Covestro to build Leverkusen pilot plant for Vulkollan chemical recycling
- Investment: double-digit million euros to develop and construct a pilot plant in Leverkusen, Germany.
- Construction is estimated to take about one year until technical completion.
- Process can recycle more than 90% of end-of-life Vulkollan material and reduce carbon footprint by up to two thirds versus virgin material.
- Chemical recycling breaks elastomers into purified monomers for reuse, allowing reintroduction into new jounce bumpers and forklift tires via mass balancing.
Project and investment
Covestro will build a pilot plant for chemical recycling of Vulkollan® elastomers at its Leverkusen site, funded with an investment in the double-digit million-euro range. Construction is estimated to take about one year until technical completion.
Process and performance
The proposed chemical recycling process breaks elastomeric end-of-life material into its chemical building blocks to obtain purified monomers that can be reused with known and proven quality. Covestro states the technology can recover a mass fraction of more than 90% of end-of-life material such as forklift tires and can reduce the carbon footprint by up to two thirds compared with virgin material. Reclaimed material can be re‑introduced into products like automotive jounce bumpers and forklift tires via a mass-balancing approach.
Scale-up and collaboration
The pilot plant will move the process beyond lab scale to test various waste streams and end-of-life materials, refine the technology and demonstrate feasibility. Covestro positions the facility as a platform to engage customers and potential partners, with the aim of developing a larger commercial recycling plant and establishing reverse value-chain solutions for circular elastomer use.
Source: covestro.com