Polyurethane Foam Recycling Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- Concentrated at the top. The top 5 assignees hold 61.3% of the 31 records in scope, and the ranked 10 account for 100.0% — there is no long tail beyond them in this dataset.
- Filing peaked in 2023. Activity built steadily from 2017's 2 records to a peak of 9 in 2023, with the most recent year understated by publication lag.
- Claims cluster in polymer processing. C08J covers 83.9% of the 31 records, far ahead of condensation-polymer chemistry (C08G, 45.2%) and acyclic/carbocyclic compounds (C07C, 38.7%).
Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 31 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Chemical recycling of polyurethane foam breaks the polymer back down to recover usable polyol — through glycolysis, hydrolysis, or catalytic routes designed to hit a target amine content and recyclate quality. The claims in this dataset sit at the intersection of waste-stream handling (mattress and foam scrap), reaction chemistry (catalyst selection, split-phase separation), and the downstream polyol specification that determines whether the recovered material can substitute for virgin polyol in new foam.
The 31 records in scope span 2015 to the 2026 data cut-off, filed through WIPO, European, US, Canadian and other receiving offices. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent year's count understates real filing activity.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 31 records: how filing activity moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Filings rose from 2 records in 2017 to a peak of 9 in 2023, the highest single year in the dataset. The 2026 figure is partial and should not be read as a decline — publication lag means the true count for the most recent year always arrives late.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
C08J (polymer processing and solutions) appears in 83.9% of the 31 records, well ahead of C08G condensation-polymer chemistry (45.2%) and C07C acyclic/carbocyclic compounds (38.7%). Because a single record can carry several IPC classes, these shares add up to more than 100% of the record total — they are not mutually exclusive buckets.
Shares are the percentage of the 31 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Chemical Recycling of Polyurethane Foam with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about chemical recycling of polyurethane foam and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records in this dataset
US5968992A — Reduction of the amine content of recycled polyols
In a process for reducing the primary amine content of a composition comprising at least one polyol, in which a composition comprising at least one polyol is admixed with at least one isocyanate which contains only secondary and/or tertiary, aliphatically bound isocyanate groups, isocyanate is added in an amount of up to 5% by weight, based on the total composition, and a polyol preparation is obtained.Filed by BASF Aktiengesellschaft; this is one of the more heavily cited records in the dataset, pointing to a claim that later filers had to design around or build on.
View full record| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5300530A | Process for modifying the glycolysis reaction product of polyurethane scrap | 35 |
| 2 | EP1693409A1 | Process for the recovery of polyols from polyurethane foam waste using a novel catalyst | 25 |
| 3 | US20210017354A1 | Method for producing polyol dispersions from polyurethane waste and use thereof | 16 |
| 4 | US5968992A | Reduction of the amine content of recycled polyols | 11 |
| 5 | US11124623B2 | Method for producing polyol dispersions from polyurethane waste and use thereof | 9 |
| 6 | EP0601596A1 | Process for modifying the glycolysis reaction product of polyurethane scrap | 8 |
| 7 | WO2024161203A1 | Conversion of polyisocyanurate | 2 |
| 8 | WO2023209022A1 | Recycling of polyurethanes by aminolysis with reagents comprising primary and/or secondary and tertiary amino… | 1 |
| 9 | WO2023194469A1 | Process for depolymerizing polyurethane | 1 |
| 10 | CA2242980A1 | Reduction of the amine content of recycled polyols | 1 |
Ranked by citation count within this searched corpus. Older records accumulate more citations simply by being in circulation longer, so treat this as a signal of influence rather than of current commercial importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Read together, the concentration figures and the IPC mix say more about where to file next than either does alone.
Few players, little room at the centre
With the top 5 assignees holding 61.3% of the 31 records in scope and the ranked 10 covering 100.0%, there is no long tail of small independent filers in this dataset. New entrants are more likely to find open space at the edges of the claim map than in the core catalyst and separation chemistry.
Activity built through 2023, then the count thins
Filings rose from 2 records in 2017 to a peak of 9 in 2023. The drop shown in 2025-2026 is expected: publication lag of roughly 18 months means recent filings have not all surfaced yet, not that interest has fallen.
Polymer processing claims dominate the crowded ground
C08J (polymer processing and solutions) touches 83.9% of the 31 records, meaning most applicants are claiming around the processing step rather than novel condensation chemistry (C08G, 45.2%) or the underlying compounds (C07C, 38.7%). Filing a narrow processing claim now competes with a dense prior-art base.
The oldest cited record still anchors the field
US5300530A, on modifying the glycolysis reaction product of polyurethane scrap, carries 35 citations — the highest in this dataset. High citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older records simply by virtue of time in circulation, so this marks foundational influence, not current commercial weight.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to chemical recycling of polyurethane foam, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gate sits
The ranked assignees cover the full 31-record dataset — there is no unranked tail behind them. Recent-year momentum shows most named leaders with zero filings in the latest year, consistent with publication lag rather than withdrawal.
One filer sits ahead of the field
The leading assignee holds 4 of the 31 records in scope, with fifth place at 3 and tenth place at 2 — a gradual taper rather than a single dominant player pulling far ahead.
A tight cluster behind the leader
Positions two through five sit close together, each holding a handful of records rather than a single competitor breaking away. This makes freedom-to-operate checks a multi-party exercise, not a single clearance.
Filing partnerships are the exception, not the rule
Only 7 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, the strongest linking a research institute and a university on 3 shared records. Most filings in this field are single-assignee.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| BASF SE | 1 | — |
| Dow Global Technologies LLC | 0 | -100% |
| Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Unilin BVBA | 0 | — |
| Teknologisk Institut | 0 | — |
| Aarhus University | 0 | — |
| KEMIJSKI INST | 0 | — |
| NABER BERNHARD | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a few concrete next steps depending on whether you are clearing a design or scouting a filing gap.
Run a freedom-to-operate check against the cluster
With 100.0% of the 31 records held by the ranked 10 assignees, any new filing in the core catalyst or separation chemistry should be checked against several parties at once, not one incumbent.
Explore assignee claims in EurekaMap the under-claimed branches before drafting
Thin coverage in split-phase separation control and recyclate-quality specification suggests room for a first claim, but only after confirming the gap holds up against the full claim text, not just the IPC tag.
Search white space in EurekaCommon questions about this landscape
The assignee ranking for this dataset returns 14 companies, covering all 31 records in scope. The top 5 alone account for 61.3% of the 31 records, and the ranked 10 account for the full 100.0% — there is no unranked long tail of additional filers beyond this group. This means competitive checks in this space involve a manageable, finite set of parties rather than a sprawling field.
Claims concentrate in polymer processing and solutions (C08J, 83.9% of the 31 records), with a substantial secondary cluster in condensation-polymer chemistry (C08G, 45.2%) and acyclic/carbocyclic compound chemistry (C07C, 38.7%). Smaller pockets cover layered/laminate products, polymer compositions, heterocyclic chemistry and textile treatment. In practice this means most filed claims are about how the recycling process runs — glycolysis or hydrolysis steps, catalyst selection, phase separation — rather than about novel base chemistry.
Filing rose from 2 records in 2017 to a peak of 9 records in 2023, the highest single year in the dataset. Counts for 2025 and 2026 appear lower, but that reflects publication lag of roughly 18 months rather than declining interest — filings from those years are still working through to publication. Anyone reading the trend chart should treat the most recent one to two years as understated by default.
US5968992A, held by BASF Aktiengesellschaft, covers a process for reducing the primary amine content of a recycled polyol composition by admixing it with a specific class of isocyanate — one containing only secondary and/or tertiary, aliphatically bound isocyanate groups — added at up to 5% by weight of the total composition. Anyone recovering polyol from polyurethane waste and treating amine content as a quality specification should check their post-treatment step against this claim scope. It is one of the more heavily cited records in this dataset, indicating later filers have had to design around or build on it.
Relative to the dense coverage in polymer processing and condensation chemistry, sub-areas like split-phase separation control, recyclate quality specification methods, mattress-waste feedstock pre-treatment, and recycling of textile-treated or laminated foam (D06M and B32B, each at 3.2% to 9.7% of the 31 records) carry noticeably thinner claim density. That does not guarantee an open filing path — it means fewer competing claims to search against, and worth checking against full claim text before drafting.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.