Patented recycling solution for plastic products containing superabsorbents
LaMa Recycling GmbH, a newly-founded recycling company based in Würzburg, Germany, has developed an innovative process that allows plastic products containing superabsorbents to be economically processed into high-quality regranulate.
(From left) Dr. Lars Helmlinger, Stefan Zuljevic, Dr. Marieluise Lang, and Thomas Wolz, all founders of LaMa Recycling.
A recycling challenge brought from construction industry
Superabsorbent polymers (SAP) are widely used in the construction industry, including in drainage membranes, sealing mats, geotextiles, and other construction products used wherever water needs to be drained in a controlled manner or permanently kept out.
Once these products reach the end of their useful life, processing them currently poses insurmountable challenges for the recycling industry: The combination of plastic carrier material and superabsorbent makes processing using conventional methods impossible.
Solution: A patented process yielding ready-to-use regranulate
LaMa Recycling GmbH has developed a patented, customized recycling process: Plastic products containing superabsorbents are processed into high-quality regranulate that can be reused in production, without the superabsorbent interfering with the recycling process.
The processing works not only in the lab but also reliably on an industrial scale. With a throughput of 200 kg/h, the company is ready to bring the technology to market.
Based at SKZ Plastics Center
The company was founded by Dr. Lars Helmlinger, Dr. Marieluise Lang, and Thomas Wolz. Based at the SKZ Plastics Center in Würzburg, LaMa Recycling GmbH is part of an innovation-driven environment for research, development, and technology transfer in the plastics industry. This proximity to academia and industry supports the further development and market launch of the new recycling technology.
The technology is also receiving funding through mid-2027 as part of the EXIST Technology Transfer program—one of Germany’s most prestigious funding programs for transferring cutting-edge technologies from academia to the market.
