Covestro and the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology UMSICHT are set to operate a 2kt-per-year pilot plant for smart pyrolysis of rigid polyurethane foam waste. Operations are due to begin by 2028, marking a significant milestone in scaling up the technology to convert insulation waste into high-purity re-aniline and produce MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate). The resulting MDI will meet the same purity standards as conventional MDI, but with the benefit of a lower carbon footprint (by up to 40%) compared to conventional fossil-based production routes.
Covestro
Covestro and Fraunhofer UMSICHT to operate smart pyrolysis recycling plant
“The contract with Fraunhofer UMSICHT is a decisive step towards industrialising our smart pyrolysis technology,” said Dr Markus Dugal, Head of Process Technology of Covestro. “This partnership combines our chemical and technology expertise with Fraunhofer's process engineering capabilities and assets to scale a technology that is able to prove chemical recyclability of end-of-life Polyurethane materials, and that could fundamentally change how we source raw materials for MDI production. By recovering high-value molecules from waste streams, we're turning the circular economy from vision into reality while significantly reducing the carbon footprint of our products.”
As part of the agreement, Fraunhofer UMSICHT provides its pyrolysis research expertise and existing chemical recycling infrastructure to both implement and scale up Covestro's proprietary smart pyrolysis process. The pilot plant offers an annual capacity to recycle 2kt of end-of-life foam per year, with the resulting aniline amount able to produce insulation for around 200,000 refrigerators.
Prof Dr.-Ing. Manfred Renner, Head of Institute Fraunhofer UMSICHT, added, “This project represents the culmination of several years of intensive joint research. It’s perfectly in line with Fraunhofer’s mission to bridge the gap between research and application: we are not just demonstrating technical feasibility but actively moving towards industrial implementation.”
“The project is underpinned by our own research and technology developments in chemical recycling and downstream processing,” said Dr Alexander Hofmann, Head of Thermochemical Conversion Technologies at Fraunhofer UMSICHT. “The pilot plant will allow us to optimise process parameters at scale and provide sufficient material for further processing tests and market development.”
The MDI market for rigid foam is projected to grow from 1400 kt in 2025 to 1900kt in 2035 in Europe alone, due to the increasing demand for energy-efficient insulation in buildings and refrigeration. This makes the development incredibly timely.