Green news: Covestro opens pilot chemical recycling plant in Germany; BASF/UPC to advance LowPCF solutions for plasticisers in Asia

German materials firm Covestro has opened a new pilot plant for the chemical recycling of high-performance elastomers at its Leverkusen site. The double-digit million-euro project moves a novel recycling process for Vulkollan from laboratory development into pilot operation.

Covestro opens its new pilot plant for elastomer recycling in Leverkusen, Germany. From left to right: Dr. Lennart Sandbrink, Project Lead Elastomer Recycling; Dr. Bastian Mahr, Engineering Lead Pilot Plant; Monique Buch, Chief Commercial Officer; Dr. Michael Traving, Plant Manager Piloting; Dr. Markus Dugal, Head of Process Technology; and Dr. Thomas Braig, Head of the Business Entity Elastomers. © Covestro

As one of the first installations of its kind worldwide for this material class, the pilot plant marks a pioneering step toward future-proof circular solutions for high-performance elastomers.

“Turning circularity into technically robust and commercially viable solutions is central to Covestro’s strategy,” said Monique Buch, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro. “With this pilot plant, we are bringing innovative chemistry closer to industrial application and responding to our customers’ growing demand for circular solutions. At the same time, the project demonstrates the contribution that Germany’s industrial and engineering expertise can make to more resilient and circular value chains in Europe.”

At the heart of the project is Vulkollan, a high-performance polyurethane elastomer used in forklift wheels, railway buffer elements, automotive jounce bumpers, and vibration control components. Often invisible, these materials are essential to the safe, reliable and long-lasting operation of vehicles and industrial equipment.

Covestro’s chemical recycling process breaks selected end-of-life Vulkollan material down into purified building blocks for reuse. It enables more than 90% of the material by mass to be recycled and can reduce the carbon footprint by up to two thirds compared with fossil-based virgin material.

The new pilot plant takes the technology beyond the laboratory, enabling Covestro to test different waste streams, refine the process and generate the data needed for future industrial scale-up.

Covestro is working with customers, recyclers, waste collectors, logistics providers and other partners to develop the collection and return systems needed for future closed-loop solutions.

These partnerships will be essential to securing suitable end-of-life materials, maintaining consistent feedstock quality and establishing an economically viable circular value chain for high-performance elastomers.

Building on the work with Vulkollan, Covestro also aims to use this pilot plant to explore circular solutions for selected specialty cast elastomers and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU).

With the new pilot plant, Covestro is strengthening Leverkusen as a centre for sustainable material innovation and advancing its ambition to become fully circular.

In other news, German chemicals firm BASF and UPC Technology Corporation (UPC) are partnering on LowPCF products to further advance the two companies collaboration on the use of BASF’s LowPCF products, supporting the plasticiser industry's transition towards a lower-carbon future.

BASF highlighted its upcoming LowPCF oxo alcohols and other sustainable product solutions from its Zhanjiang site in China using integration, process innovations and 100% renewable electricity supply to reduce emissions.

These products come with a cradle-to-gate PCF which is significantly lower than a defined internal or external baseline. This PCF reduction supports customers to reduce their Scope 3.1 emissions in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. The product carbon footprint assessment methodology is third-party certified.

"Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important differentiator across the chemical value chain," said Bir Darbar Mehta, Senior Vice President, Petrochemicals Asia Pacific, BASF. "Together with UPC, we are advancing solutions with significantly lower product carbon footprints that help customers achieve their sustainability goals and differentiate in their markets. Through collaboration across the value chain, we aim to create greater value for customers, support product differentiation and unlock new opportunities for sustainable growth."

Both companies say they will continue to strengthen their collaboration and expand opportunities to bring innovative LowPCF products to customers across Asia Pacific.

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