BASF launches EPS with recycled material for construction industry

BASF has expanded its portfolio of graphitic expandable polystyrene (EPS) granulate. The Neopor F 5 Mcycled contains 10% recycled material and is suitable for applications in buildings, particularly facade insulation.

The new raw material is produced using the extrusion process and offers the same mechanical properties and optimized insulation performance as Neopor F 5200 Plus.

The new raw material was developed by BASF together with Karl Bachl GmbH & Co KG. The quality of the recycled material used plays an important role in meeting the exacting product demands in the various construction applications.

Both the recycled material used and the insulation raw material are REDcert²-certified. The recycled material comes from mechanically recycled EPS waste. Currently, at least 42% of the EPS packaging waste in Germany is recycled, according to the Conversio study from 2019.

Neopor F 5 Mcycled contains 10% recycled material and is suitable for applications in buildings.

“Today’s EPS insulation materials from the construction and packaging sectors can be fully recycled. At present, the high-quality recycled material is mainly sourced from waste streams from the packaging sector. That means we can already ensure that the recycled material is of the necessary high quality,” brought up Michael Küblbeck, Managing Director of Karl Bachl GmbH & Co KG.

With Neopor F 5 Mcycled, BASF is expanding its EPS portfolio with an improved sustainability profile. The new raw material complements the mass-balanced products Styropor Ccycled and Neopor BMB, which are produced from alternative raw materials.

"With Neopor F 5 Mcycled, BASF can offer an insulation raw material with a closed EPS recycling loop for the first time," remarked Klaus Ries, Vice President Business Management Styrenics Europe at BASF. "In the coming years, we want to work with our European partners to increase EPS recycling along the entire value-added chain and expand it to other waste streams."

For the production of Styropor Ccycled, fossil raw materials are replaced by pyrolysis oil, which is obtained from chemically recycled plastic waste. The pyrolysis oil is allocated to the subsequent end product via the mass balance approach.

Styropor Ccycled has a significantly improved carbon footprint and contributes to the circular economy. In the production of the insulation raw material Neopor BMB, fossil raw materials are replaced by renewable feedstock using the biomass balance method (BMB).

This reduces the carbon footprint of the insulation raw material by up to 90% in the production phase alone, compared with traditionally produced Neopor. At the same time, the insulation material retains all its proven product properties.