Method for recovering raw materials from polyurethane foams

A process for recovering raw materials from a polyurethane foam, comprising:

• (A) providing a polyurethane foam that is based on an isocyanate component and a polyol component;
• (B) conducting chemolysis of the polyurethane foam with an alcohol and water in the presence of a catalyst at a temperature of 130° C. to 195° C., wherein
• the mass ratio of alcohol and water to the polyurethane foam is in the range from 0.5 to 2.5 and the mass of the water is 4.0% to 10% of the mass of the alcohol,
• to obtain a first product mixture containing an amine corresponding to an isocyanate of the isocyanate component, polyols, alcohol and water, and
• wherein the catalyst comprises a metal salt selected from a carbonate, a hydrogencarbonate, an orthophosphate, a monohydrogen orthophosphate, a metaphosphate or a mixture of any two or more thereof;
• (C) working up the first product mixture to obtain a polyol phase containing the polyols and an amine phase containing the amine, water and the alcohol;
• (D) recovering the polyols from the polyol phase;
• and
• (E) optionally recovering the amine from the amine phase.