October 14, 2025 15:02

At K2025 in Düsseldorf, BASF demonstrates two chemical recycling routes for automotive polyamides — one based on depolymerization, the other on solvent dissolution — both designed to close the loop ahead of forthcoming End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) regulation requirements.

In the depolymerization pilot project, BASF has partnered with ZF Group, a leading automotive systems supplier. Starting from used oil pans — components that are particularly difficult to dispose of and almost impossible to recycle mechanically — the process converts the polyamide into caprolactam, the monomer that, once purified, can replace fossil-derived material in the production of new nylon and its compounds, including those used in automotive applications.

The chemically recycled material has already been validated by ZF for use in a complex chassis component — the 'stabilizer link' (photo left) — manufactured for Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Testing on specimens and finished parts confirmed that depolymerization enables the production of polyamide compounds with mechanical and chemical performance equal to those made from virgin feedstock.

The second project focuses on the recovery of polyamide from automotive shredder residue (ASR), the mixture left after the removal of metals and glass. Working with a recycling partner, BASF successfully separated a nearly pure polyamide fraction using advanced sorting and processing technologies. This fraction was then recovered not through molecular breakdown, but via selective solvent dissolution. The resulting PA66 polymer was purified and reprocessed into high-quality compounds.

Validation on a real automotive component was achieved through a chain guide (main photo) produced in series for Mercedes-Benz and successfully tested under near-industrial conditions by Pöppelmann.
“The project impressively demonstrates that solvent-based recycling is a viable alternative for plastics that are difficult to recycle mechanically,” said Steffen Meyer, team leader, production technology at Pöppelmann. “It makes an important contribution to a fully integrated circular economy — from car to car.”

To quantify the environmental benefit, independent life cycle assessments (LCA) were conducted. “The results clearly show that both depolymerization and solvent-based recycling significantly reduce CO2 emissions compared with the production of virgin polyamide from fossil feedstocks and with thermal recovery,” BASF reports.

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