Covestro (Leverkusen / Germany; www.covestro.com) has joined a European research project that aims to improve the recycling of polyurethanes (PU). The "PUReSmart" project will run for four years and receive funding of EUR 6m from the European Union under its "Horizon 2020" research and innovation programme.

Belgian foams specialist Recticel (Brussels; www.recticel.com) is coordinating the project, which aims to recover 90% of used PU and create high-quality raw materials for existing or new PU applications. Covestro is working to determine the best possible chemical recycling method for post-use PU along with the qualitative treatment of the material flows generated.

“Polyurethanes are a particularly versatile and widely used class of plastics that provide comfort and safety in many applications worldwide and, as an insulating material, contribute to energy savings and thus to sustainability,” said Nikola Schuck, who heads Covestro's contributions to PUReSmart. “Now it's time to increase the sustainable value of the material at the end of its useful life.”

The other participants in the project include the companies Ayming (Paris / France; www.ayming.com), BT-Wolfgang Binder (Eggersdorf bei Graz / Austria; www.btw-binder.com), Ecoinnovazione (Bologna / Italy; www.ecoinnovazione.it) and WeylChem InnoTec (Frankfurt / Germany; www.weylchem-innotec.com). Academic partners are the Ghent University (Ghent / Belgium; www.ugent.be), KU Leuven (Leuven / Belgium; www.kuleuven.be) and the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (Castilla-La Mancha / Spain; www.uclm.es).