VisionWorks - Today and Tomorrow   
   
Bayer MaterialScience Showcased Innovative Development at K Fair   

By Lily Wang
I was invited honorably to visit the 17th International Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber, K show which is this year's big show worldwide from October 24th to 31st, 2007. I was pulled at the stand of Bayer MaterialScience (BMS).
   Under the motto "VisionWorks - Today and Tomorrow", BMS showcased a host of innovative developments.

Tailor-made solutions for today and tomorrow

In reference to solutions for today, BMS exhibited the easy chair, whose styling and comfort owe to the Bayfit (R) polyurethane foam system.
   Polycarbonate (PC)/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer blend Bayblend (R) is ideal for LCD flatscreens and other high-quality applications. Bayer has been marketing this plastic blend for over 30 years and produced over 2 million tons of it.
   Swedish company Tablas uses films made from BMS' thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) Desmopan (R) to decorate kite-surfers boards. The films can be printed in brilliant colors and do not turn yellow even when exposed to sunlight for prolonged periods.
   For tomorrow, BMS displayed automotive body parts with high functionality, design freedom and lightweight. With an area of 1.2 square meters, the roof module of the new "smart fortwo" is the world's largest polycarbonate component of its kind ever developed for a series-production vehicle. The high-quality exterior surface is made from the transparent polycarbonate Makrolon (R) AG2677. Weight can be reduced by around 40% compared with comparable designs using glass.
   BMS and Hennecke GmbH have cooperated to develop a polyurethane foam, filled with the gaps between the ballast stones on railroad track construction, boasting exceptional noise dampening properties and a long service life.
   Interest in carbon nanotubes (CNT) is increasing worldwide. Since the official opening of a second production facility in Laufenburg site on the German-Swiss border in this early September, BMS has been one of the three leading suppliers throughout the world, with an annual capacity of 60 tons. Furthermore, an industrial-scale production plant with an annual capacity of 3 000 tons is planned in the medium term.

Commitment to climate protection

"In the Bayer Group we attach special importance to environmental issues and particularly to climate protection," says Dr. Ulrich Liman, overall stand manager of BMS. "Through the use e.g. of our polyurethane products, far more greenhouse gas emissions can be avoided than are actually produced during their manufacture. Climate protection therefore goes very much hand in hand with the economic success of our company."
   Emissions could also be reduced by the use of polyurethane raw materials based on sustainable raw materials such as vegetable oils, which BMS has developed for use in rigid and viscoelastic polyurethane foams. Accounting for up to 70% by weight, they enable natural resources to be used as a supplement to fossil raw materials. Polyol products have been developed to such a level using BMS' extensive know-how that the foams formulated using them achieve performance levels on a par with conventional products or even superior to them.
   Another example is the new Bomatherm (R) solar air collector roof insulation system from Puren GmbH. It is fitted instead of roofing tiles and performs five functions, acting as a vapor barrier, thermal insulator, rainproof roof substructure, cladding and solar collector. Its key benefit is its outstanding energy efficiency.
   To enable trade fair visitors to directly access products and applications with particular climate protection potential, these types of BMS exhibits are labeled with a "climate+" symbol.

Bayer Integrated Site Shanghai

BMS, the leading polymer supplier in the world, is building the Bayer Integrated Site Shanghai (BISS), China. By 2008, the company will double its existing capacity of Makrolon (R ) polycarbonate to 200 thousand t/a. A total capacity of 350 thousand tons of MDI is scheduled to be available in 2008. Bayer also plans to expand the original 160 thousand t/a MDI capacity to 300 thousand t/a at the site by 2010. The TDI facility, under construction at BISS, will be first world-scale plant using Gas Phase Phosgenation (GPP) process. The Dormagen GPP pilot TDI facility with an annual capacity of 30 thousand tons in Germany, being operational now, is a mode for the TDI facility at BISS.