On the way to circular elastomers: Covestro opens pilot plant in Leverkusen

Covestro has opened a new pilot plant to the chemical recycling of high-performance elastomers at its site in Leverkusen. With the project in the double-digit million euro range, the company is converting a new type of recycling process to Vulkollan®From laboratory research to pilot operation.

As one of the world's first vegetation of this type to this material class, the pilot plant is a pioneering measure towards future-proof circular solutions to high-performance elastomers. The project builds on the strong German chemical and engineering expertise and underlines Covestro's commitment to Leverkusen as a location to manufacturing innovation.

“To convert circularity into technically robust and economically viable solutions is a central part of Covestro's strategy,” said Monique Buch, Covestro's Chief Commercial Officer. “With this pilot plant, we are bringing innovative chemistry one measure closer to manufacturing consumption and responding to the growing demand of our customers to circular solutions. At the same time, the project shows what contribution German manufacturing and engineering expertise can make to greater resilient and circular value chains in Europe.”

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From laboratory scale to technical validation

At the heart of the project is Vulkollan.®, A high-performance polyurethane elastomer that is applied, among other things, in forklift wheels, rail buffers, stop buffers in the automotive sector and components to vibration damping. Often barely visible, these materials make a significant contribution to the safe, reliable and long-lasting operation of vehicles and manufacturing vegetation.

Covestro chemical recycling process breaks down selected Vulkollan®-applied materials in purified chemical building blocks that can be applied again. Under defined process and feedstock conditions, greater than 90 percent of the selected material can be recycled based on the mass. At the same time, the CO₂ footprint of the recovered material can be reduced by up to two thirds compared to fossil-based new material.

With the new pilot plant, Covestro is now going beyond the laboratory scale. The company can test different discarded materials material streams, further optimize the process and obtain the necessary data to possible future manufacturing scaling.

“This pilot plant is an crucial measure on our way to commercialization,” said Dr. Thomas Braig, Head of the Business Entity Elastomers at Covestro. “It enables us to enhance the technical feasibility of chemical recycling of Vulkollan®To demonstrate under greater practical conditions, to systematically further develop the process and to create the basis to a possible future manufacturing consumption. Our goal is to work with our customers and partners to develop scalable circular solutions to high-performance elastomers.”

Building a circular value chain

Covestro works with customers, recycling companies, discarded materials disposal companies, logistics service providers and other partners to develop the collection and take-back systems required to future closed cycles.

These partnerships are crucial in order to make suitable scrap materials available, to ensure consistent condition of input materials and to build an economically viable circular value chain to high-performance elastomers.

Building on the work with Vulkollan®Covestro also wants to consumption the pilot plant to investigate circular solutions to selected special casting elastomers and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU).

With the new pilot plant, Covestro is strengthening Leverkusen as a location to sustainable material innovations and at the same time pushing ahead with its goal of becoming completely circular.