20
2021
Technology heroes
On a mission to achieve the very
best in chemical recycling
Michael Kugler and Marco Werth of RAMPF Eco Solutions have devoted their professional lives to developing chemical
solutions for the manufacturing of high-quality alternative polyols.
At RAMPF Eco Solutions, two of Europe’s largest multi-functional plants manufacture tailor-made
polyols from PU waste materials or PET/PSA using solvolysis.
One of RAMPF Eco Solutions’ products is
RECYPOL – ether and ester polyols based on
polyurethane materials.
A couple of years ago, some might have said I sound too emotional when de-scribing my job; however, things have
changed,’ says Marco Werth. Why? Because
higher temperatures, more droughts, warm-
ing oceans, shrinking ice sheets and rising sea
levels, as well as the global plastic waste crisis,
have radically altered the public debate. ‘To-
day,’ he explains, ‘when I say that I see it not
just as my job but as my duty to take care of
our planet for future generations, most people
agree with me, especially if they, like me, have
children.’
For more than 20 years, Werth has dedicat-
ed himself to chemical recycling and to mar-
keting the benefits of alternative polyols based
on polyurethane (PU) waste materials – first at
Regra Kunststofftechnik GmbH and then as
director of marketing & sales at RAMPF Eco
Solutions, which bought Regra’s “ecosystems”
business segment in 2003.
Chemical building blocks
‘Way too much plastic waste is still being
dumped in landfills or incinerated – and not
recycled,’ says Werth. ‘In chemical recycling,
the waste is broken down into its chemical
building blocks, meaning that the original
raw materials are recovered and then used for
the production of new products. That is why
chemical recycling is essential for establishing
a truly circular economy.’
At RAMPF Eco Solutions’ headquarters
in Pirmasens, Germany, two of Europe’s
largest multi-functional plants manufacture
tailored polyols from PU waste materials or
PET/PSA using solvolysis (glycolysis, acid-
olysis and polyolysis) on an industrial scale.
Following recycling by RAMPF or other PU
system houses, the resulting basic polyols are
reintegrated into the customer’s production
process.
‘The recycled polyols are of the high-
est quality and less expensive than primary
polyols,’ Werth notes. ‘By using so-called
alternative polyols, customers also reduce
their disposal costs and consumption of pet-
rochemical raw materials. More and more
relevant in the past couple of years is the
reputational gain achieved by using chemi-
cal recycling. Sustainability has become a key
decision-making criteria for many compa-
nies, not least because of legislative measures
in the EU.’
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20-21_rtheroes-rampf.indd 20 09-09-20 16:11
