam and post-industrial scrap. The collected material will be chemically recycled into high-purity polyols and amines, intended for reuse as raw materials in the manufacture of new polyurethane products.
Evonik’s hydrolysis-based chemical recycling process is designed to produce recycled polyols with high purity and consistent quality. The process provides polyurethane foam manufacturers with a drop-in solution and can significantly reduce carbon footprint compared to virgin materials. New polyurethane foam has already been successfully produced using 100% recycled polyol derived from the process.
The three companies will jointly evaluate the entire process, from collection and sorting to the production of recycled polyols and the manufacture of new polyurethane products. This work will include quality assessments and further updates to Evonik’s existing life cycle assessment to reflect the proposed value chain in Japan. The objective is to commercialize the technology and establish a scalable recycling model for polyurethane foam in Japan.
Sustainability
Evonik, Toyotsu Chemiplas and Sanyo Chemical team up on polyurethane foam recycling
| By Mary Bailey
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany) has partnered with Toyotsu Chemiplas Corp. (Tokyo, Japan) and Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd. (Kyoto, Japan) to develop a recycling model for polyurethane foam in Japan for Japan. The partners aim to convert discarded foam into recycled polyols and amines for use in new polyurethane products. The initiative forms part of Evonik’s wider efforts to scale polyurethane recycling through collaboration across the value chain.
Polyurethane foam is widely used in everyday products, including automotive seats, mattresses, and furniture. However, used foam is frequently incinerated or sent to landfill, while conventional mechanical recycling generally restricts its use to lower-value applications. Chemical recycling offers the potential to recover important raw materials, such as polyols and amines, and thereby help close the loop in flexible polyurethane foam production.
Evonik’s pilot plant for PU recycling in Hanau, Germany (Source: Evonik)
Within the partnership, Toyotsu Chemiplas will coordinate the initiative and contribute its collection network and logistics expertise. Sanyo Chemical will provide its expertise in polyol development and process technology, while Evonik will contribute its proprietary hydrolysis-based chemical recycling process and technical expertise.
“This collaboration with our Japanese partners represents an important step toward developing a practical recycling model for polyurethane foam in Japan. It also reflects Evonik’s ambition to scale polyurethane recycling by building strong partnerships across the value chain. By combining local collection and logistics expertise with polyol development and our chemical recycling technology, we aim to recover valuable raw materials for use in new, high-quality polyurethane foams and support more circular polyurethane value chains,” said Dr. Martin Trocha, head of Comfort & Adhesives in Evonik’s Interface & Polyurethane Additives business line.
The partners plan to develop a system for collecting both post-consumer polyurethane foam and post-industrial scrap. The collected material will be chemically recycled into high-purity polyols and amines, intended for reuse as raw materials in the manufacture of new polyurethane products.
Evonik’s hydrolysis-based chemical recycling process is designed to produce recycled polyols with high purity and consistent quality. The process provides polyurethane foam manufacturers with a drop-in solution and can significantly reduce carbon footprint compared to virgin materials. New polyurethane foam has already been successfully produced using 100% recycled polyol derived from the process.
The three companies will jointly evaluate the entire process, from collection and sorting to the production of recycled polyols and the manufacture of new polyurethane products. This work will include quality assessments and further updates to Evonik’s existing life cycle assessment to reflect the proposed value chain in Japan. The objective is to commercialize the technology and establish a scalable recycling model for polyurethane foam in Japan.