Ø Award for “Resource-efficient manufacturing of leather chemicals” (ReeL) project
Ø Modular plant for the recovery of retanning agents from leather residues successfully tested
Specialty chemicals company LANXESS received on September 26 the first prize in the nationwide Responsible Care competition from the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI). The company submitted the project “Resource-efficient manufacturing of leather chemicals” (ReeL).
Responsible Care is the chemical industry’s global initiative to continuously improve its performance in environmental protection, health and safety. This year’s competition was held under the motto “Sustainability in the supply chain”.
“Sustainability is also crucial for the leather industry and this award confirms to us that we are on the right track. In particular, the recycling of residual materials and the development of material cycles are essential topics,” said Luis López-Remón, head of the LANXESS Leather business unit. “Our ReeL project is not only good for the environment, but also brings economic benefits for the tanners.”
ReeL: Innovative technology for leather tanning
In this research project, LANXESS has developed a completely new technology for tanneries. Thanks to a modular system, it is possible to recycle all the residues from leather production directly on site. The main raw materials are biomass, collagen-containing shavings and waste cuts, which have so far generally been disposed of. Tanners can now produce X-Biomer retanning agents from these byproducts themselves and use them for the production of leather.
A medium-sized tannery produces about one to two tons of shavings per day. The waste materials used in the plant can be fully recycled – no residues remain and no emissions are generated.
The pilot plant for the project was developed in cooperation with the Leverkusen research institute INVITE. The process has since been tried and tested at the third cooperation partner HELLER-LEDER GmbH & Co. KG and proved its feasibility. Eight times larger production plants are currently being planned in cooperation with leading large-scale tanneries in Europe.
Award-winning research project
In April 2019, LANXESS won the Responsible Care state competition in North Rhine-Westphalia with “ReeL”. As the state winner, the Group also took part in the national competition. A jury of independent experts decided on the winners. The project has already won several awards, including the Climate and Environment Innovation Award in February 2018, which is presented by the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Construction and Nuclear Safety.
LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.2 billion in 2018. The company currently has about 15,400 employees in 33 countries and is represented at 60 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and Europe) and FTSE4Good.
Forward-Looking Statements
This company release contains certain forward-looking statements, including assumptions, opinions, expectations and views of the company or cited from third party sources. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause the actual results, financial position, development or performance of LANXESS AG to differ materially from the estimations expressed or implied herein. LANXESS AG does not guarantee that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does it accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this presentation or the actual occurrence of the forecast developments. No representation or warranty (expressed or implied) is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, any information, estimates, targets and opinions, contained herein, and no liability whatsoever is accepted as to any errors, omissions or misstatements contained herein, and accordingly, no representative of LANXESS AG or any of its affiliated companies or any of such person’s officers, directors or employees accept any liability whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from the use of this document.
