Evonik has partnered with Toyotsu Chemiplas Corporation and Sanyo Chemical Industries to develop a recycling model for polyurethane foam in Japan, aiming to convert discarded foam into recycled polyols and amines for new polyurethane products.
Polyurethane foam is widely used in automotive seats, mattresses and furniture, but used foam is frequently incinerated or landfilled, while conventional mechanical recycling generally restricts its use to lower-value applications.
Within the partnership, Toyotsu Chemiplas will coordinate the initiative and contribute its collection network and logistics expertise. Sanyo Chemical will provide polyol development and process technology, while Evonik will contribute its proprietary hydrolysis-based chemical recycling process.
The partners plan to develop a system for collecting post-consumer polyurethane foam and post-industrial scrap, which will be chemically recycled into high-purity polyols and amines for reuse as raw materials.
Evonik said new polyurethane foam has already been successfully produced using 100% recycled polyol derived from the process. The three companies will jointly evaluate the entire process, from collection and sorting to production of recycled polyols, with the aim of commercializing the model in Japan.
