Unilin opens full-scale recycling plant for PIR insulation boards, an industry first
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Waregem, Today, Unilin, worldwide leader in interior and construction products, is opening the world’s first full-scale recycling plant for PIR insulation boards in Desselgem. With this state-of-the-art facility, Unilin Insulation becomes the first insulation manufacturer able to chemically recycle not only in-house production waste but also post-industrial PIR insulation boards into new PIR insulation boards. With its own R&D and an investment worth €8 million, Unilin is taking a major step towards making PIR insulation boards circular while reducing its carbon footprint.
PIR: high-performance insulation with a long lifespan
Unilin produces PIR insulation boards for walls and floors, as well as flat and pitched roofs. PIR is made by chemically reacting two main components: polyol and MDI. PIR has the advantage of offering a higher thermal insulation value than conventional materials such as mineral wool (glass/stone wool), XPS or EPS. The lightweight panels are easy to install, walkable and deliver high insulation performance with reduced thickness thanks to their low lambda value. What’s more, PIR insulation has a long service life. Contrary to other insulation products, its insulation value barely decreases, even after 50 years.
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Self-developed recycling process
Circularity remains a challenge for PIR insulation boards. Unilin was already able to mechanically recycle PIR board waste. In 2024, Rezillo was launched: a moisture-resistant construction board made from mechanically recycled PIR waste. With the current investment, Unilin is taking the next step by now also chemically recycling PIR waste boards into raw materials for new PIR insulation boards. From PIR insulation board to PIR insulation board.
"Some insulation manufacturers had already been processing PUR or PIR waste from other applications, such as sandwich panels, in the production of new PIR boards. Until recently, however, recycling PIR insulation boards back into PIR insulation boards wasn’t possible. In a major milestone, our own R&D department has now cracked that code." - Jeroen De Temmerman, President Unilin Insulation
The recycling process consists of three steps: shredding, filtering and chemical recycling. In the initial step, PIR insulation boards are broken and shredded into small pieces. Step two involves an internally developed procedure that, among other things, uses wind sifting to separate the PIR particles from the paper or aluminium facing of the panels. The purified PIR is then fed into a reactor. Through glycolysis, this reactor breaks down the components of PIR into polyol, among other things. The recycled polyol can then be reintroduced in the standard production process. Reacting the recycled polyol with MDI enables the production of new PIR insulation boards. With this new investment, Unilin is able to self-produce up to 50% of its polyol requirement.
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Further upscaling of recycling capacity
The PIR recycling plant marks a major stride towards making PIR insulation circular. Unilin plans to further scale up the recycling capacity within its insulation operations.
“The capacity of the recycling plant for PIR insulation boards in Desselgem will be gradually ramped up, initially using internal board waste and subsequently also post-industrial waste from construction sites. Based on the experience in Desselgem, we will then explore building an additional recycling plant in the UK in the course of next year. Studies for this project are underway. In addition, we are continuing to invest in research into additional recycling techniques to recycle not only the polyols but also the MDI components.” - Jeroen De Temmerman, President Unilin Insulation
Take-back through the Recover programme
Over the last year, Unilin has also been working on a take-back model through the Unilin Recover programme to collect PIR waste from construction sites in collaboration with the construction industry and return it to its own production sites. This Recover programme forms the crucial link to supply the recycling plant with post-industrial PIR board waste.
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About Unilin’s Insulation division
Unilin is one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of polyurethane (PU) and a market leader in terms of self-supporting roof elements. At present, Unilin’s insulation branch operates in Western Europe at a total of 8 production sites in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, the UK and Ireland. In addition, a new production site is currently under construction in Poland. Unilin’s insulation products are marketed under such household names as Usystem, Utherm, Usafe and Rezillo.
Discover more about Unilin Insulation
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