Polyurethane Sustainability: Rise in the CO₂-Based Production Methodologies
- ial
- 53 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The fossil-based production of polyurethane foam and other products uses raw materials obtained from petroleum and natural gas, notably polyols and isocyanates.
The first phase in the production process is the extraction of crude oil and natural gas to generate propylene oxide, ethylene oxide, benzene, toluene, and other petrochemical intermediates.
These intermediates are subsequently turned into polyether or polyester polyols, as well as isocyanates such as methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and toluene diisocyanate (TDI). However, this production process does not correlate with the worldwide trend of shifting away from crude oil and natural gas-based fuels. This is also demonstrated in a study released by the University of Melbourne, which estimates GHG emissions from MDI-based PU rigid foam insulation at roughly 17.5 kgCO2 e/unit.
Figure 1: Conventional Pathway of PU Foam Production
Source: EUROPUR
The polyurethane sector has recently begun to investigate more environmentally friendly production methods. CO₂-based technologies have quietly become a strong alternative to traditional raw material manufacturing methods, such as mass balance, natural oil polyols, and recycled PET-based polyols. The article below provides a summary of these methods of raw material production.
CO₂-Based Polyols
CO₂-based poly(ether-carbonate) polyols are made by copolymerizing CO₂, a chain transfer agent (e.g., low molecular weight diols), and an epoxide with a catalyst (e.g., Zn-Co DMC).
The reaction below provides a brief overview of CO₂-based polyol synthesis (J. Langanke, 2014). It was also discovered that in this extremely exothermic reaction, CO₂ incorporation could reach around 50% by weight; however, in most situations, the amount ranges between 20 and 50%. J. Langanke et al. stated that when CO₂ pressure was adjusted from 15 to 90 bar, a satisfactory product was achieved with approximately 22 wt% CO₂ incorporation at 90 bar and the requisite flexibility of the polymer chain.
Figure 2: General Scheme of Polyethercarbonate Polyol Production
Source: J. Langanke, 2014
Andre Bardow and Niklas Von der Assen's life cycle study of polyethercarbonate polyols from CO2 reveals that 20 wt% CO2 polyols result in GHG emissions of 2.65-2.86 CO2-eq kg-1, which is roughly 11-19% lower than the conventional method. They also report that the cradle-to-gate system can reduce fossil resource consumption by 13-16%.
Monument Chemical also built a trial line of Poly-CO2 based on Econic Technologies in 2025, lowering the GWP by 20-30% when compared to traditional manufacturing methods.
Commercial manufacturing of CO₂-based polyols began in 2026, when Changhua Chemical and Econic Technologies opened the world's first commercial-scale production plant in Lianyungang, China. In addition, the company intends to double its production capacity in the following years.
CO2-Based Isocyanates
The traditional manufacture of isocyanates includes the use of hazardous phosgene, which does not align well with the sustainability goals of businesses worldwide. Using CO₂ in the production process overcomes this issue because it is safe, economical, and renewable.
The direct carboxylation reaction procedure involves the reaction of amines, carbon dioxide, and alcohol to form carbamate, which is then thermally decomposed to produce isocyanate, thereby renewing the alcohol. Leitner et al. (2018) presented the following fundamental production scheme:
Figure 3: General Scheme of TDI Production from CO₂
Source: Leitner et al, 2018
Another strategy to produce isocyanates via captured CO₂ pathways is to react amines with DMC to form carbamates, which are then thermally decomposed to yield isocyanates. The overall scheme of the reaction proposed by Ding et al. is shown below.
Figure 4: General Scheme of Production of TDI via DMC
Source: Ding et al., 2024
Commercially, only a few players are generating CO₂-based isocyanates globally because numerous limitations of the production process have yet to be addressed, most notably the reversible nature of carbamate thermal breakdown to isocyanates, which results in low equilibrium yield.
Aside from these two techniques, another intriguing strategy for producing CO₂-based polyurethanes is the non-isocyanate pathway. Our article, Polyurethane Sustainability: Production of CO2-Based NIPUs, provides a more complete overview.
In our report on the Global Overview of Sustainability in the Polyurethane Market 2026, we discussed the production of eco-friendly polyols using R-PET, NOPs, mass balance, and chemical recycling pathways, as well as the production of eco-friendly isocyanates using mass balance, NIPUs, sugar-lignin, and other niche methods. We are also continually adding new ways of synthesis, such as CO₂-based polyols, when they enter the commercial industrial production stage.
Figure 5: Global Production of Eco-Friendly Isocyanates and Polyols
Source: IAL Consultants
In conclusion, the polyurethane sector has closed the gap between experimental and commercial manufacturing of CO₂-based raw materials. However, in this quest, it appears that CO₂ inclusion in polyol manufacture is ahead of isocyanates and may accelerate much faster.
Research for this study was carried out in late 2025 and early 2026. Data are provided from 2021 to 2035, with the base year 2025.
To learn more about the report, please follow the link:
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