Carbon dioxide as new raw material: At this production plant in Dormagen, Covestro is now incorporating 20 percent CO2 into an important foam component. (Picture: Covestro)

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Covestro Deutschland AG 51373 Leverkusen | Germany

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This material does not show its secrets: An absolutely normal foam, flexible and light and versatile, as is used in the manufacture of cushions and mattresses. But this is also not the reason why Covestro, earlier Bayer Material Science, is making such a sensation out of the polymer.

If the Leverkusen-based company is to be believed, the plastic will usher in a new era of chemistry. Anyway, a material has come into the lime light which otherwise makes only negative headlines: CO2. Actually, the developers have succeeded in replacing approx. 20% of crude oil-based raw materials which are normally used to manufacture poly-oil, the most important preliminary product used in Polyurethane foam (PUR), with the climate killer gas. CO2 as Chemical Feedstock

09/17/2014 - Dream Production is a new approach to making stuff that dreams are made of (at least if you are a chemist): Industry and scientists are working together on a project to produce chemical feedstock from CO2 which is extracted from power station flue gas emissions. The underlying reaction is revolutionary, but there is uncertainty surrounding the economic viability of the process. It remains to be seen whether this time the vision is more than just a dream. read...

The 'Holy Grail' of Chemistry

Not an easy task, because CO2 is extremely inactive. Use is hardly possible from the thermodynamic perspective, if one ignores urea and carbonate production. But CO2 as raw material for polymers?

he sector has been working on this vision for decades, ever since the concept was described by scientists of the University of Kyoto in 1969. For a long time, the process remained science fiction – Catch words like “Dream Reaction” or the “Holy Grail of chemistry” show the status the “Chemistry from the chimney” had.

Now it seems the Grail has been found: Covestro had started research on the use of CO2 ever since the Bayer days. After successful tests, it was decided in 2014 that 15 million Euro will be invested at the Dormagen site to establish a preliminary production plant with a capacity of 5000 tons per annum. Another 7.5 million Euro came from Federal subsidies.

The Facts: Dream production in a Nutshell

You will find this and many other large plant manufacturing projects in our online database www.GROAB.net

The next step for CO2

With the new flagship project, the Leverkusen-based company started the poly-oil synthesis on an industrial scale, in June 2016. The molecule on a CO2 base is provided initially for the manufacture of PUR foam for mattresses and cushion furniture. People at Dormagen are convinced that from the point of view of quality, the foam is as good as any material made of petrochemical raw materials. Revolutionary Polyol Plant

Drumroll for a Revolutionary Process: New Plant Taps Into Industrial Use of CO2

06/27/2016 - It starts with a bang: Covestro has launched the next level of its flagship project 'Dream Production'. The materials specialist launched a brand-new production site in Dormagen/Germany, which produces polyols for plastic foams by using CO2 as a feedstock. The secret behind this revolutionary process is a special catalysts that helps to save around 20% of common crude based feedstock... read...

“One must perceive CO2 differently: Its use as an alternative hydrocarbon source is the answer to the massive challenges of our time – finding a replacement for our limited fossil resources like oil and gas and to close material cycles”, said Covestro Chairman of the Board of Directors Patrick Thomas at the opening ceremony. CO2 bursts onto the plastic production scene: Covestro CEO Patrick Thomas inaugurates first plastics production facility using CO2 in Dormagen. (Picture: Covestro) Plant Engineering The US Shale Gas Spawns Megaplant Projects in the States Trend Report: Bio-Based Products The Quest for the Holy Grail of Bio-Based Products Achema-Trend Report: Bio-Economy The Search for the Bio-Based Holy Grail of Chemicals
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