At its Hanau site, Evonik is advancing a technology capable of returning polyurethane (PU) foam to the materials cycle. Hesse’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Energy, Transport, Housing, and Rural Areas will support the further development of this innovative recycling process with a grant.
In Germany alone, thousands of tons of PU foam are generated annually from discarded mattresses, car seats, and furniture. Evonik is working to establish a technology that closes the loop. Using a newly developed hydrolysis process, the foam is broken down into its basic chemical building blocks. The resulting recyclates can be fully recovered and reused to manufacture high-quality products.
Evonik is now demonstrating what was successfully tested in the laboratory at a continuously operating pilot plant in Hanau. The goal is industrial-scale implementation—thereby replacing fossil raw materials, significantly reducing the CO₂ footprint, and consistently realizing a functioning circular economy.
Plans are in place to build a technology center in Hanau dedicated to the chemical recycling of plastics. This center will facilitate further research into processes for pretreatment (shredding, pelletizing, grinding) and the purification of reaction mixtures (filtration, centrifugation), as well as the utilization of additional waste streams.