Evonik / The Vita Group: Partnership for pioneering efficient PU mattress recycling process

Evonik announced that it has used its expertise in polyurethane chemistry to develop an efficient chemical recycling process for converting flexible PU foams back to the original polyol raw material. The company said its new hydrolysis recycling process has the potential to achieve circularity in the flexible PU foam industry.

Evonik said that as the next phase of the development, the company will scale-up trials of its new process, which has been further strengthened by its partnership with The Vita Group, a provider of value-added and differentiated flexible PU foam products. The Vita Group has trialled the recycled polyols from Evonik's hydrolysis process in several of its flexible foam applications.

According to the latest report from Europur, the European association of flexible polyurethane foam blocks manufacturers, some 40 million mattresses are discarded each year in Europe alone, with the majority ending up as landfill creating the equivalent of 600,000 t/y of waste: including more than 300,000 t/y of PU foam. With the potential to recycle the main component materials used in flexible PU foams and PU foam-based mattresses, Evonik said its process offers significantly higher use levels of the recycled polyol compared with existing commercialised technologies.

The company said its solution will contribute to the global flexible PU industry’s sustainability expectations of reducing waste and increasing the use of renewable raw materials in the production of its products. This enables the company to expand its position as a solutions provider for the PU industry and supports the entire group’s objectives of establishing a fully functioning circular economy, said Evonik.

“It’s only by recycling products back to their raw materials and reusing them over and over again that we will enable a fully circular economy,” said Ralph Marquardt, Head of Evonik’s polyurethane additives business. “Our new hydrolysis process delivers recyclates of a quality and performance similar to that of virgin raw materials. Thus, innovative foam producers like our partner The Vita Group can meet their own sustainability targets, while continuing to deliver high-quality PU products.”

“The Vita Group is renowned for our long-history of innovation in sustainability and investing in circular economy products. We recycle and rebond over 30,000 tons of trim each year, as part of our dynamic sustainability agenda,” said Ian W. Robb, Group CEO for The Vita Group. “Sustainability and innovation are central principles of every aspect of our business. We see it as our responsibility to be at the vanguard of the development of eco-friendly technology within our industry. This hugely exciting partnership represents a key milestone on our journey to achieving the circular economy we are all striving for, and we look forward to working closely together with Evonik.”

www.evonik.com
www.thevitagroup.com