BAYER MATERIALSCIENCE
Scaled-up CO2-fed polyols unit set to start in 2015 / “Several thousand tonnes” of capacity
 Production site of Bayer MaterialScience in Dormagen / Germany (Photo: BMS) |
After a successful two-year pilot run, Bayer MaterialScience (BMS, Leverkusen / Germany; www.bayerbms.com) is moving ahead with plans for commercial-scale production of “several thousand tonnes” of polyether polycarbonate polyols (PPPs) from CO2 feedstock – for the latest coverage see Plasteurope.com of 24.04.2012.
The first plant is expected to start up in 2015 at Bayer’s Dormagen / Germany site. While initial capacity for the polyols, traditionally used in PU foam applications such as mattresses, will not be enough to accommodate market demand, Patrick Thomas, CEO of BMS, said the company has not decided whether it wants to be an exclusive producer. Licensing of the patented technology “might also be a possibility,” he said.
During the test phase at the Bayer group’s Chempark site, BMS drew CO2 from a nearby power plant operated by energy group RWE. When commercial-scale production begins in two years, it will have access to feedstock from a number of sources, Thomas told Plasteurope.com. Plant operators “will pay to have CO2 taken off their hands,” he added.
The “Dream Production” project, in which foam with properties equivalent to conventional grades was studied, received funding from the German research ministry. Research partners included RWTH Aachen University and the jointly operated CAT Catalytic Center (www.catalyticcenter.rwth-aachen.de). In addition to mattress foam, the CO2-fed polyols can be used to produce thermoplastic polyurethanes and later coatings or fibres, Thomas said.
The first plant is expected to start up in 2015 at Bayer’s Dormagen / Germany site. While initial capacity for the polyols, traditionally used in PU foam applications such as mattresses, will not be enough to accommodate market demand, Patrick Thomas, CEO of BMS, said the company has not decided whether it wants to be an exclusive producer. Licensing of the patented technology “might also be a possibility,” he said.
During the test phase at the Bayer group’s Chempark site, BMS drew CO2 from a nearby power plant operated by energy group RWE. When commercial-scale production begins in two years, it will have access to feedstock from a number of sources, Thomas told Plasteurope.com. Plant operators “will pay to have CO2 taken off their hands,” he added.
The “Dream Production” project, in which foam with properties equivalent to conventional grades was studied, received funding from the German research ministry. Research partners included RWTH Aachen University and the jointly operated CAT Catalytic Center (www.catalyticcenter.rwth-aachen.de). In addition to mattress foam, the CO2-fed polyols can be used to produce thermoplastic polyurethanes and later coatings or fibres, Thomas said.
29.07.2013 Plasteurope.com [225955-0]
Published on 29.07.2013
German version of this article...