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2006-11-28 News Release

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Nanotechnology production process improves plastics

At the NanoSolutions trade fair Baytubes operations to showcase a cost effective production process that improves the properties of plastics.

At the "NanoSolutions" trade fair, EXPO XXI, Kongresshalle in Cologne, Stand C 9 from November 28 to 30, 2006, Bayer to focus on new applications for carbon nanotubes, showcasing a new manufacturing process offering outstanding purity at a lower cost.

Find Information and Suppliers of carbon nanotubes.

Bayer MaterialScience and Bayer Technology Services will be showing how Bayer is successfully using the potential for innovation offered by nanotechnology. Bayer’s participation in the fair will focus on Baytubes* carbon nanotubes (CNTs). A cost-effective production process has been developed for these that paves the way for their introduction into industrial applications. "Our presence here in Cologne is primarily intended to make a broad specialist audience aware of the undreamed-of opportunities that Baytubes offer," explains Martin Schmid, head of the new Baytubes operations at Bayer MaterialScience. "For example, they make plastics conductive and improve their stiffness and strength. The latter characteristics are already being utilized in the production of various sports goods such as ice hockey sticks and baseball bats." Baytubes also have great potential in the production of rotor blades for wind turbine plants. Large components like these made from carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy resins could be made thinner and therefore lighter by using carbon nanotubes, thus increasing the specific output of the power plants. Carbon nanotubes are also in great demand as a conductibility additive in the production of anti-static packaging, which is used, for example, to package sensitive electronic components.

Conductive plastics with Baytubes*. Click Go for High resolution image. photo: Bayer

As an example, the automotive industry will soon be able to reduce the cost of painting plastic fenders: adding just minimal amounts of Baytubes makes the semi-finished parts electrically conductive, and this new material property supports more efficient and environmentally friendly coating processes based on countercharged, solvent-free powder coating particles. -> ->

Until now, the synthesis costs for CNTs often significantly exceeded EUR 1,000 per kilogram, while product quality fluctuated. However, the production process developed by Bayer Technology Services enables Baytubes to be manufactured at a consistent material purity of over 95 percent and at greatly reduced costs. "We want to use the trade fair to showcase our strengths as an industrial manufacturer and supplier of carbon nanotubes," comments Schmid. "We can then use our polymer know-how to support our customers in integrating Baytubes into various plastics. One focus of this work concerns dispersion in different materials and the test methods related to this." Bayer MaterialScience operates a pilot plant for the production of Baytubes with an annual capacity of 30 tons, but an industrial-scale plant with an annual capacity of 3,000 tons is planned.

Bayer Technology Services, that optimizes recipes and make processes more efficient, is presenting its comprehensive nanotechnology know-how and service portfolio at "NanoSolutions". As well as covering the development of cost-effective processes for synthesizing and isolating customized nanoparticles such as the above-mentioned Baytubes, this also involves the modification and processing of nanoparticles in the context of application development and the characterization of nanoparticles. "The interplay of synthesis development, application development and characterization enables us to develop innovative products that have been efficiently functionalized for our customers using nanotechnology on an industrial scale," explains Dr. Axel Eble, Head of Product Design & Nanotechnology at Bayer Technology Services. As well as developing new materials, this is also of relevance to the electronics industry and life sciences sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics and crop protection. For example, nanophosphors are being introduced for diagnostic applications. "Although we have long been familiar with nanotechnology, it is only in recent years that the synergies have become well-known enough in many industries to enable us to fully utilize its potential for our customers in new product developments," comments Eble.

Dr. Peter Kruger, Head of the Bayer Nanotechnology Working Group, will be providing an overview of nanotechnology activities in all Bayer subgroups during a lecture he will give at the fair. The lecture will be held on November 30, 2006 at 12 noon in the "Key Note Arena" at the exhibition venue.

Another key area of Bayer’s involvement at the fair will be the company’s wide-ranging research activities relating to the safe and responsible use of nanomaterials. This will cover aspects including the company’s commitment to numerous initiatives such as the "NanoCare" project. This research project, supported by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), brings together the know-how of 13 companies, universities and research facilities. They will work together to develop generally accepted measuring and testing methods that can be utilized to analyze the safety issues relating to nanomaterials. Bayer is also involved in various working groups organized by the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) and in the "Responsible Production and Use of Nanomaterials" working group of the German Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (DECHEMA).

With sales of EUR 10.7 billion in 2005, Bayer MaterialScience AG is one of the world’s largest polymer manufacturers. Its main fields of activity are the production of hightech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in almost all areas of everyday life. The main consumer sectors are the automotive, electrical/electronics, construction, sports and leisure industries. Bayer MaterialScience is part of the Bayer Group, has production facilities at 40 sites around the world and a workforce of approxmately 18,800.

Bayer Technology Services GmbH offers fully-integrated solutions along the life cycle of chemical/pharmaceutical plants - from development through engineering and construction to process optimization for existing plants. The Bayer subsidiary employs more than 2,100 experts worldwide at its headquarters in Leverkusen and other German locations, as well as in regional offices in Baytown, Texas, U.S.A.; Antwerp, Belgium; Mexico City, Mexico; and Shanghai, People's Republic of China.

* Baytubes is a registered trademark of Bayer MaterialScience, part of the Bayer Group.

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