German chemical maker Covestro said on Monday that it is leading the Circular Foam project to research chemical recycling for polyurethane (PU) foams. The company said the research could help reduce about 1 million tons/year of waste and cut 2.9 million tons/year of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Covestro said the project would study the application of chemolysis and smart pyrolysis processes as two possible recycling paths for PU rigid foams.
The project will also save €150 million ($173.5 million) annually in PU incineration costs, the company added. A large portion of PU foams is disposed of in incinerators for energy recovery, which emits a large amount of CO2. The EU-wide project involves 22 partners from nine EU countries, including the CAT Catalytic Center of Germany’s RWTH Aachen University, BioBTX, ETH Zurich, and the University of Groningen. The project is estimated to cost €19 million ($21.9 million) and is eligible for EU’s funding of €15.8 million ($18.3 million).
