Bayer MaterialScience develops sustainable polyurethane solutions for global megatrends

Bayer MaterialScience will be presenting a range of products, applications and process technologies linked to innovative and sustainable developments for polyurethanes at UTECH 2012 in Maastricht, Netherlands, from April 17 - 19. A focus of the presentation at Stand 1450 is climate protection, as Bayer MaterialScience is constantly developing new solutions for saving energy, reducing CO₂ emissions, and conserving oil and other natural resources.

The automotive industry is increasingly turning to lightweight construction as a means to save fuel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Weight reduction is just as important for electric mobility and other pioneering drive technologies. Bayer MaterialScience has developed Bayflex® RIM Light Weight, a new material for bodywork parts produced using reaction injection molding (RIM). A sophisticated combination of fillers reduces the weight of the parts by 20 to 30 percent compared with conventional polyurethane solutions while retaining the mechanical properties. The material is even lighter than water.

Rigid polyurethane foam offers the best thermal insulation of any high-volume material on the market. Current development efforts at Bayer MaterialScience are focused on reducing the size of the cells even more in order to further enhance the insulating properties, thus further reducing energy consumption and emissions. Dr. Reinhard Albers is giving a presentation introducing the Baytherm® Microcell polyurethane system at UTECH Conference. This sustainable foam system is characterized by very small cells with diameters in the micrometer range. It offers significant efficiency gains compared with standard solutions for insulating refrigeration equipment.

A promising approach that also helps to conserve resources is the use of CO₂ for synthesis. Bayer MaterialScience has developed a process technology for the "incorporation" of carbon dioxide into polyols. A pilot plant using this technology was brought on stream at the Leverkusen site in early 2011. The CO₂ used in the process is obtained from the flue gases of industrial incineration plants. Dr. Christoph Gürtler will present the principles behind such "dream reactions" before Dr. Hans-Georg Pirkl discusses the properties of flexible foam products produced on the basis of these modified polyols.

Another focus at UTECH 2012 is the 75th anniversary of the development and patenting of polyurethanes by Dr. Otto Bayer. The plenary session of the concurrent conference is dedicated to this occasion. Bayer MaterialScience is also represented there with a presentation by Dr. Thorsten Dreier on the history of and future outlook for TDI. The agenda for the UTECH Conference includes eight additional technical presentations by company experts on innovative polyurethane developments, ranging from lightweight composites to a more efficient method for the production of metal-faced sandwich panels.

Source: Bayer MaterialScience