February 16, 2025 – BASF Europe Unveils Groundbreaking Patent for Efficient Polyurethane Material Recycling
BASF Europe has recently announced a significant technological innovation with the successful application of a patent titled “A Novel Method for Efficient Recovery of Raw Materials from Polyurethane Materials.” This patent introduces an unprecedented recycling process for polyurethane materials, marking a revolutionary breakthrough in the disposal of polyurethane waste and infusing new vitality into resource recycling and sustainable development.
Polyurethane materials, renowned for their exceptional properties, are widely used in various sectors including mattresses, furniture, and automotive seating. However, as polyurethane products become more prevalent, the challenge of managing their waste has grown increasingly prominent. Traditional recycling methods have numerous limitations, with mechanical recycling struggling to achieve efficient raw material reuse, while chemical recycling may produce harmful impurities, compromising the quality of recycled materials.
In response to this challenge, the BASF research and development team has ingeniously proposed a novel recycling technology solution. This solution enables efficient and clean recovery of polyurethane raw materials through key steps such as alcoholysis, separation, and purification. During the alcoholysis process, polyurethane materials react with alcoholyzing agents under the influence of catalysts, breaking the urethane and urea bonds to release polyols and amines. Subsequently, precision separation techniques are employed to divide the mixture into two phases: one rich in polyols and the other in alcoholyzing agents. According to information from the Color Masterbatch Industry Network, BASF also utilizes filtration, centrifugation, and decantation methods to remove solid impurities and enhance separation efficiency.
In the purification stage, BASF subjects the polyol-rich first phase to evaporation, ion exchange, and adsorption treatments, successfully removing impurities such as acids, potassium ions, and aromatic amines, yielding polyols with a purity exceeding 97wt.%. Meanwhile, the amine-rich second phase undergoes distillation purification, producing amines that can be utilized in the production of isocyanates, thereby facilitating resource recycling.
The patent technology also provides detailed elaboration on process parameters and application scope. By optimizing reaction conditions such as temperature, pressure, and time, BASF ensures the efficiency and controllability of the recycling process. Experimental data demonstrates that this method not only recovers high-purity polyols but also significantly reduces the content of harmful impurities in waste, addressing the environmental concerns associated with traditional recycling methods.
The emergence of this innovative technology signals the dawn of a new era in the field of polyurethane material recycling. With the continuous improvement of related industrial chains and ongoing technological advancements, BASF’s patent is poised to become a benchmark in the future polyurethane material recycling industry, making outstanding contributions to global resource recycling and environmental protection endeavors.