Elements 35

Designing with Polymers

Perfectly lubricatedGreen power made easy

Catalysis

Metathesis catalysts for oleochemical applications

Biotechnology

Evonik BioTechDay

elements35Quarterly Science Newsletter Issue 2| 2011

02 Contents

elements35 Issue 2|2011

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04 New plant for organic specialty surfactants in China 04 Catalysts for biodiesel: plant in Argentina planned 05 Fiscal year 2010: the best result so far in the Chemicals core business 06 PEEK polymer capacity to be expanded 06 First project house in Taiwan 07 Plans for isophorone plants in China 07 Evonik acquires the hanse chemie Group 07 VESTAKEEP® enhances safety of automotive steering columns

DesIGnInG WItH PoLYMeRs 08 Innovative engine oil additives reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions: perfectly lubricated

CAtALYsIs 14 Metathesis catalysts for oleochemical applications: robust and selective

ResouRCe effICIenCY

17 Almost 5,000 km across Australia: pioneering trip by the Wind Explorer

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18 Prize awarded in the 2011 nano+art competition 19 Study verifies effectiveness of conditioning agent against hair breakage

19 Nitrogen oxide reduction: Lines made from VESTAMID® compounds satisfy requirements

DesIGnInG WItH PoLYMeRs

20 PLEXIGLAS® stands up to glass in photovoltaics systems: green power made easy BIoteCHnoLoGY

26 Evonik BioTechDay: on a growth course

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31 Robust, flexible, and fast drying: the new clear coating technology from Evonik 31 PLEXIGLAS® Mineral for extremely weather-resistant structural shells 31 Credits

The cover photo shows sugar cane, a vital renewable raw material for white biotechnology

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eDItoRIAL 03


All set for the future

Patrik WohlhauserMember of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries AG

If your car’s transmission and engine oils contain Evonik’s new comb polymers as viscosity index improvers, your average fuel savings will be 1.5 percent. You’re not impressed? Car makers see it differently. According to EU guidelines, average CO2 emissions per vehicle and kilometer must be reduced by about 20 grams by 2015—and our new comb polymers can account for up to 2.5 of those grams.

Comb polymers are just one of about one hundred research projects in the field of resource efficiency, out of a total of 500 projects currently underway at Evonik. In 2010, we increased spending on R&D by 13 percent to €338 million, having held it constant at €300 million, despite the economic crisis.

This past financial year shows how high the demand has been for Evonik’s spe-cialty chemicals: compared to most competitors our rebound was faster and stron-ger. In 2010, we increased sales revenues by 26 percent over the previous year to €13.3 billion, and even tripled net income to €734 million. We’ve generated the best result so far in our Chemicals core business—with an EBITDA margin that puts us at the vanguard of our industry.

This demonstrates that in 2010 Evonik was more profitable than ever before. We already generate more than 80 percent of our chemical sales—a solid €10 billion—from significant market positions. We want to build on that in two ways. First, we’ll invest in high-margin businesses with above-average growth. To this end, we plan to spend a total of €6 billion by 2015 for projects that include expanding our capaci-ties for isophorone, DL-methionine, precipitated silicas, and chlorosilanes.

Second, through our innovative strength, we plan to tip the scales in our favor. Our research projects are allowing us to move further and further into the so-called emerging markets. The latest example is our new Light & Electronics Project House, which began its work on April 1. Located in Taiwan, this project house will expand our opportunities as we operate within one of the most important electronics mar-kets in the world. And, as our first project house outside Germany, it enables us to intensify the global reach of our research activities and close ranks with our custo-mers.

At its core, Evonik is now a specialty chemicals company. To advance our align-ment to the future-oriented markets of health and nutrition, resource efficiency, and globalization of technologies, Evonik has appointed three new members to its Executive Board: Dr. Yu, Dr. Haeberle, and me. My responsibilities include inno-vation management and international sales—a combination that underscores the vital connection between research and market proximity.

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New plant for organic specialty surfactants in China

Evonik is building an integrated production plant for organic specialty surfactants at its site in Shanghai (China). With an investment volume in the upper double-digit million range, the production network± is scheduled to begin operation in mid 2013. The various specialty surfactants based on renewable raw materials will be used primarily for cosmetics and laundry care products, as well as for in-dustrial applications. Evonik is a leading sup-plier in these areas.

By building the plant at the Shanghai site, Evonik benefits from the infrastructure of the large Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) and close proximity to its customers‘ produc-tion facilities. The integrated production net-work will feature state-of-the-art technology and meet correspondingly high environment-al standards. Last fall, in its most recent pro-ject at SCIP, Evonik commissioned a plant for the production of plastics and plastics ingre-dients—a 250-million-euro investment for the Group.

The new integrated production plant will produce ingredients for cosmetics and laun-dry care products, as well as specialty surfac-tants for industrial applications. The Chinese cosmetics industry accounts for the lion‘s share of production.

„We are already well-positioned in the market for cosmetic ingredients in Europe and the United States,“ says Dr. Claus Rettig,

head of the Consumer Specialties Business Unit. „Now we are following our customers to Asia, with state-of-the-art technology and correspondingly high-quality ingredients. This allows us to supply our customers at the accustomed high level of quality.“

China is expected to be the biggest mar-ket for cosmetics in Asia short-term, leaving Japan behind to number 2 position. The mar-ket in China will account for 25 percent of the global absolute growth of the upcoming five years. The Chinese market for cosmetic in-gredients, which is mainly driven by multi-national corporations, is growing by 10 per-cent annually. The main reason for this growth is the developing middle class in China, whose consumption patterns have changed in favor of higher qual ity products.

In Asia, the market for laundry care prod-ucts is driven by a growing environmental consciousness. Evonik’s products are par-ticularly eco-friendly. For industrial special-ty surfactants, the market is growing based on improved technology standards and increas ing regulatory requirements. With the con struction of the new integrated pro-duction plant, Evonik is also increasing its local capac ities in technical service, market-ing and sales.

Catalysts for biodiesel: plant in Argentina plannedEvonik Industries is planning to build a new facility to produce catalysts for the manufac-ture of biodiesel in Argentina. Basic engineer-ing for this plant, which will have capacity of over 60,000 metric tons p.a., has now been completed and construction work is expected to start in July 2011. Following completion, which is scheduled for the end of 2012 at the latest, the plant will produce ready-to-use alcoholates for use as catalysts in the produc-tion of biodiesel from renewable raw mate-r ials. The project is still contingent on the ap-proval of the relevant authorities.

The plant will be located in Puerto General San Martin, in the Rosario region, at the heart of Argentina‘s biodiesel industry. Evonik is planning to build the plant on the same site as Terminal 6 S.A., which operates a large biodiesel facility. „Locating the facili-ty at the Terminal 6 site enables us to use the existing infrastructure and gives us excellent logistics connections. It could therefore be erected swiftly, enabling us to supply cata-lysts competitively to customers in South America,“ comments Jan Van den Bergh, who heads the Advanced Intermediates Business

Unit. The new plant will supply especially Argentina and Brazil.

Evonik has proven expertise in the pro-duction of biodiesel catalysts, backed up by many years of experience. In 2009 it started up a new production facility in Mobile (USA)with capacity of 60,000 metric tons p.a. This plant, which was built in just nine months, serves the growing North American market for biodiesel.

Following the success of the new produc-tion technology at this US facility, the plan is to use the same technology for the new facil-

ity in Argentina. In the new process, alcohol-ates are produced by reacting alcohol with a lye.

Evonik is already a global market leader in biodiesel catalysts—a position it also holds in South America. „The planned new facility in Argentina strengthens our commitment to this region,“ says Van den Bergh. „In the mid-term, we are anticipating strong double-digit growth in the biodiesel market.“ Evonik oper-ates a facility in Niederkassel-Lülsdorf, near Cologne (Germany) as well as its facility in the USA.

The Chinese market for cosmetic ingredients is growing by 10 percent annually

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Fiscal year 2010: the best result so far in the Chemicals core business

„2010 was an outstanding year for us,“ com-mented Dr. Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries AG, at the financial press conference. The Group‘s core chemicals business reported by far the best performance in its history. In order to realize its focus on specialty chemicals, at the end of 2010 Evonik agreed to sell a majority stake in its energy business to a consortium of municipal utilities in Germany‘s Rhine-Ruhr region. As a result, the Energy Business Area has been reclassified to discontinued operations. In addition, further progress was made in amalgamating the residential real es-tate companies Evonik Immobilien GmbH and THS GmbH.

„Our refocusing has almost been complet-ed. In the future, the name Evonik will be synonymous with global leadership in special-ty chemicals,“ said Engel. The focus is on the most important global megatrends. „We want to grow and increase our profitability further. To achieve that, in future the management of Evonik will be geared to making us faster, leaner and more flexible, with an even stron-ger market focus,“ said Engel.

Additional Executive Board members appointed for chemicals businessThe Executive Board has therefore been in-creased to six members effective April 1, 2011. Patrik Wohlhauser (46) is the Executive Board member responsible for the Consumer, Health & Nutrition segment, Dr. Thomas Haeberle (54) is responsible for the Resource Efficiency segment and Dr. Dahai Yu (49) for the Specialty Materials segment. With an EBITDA margin of 18.3 percent, Evonik‘s core

chemicals business ranks among the sector leaders as of 2010. „We want to remain among the best in class in the future as well,“ said Engel.

The Group has therefore embarked on key strategic investment projects. It is plann-ing to invest €500 million in a new methio-nine facility in Singapore, which is scheduled to start producing feed additives in 2014. In addition, capacity for precipitated silicas in Asia and Europe is to be increased by 25 percent by 2014. Further, Evonik is planning to build a new facility for isophorone chem-icals, prefer ably in Asia, to come on stream in 2013. The Group already occupies sig-nificant market positions in all three of these businesses and now aims to strength-en them selectively in the relevant growth markets.

Group sales and earnings considerably higher than last yearGroup sales advanced 26 percent to € 13,300 million. Strong demand, high capacity utili-zation and improved margins lifted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amorti-zation and the non-operating result (EBITDA) 47 percent to € 2,365 million. The Group‘s EBITDA margin improved from 15.3 percent to 17.8 percent. Earnings before interest, taxes and the non-operating result (EBIT) surged 89 percent to € 1,639 million; net in-come tripled to € 734 million in 2010 (2009: € 240 million).

In response to the economic crisis, Evonik introduced the „On Track“ efficiency enhance-ment program at the start of 2009. To bring a lasting improvement in competitiveness, the

Group aims to achieve a sustained reduction in costs of € 500 million p.a. from 2012. All key cost items were analyzed and structures and processes were examined with a view to attaining this goal. By the end of 2010, spe-cific measures had been defined to meet all target savings and over three quarters of the savings (almost € 400 million) had already been achieved.

Chemicals reported a record performanceThe Chemicals Business Area grew sales by a strong 29 percent to € 12,867 million (2009: € 9,978 million). This was driven mainly by volumes and prices. In most business units demand was back at or even above the level seen in the first half of 2008, before the re-cession. As a result, many production facilities operated at full capacity.

The effective action to cut costs and raise efficiency, together with a substantial rise in volumes, high capacity utilization, and in-creased margins boosted both EBITDA and EBIT to record levels. Earnings in all business units were well above the pre-recession level. EBITDA grew 47 percent year-on-year to € 2,357 million while EBIT surged 83 percent to € 1,702 million.

Spending on R&D increasedEvonik increased research and development spending by 13 percent to € 338 million in 2010 (2009: € 300 million). Around 60 per-cent of this was spent on the development of new products and new technology plat-forms.

Chemicals Business Area: R&D spending [%]

Development of new products 40

Basic research for new key technologies 19

Improved production processes for established products 24

Improved applications for established products 11

Other 6

R&D in the Chemicals Business Area

R&D employees approx. 2,300

Locations more than 35

Total R&D projects approx. 500

R&D projects focusing on resource efficiency approx. 100

Cooperation with universities and scientific institutes approx. 300

Number of new patent applications approx. 250

Patents (granted and pending) more than 24,000

Registered trademark (granted and pending) more than 7,500

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Evonik Industries is setting up its first project house outside Germany. Light & Electronics, a research and development unit established on April 1, is located in the Hsinchu Tech-nology Park in Taiwan. The focus of its work is new products and technologies for the photovoltaics, display, LED, and lighting in-dustries.

The project house seeks partnerships and joint developments with Taiwanese institutes, and above all, with local electronics compa-nies. This is another strategic step in the con-solidation of the Group’s global position. “With the new project house, our goal is to move closer to one of the most important electronics markets in the world so that we can tap into the growth opportunities the region offers,” explained Patrik Wohlhauser, the member of Evonik‘s Executive Board re-sponsible for innovation management. “The new site is a further development of our suc-cessful project house concept. With this, Evonik is intensifying its focus on business development and customer loyalty and is adapt ing its innovation processes for custo-

mers’ innovation cycles, which are becoming progressively shorter.”

Fast-growing electronics segments include displays, LEDs, portable communication and information devices such as navigation de-vices and tablet PCs, as well as photovoltaics. The key Asian regions are China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, where a number of im-portant R&D companies in this field have their headquarters. According to the German Institute in Taipei, Taiwan stands out among these countries as the world market leader in such products as notebooks, scanners, moni-tors, and LCD monitors. Evonik already main-tains partnerships with Taiwanese companies through the joint ventures Evonik Forhouse Optical Polymers manufacturing acrylic poly-mers in Taichung for TFT liquid crystal dis-plays, and Evonik Cristal Materials Cor por-ation, which produces glass lenses for the next generation of LEDs.

Additional contacts will be made and cul-tivated through the project house. “Elec tron-ics and lighting are extremely fast, dynamic markets, whose innovation and product life-

First project house in Taiwancycles are becoming shorter and shorter,” says Dr. Michael Cölle, head of the project house. “The task of this project house is to acquaint ourselves better with customers’ processes and value chains, and consolidate our opportunities in these markets through joint developments.”

In the project houses, Evonik works on medium-risk research topics involving mul-tiple business units; the emphasis is there fore on medium- and long-term success. Project houses run for three years, during which time roughly 15 to 30 employees typically develop new products and technologies in collabora-tion with cooperation partners and universi-ties. As a rule, the new developments of the project houses are marketed by a business unit or continued through an internal start-up.

Light & Electronics is the ninth project house to be set up by Evonik and its strategic research and development unit Creavis Technologies & Innovation. The company’s long-term strategic goal is to make the pro-ject house the nucleus of another R&D com-petence center for the Group in Asia.

Evonik Industries is significantly expanding its polyether ether ketone (PEEK) capacity in response to growing global demand. Along with a number of optimization measures, the company is modernizing an existing plant. The project at the Changchun site in China is scheduled to be completed by 3rd quarter 2011. Evonik has been selling its highly tem-perature-proof and chemical-resistant PEEK polymers under the brand name VESTAKEEP® for a number of years. They are used for man-

ufacturing components that must withstand long-term use under the most severe end-use environments.

„The capacity expansion not only reflects the continuous growth in all relevant indus-tries, but is also the result of the successful commercialization of numerous new projects. This expansion testifies to the on-going com-mitment we are making to support our customer’s continued growth“, says Sanjeev Taneja, Evonik’s global business VESTAKEEP®

PEEK polymer capacity to be expanded

manager. VESTAKEEP® PEEK polymers are used in demanding applications in medical as well as in the automotive, aerospace, semi-conductor, and entertainment electronics in-dustry and in the oil and natural gas sectors. Furthermore, thanks to the unique combina-tion of mechanical, thermal and tribological properties VESTAKEEP® PEEK allows the replacement of metal in these and several other applications.

VESTAKEEP® 5000G is the latest PEEK polymer in addition to Evonik’s product range. The material offers significantly higher impact resistance and a better fatigue profile under dynamic stress as compared to commercial available grades. It addresses the unmet needs of the customers. The company also introduced its VESTAKEEP® M and VESTAKEEP® I series for applications in med-ical and implant industry two years ago. The comprehensive product portfolio covers vir-tually all industrial applications and supports Evonik’s strategy of serving as a long-term, reliable partner in the PEEK market.

Evonik´s Changchun site in China

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Evonik Industries plans to construct new iso-phorone and isophorone diamine plants in Shanghai (China). Basic engineering at the Multi User Site China (MUSC), Evonik‘s pro-duction site in Shanghai, should be complete within the next few months, and the world-scale plants are scheduled to go onstream in 2013. With this investment, Evonik is sending out a clear signal for further growth in iso-phorone chem icals, and is emphasizing the high signifi cance of the strategically impor-tant Asian region.

Growing global demand from a large number of user industries is the driving force behind the decision to construct the new plants. The planned investment will allow the company to benefit from the future growth of the market and in particular to satisfy increasing demand from customers in the Asia

region. Evonik currently produces isopho rone chemicals in Mobile (Alabama, USA), as well as in Marl and Herne (Germany).

“Evonik is the only company globally that produces and markets the entire range of isophorone chemicals,” says Dr. Ulrich Küst-hardt, head of the Coatings & Additives Business Unit. “And with the construction of the new world-scale, state-of-the-art plants, we plan to strengthen this position and at the same time extend our global production network into Asia.” Isophorone, isophorone diamine, isophorone diisocyanate, and their derivatives are important components in the production of industrial flooring, artificial leather, and paints and coatings, for exam-ple. They are also used in high-performance composite materials and in chemical synthe-sis.

Plans for isophorone plants in China

Isophorone derivatives are used in, among other things, composite materials for wind turbines

The BMW Group has approved spindle nuts made from VESTAKEEP® PEEK, a polymer made by Evonik Industries, for use in elec trical steering column adjustment assemblies. The VESTAKEEP® L4000G-based spindle nuts do

not break, even under the most severe con-ditions. In case of an accident, the spindle nuts will not break and thus prevent ing any plastic pieces from disabling the function of safety-relevant features such as airbags.

VESTAKEEP® enhances safety of automotive steering columnsThe PEEK polymers that had been used in the past were unable to meet BMW’s stringent requirements and failed during stress tests. Thanks to its improved ductility and impact-resistance, VESTAKEEP® PEEK passed the tests and also met the requirement of high dimensional stability at different tempera-tures.

VESTAKEEP® spindle nuts are used in the electrical steering column adjustment assem-blies that are manufactured by Solingen, Germany-based C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG. Thanks to their exceptional char-acteristics, they may in the future also be used in mechanical steering column adjustment as-semblies.

Evonik`s PEEK polymers offer particu larly high resistance to temperatures and chem-icals.

VESTAKEEP® based spindle nuts passed the stress tests

At the end of March 2011 Evonik Industries closed a purchase agreement to acquire the hanse chemie Group. By acquiring the Group, which includes hanse chemie AG and nano-resins AG, Evonik will be able to enter addi-tional markets for specialty applications in sil-icone chemistry. Both parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The sale is still

subject to the approval of the corporate bodies.

Based in Geesthacht, near Hamburg, the hanse chemie Group produces high-quality components and raw materials for the man u facture of sealants and adhesives, molding and casting compounds, for exam-ple. Hanse chemie AG’s products are used

Evonik acquires the hanse chemie Group by end-consumers in such markets as the construction industry, automotive manufac-ture, dental technology, and in photovoltaic systems. The silicate-based nanomaterials and other specialties by nanoresins AG are used in highly scratch-resistant coatings, ad-hesives, fiber composites, and embedding materials.

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Innovative engine oil additives reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions

Perfectly lubricated

To ensure the engine runs smoothly: Engine oils should work reliably for about 30,000 kilo-meters. Gear oils, which are more complicated to change, should retain their lubricating action for roughly 20 years

Lubricants for engines and drives are all-stars: they function as well in heat as in ice cold, despite mechanical stresses, and remain stable for years. They owe these advantages mainly to high-performance additives. Specialists at Evonik in Darmstadt have developed comb polymers, which not only meet all the demands of advanced drives but also noticeably reduce consumption and emissions.

[ text Boris Eisenberg, Dr. Torsten Stöhr, Dr. Michael Müller ]

DesIGnInG WItH PoLYMeRs 9


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no MACHIne, PLAnt, engine would be any use with out lubricant. Wherever moving metal surfaces come in contact with each other, a lubricant is vital. They reduce friction, muffle noise, prevent prema-ture wear and tear. Lubricants work best when their viscosity is aligned to the application: if the oil is too thick, it prevents the parts from moving. If it is too thin, the metal surfaces can engage without any pro-tection—machines and engines then break down very quickly.

The effectiveness of lubricants depends on their viscosity, and the viscosity, in turn, depends on the temperature. The colder the temperature, the higher the viscosity, and the thicker the fluid. At high tem-peratures, viscosity decreases, and the liquid be-comes thinner and more free-flowing. This is based on a simple molecular mechanism: particles of thick liquids are strongly bound to each other by mole cular interactive forces and, therefore, relatively immobile. This inner friction resembles the movement of two layers of molecules lying interlocked, one above the other. Force must be used to overcome the inter - l ocking. When the temperature rises, the interactive forces weaken, and the molecules glide across each other easier. The viscosity decreases as a result, and the liquid becomes thinner.

This principle applies to all fluids—whether honey, water or oils. The viscosity index (VI) is key to the evaluation of lubricants. It describes the temperature dependency of the kinematic viscosity of the oil—the force necessary to loosen the molecular interlocking and get the oil to flow. Oils with a low VI change their viscosity with the temperature more easily than oils with a high VI. As a rule, engines require oils that work reliably both summer and winter, which means oils with a high viscosity index. These kinds of oils provide adequate lubrication in summer, and are suf-ficiently free-flowing in winter.

High standards for mineral oilsPure mineral oils are suitable to only a limited extent in applications with changing temperature ranges. At 15 degrees Celsius, they are already as thick as butter and behave less like lubricants and more like brakes on the moving parts. Today, a conventional engine oil has to work reliably and efficiently between minus 40 and plus 150 degrees Celsius. This is why existing engine oils normally consist of a low-viscosity base oil selectively thickened with additives.

Evonik has long produced polymer-based additives that increase and optimize the viscosity index.

Low

Poor

The effect of temperature on polymer solubility. Because polymers swell with rising temperatures, they ensure that the viscosity of the solution stays as constant as possible compared to pure oil

Solubility in oilGood

HighTemperature



The type of polymers and, above all, their molec-ular mass, is key to the effectiveness of these viscos-ity index improvers (adding 3 to 7 percent corres-ponds to an additive content of 2.5 percent): the larger the molecules, the more they swell with rising temper atures and keep the lubricant sufficiently thick, even at high operating temperatures.

Large molecules do have one weak point, how-ever: mechanical stress in the thin lubrication gap can easily tear the polymer chain. For this reason, the second key parameter for the suitability of a lubrica-tion oil is the shear stability of the polymers used. High shear stability means that the molecular chains are split slowly, even with heavy mechanical loading, so the polymer breaks down only after several years of service. Gear oils are expected to retain their lu-bricating effect for about 20 years, while engine oils are supposed to work reliably for approximately 30,000 kilometers.

VI improvers ensure the viscosity stays as constant as possibleEvonik has supplied VI improvers based on poly-alkyl(meth)acrylate (PAMA) for decades under the VISCOPLEX® trademark. The molecules consist of a long polymethacrylate chain with alkyl side chains that ensure solubility in the base oil. In solution, the PAMA chains form a ball, which wells up with in-creasing temperature. When this happens, the balls expand, thereby increasing the viscosity of the oil. To be more exact, VISCOPLEX® ensures that the viscos-ity of the solution remains as similar as pos sible com-pared to that of the pure base oil without additive.

What the chemists are doing, then, is thwarting physics: The effect is contrary to the natural behav-

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Measuring kinematic viscosity, which indicates how much force is required to get a liquid to flow At low temperatures, the comb polymers reduce the kinematic viscosity

of the oil compared to PAMA by about one third. At high temperatures, they achieve the same good values as PAMA polymers. Bottom line: comb polymers reduce the temperature dependency of viscosity

Log log (KV [cst+0.8])

Oil-insoluble PAMA backboneoil-soluble polyolefin arms

Contracted PAMA

Collapsed comb

Base oil

Log T [K]

Expandedcomb

ExpandedPAMA



ior of a liquid, which always becomes thinner when the temperature rises. The additives reduce the loss in viscosity and expand the temperature window in which the oil displays optimal lubrication.

In principle, the thinner the oil, the easier it is for an engine to run, and the less fuel it consumes. The art lies in keeping an oil‘s viscosity as stable as pos-sible within the highest possible temperature range. Today’s engines and transmissions are becoming increasingly compact and powerful. This means increasing standards for lubricants. For this reason, the chemists at Evonik have searched for molecular structures that hold the flow properties of the lubri-cant nearly constant without becoming too thick in cold temperatures and thin in hot temperatures.

Even more powerful: comb polymersThe specialists from Darmstadt have developed a completely new architecture for the molecules of the polymers. The backbone consists of extremely long, polar molecule chains that carry non-polar polyole-fins as side chains at regular intervals.

Chemists refer to these as “comb polymers” be-cause their structure resembles a comb. The building blocks of the long backbone consist of short-chained methacrylates, and other co-monomers. By varying the percentages of the monomer mixture, the pola-rity of the chain and the number of side chains can be selectively controlled during polymerization. About 100 monomers have an aver age of 0.8 to 1.6 molecular teeth, each with some 400 carbon atoms.

The modified structure results in completely new properties. The long side chains ensure extremely good solubility in the base oil over a broad tempera-ture range. The stiffness of the backbone is designed in such a way that the large molecules „collapse“ at low temperatures by forming very small units, so that the lubricant remains adequately free-flowing. If the temperature rises, the long side chains push apart and the comb polymer wells up, which results in the desi-red thickening effect.

Comb polymers have proven their outstanding properties as lubricant additives on a number of en-gine test stands. Compared to conventional PAMA ad-ditives, they show significantly better values for all key parameters. The shear stability of the molecules is many times higher, and the flow properties of the oil are optimized during cold start. The kinematic viscos-ity, measured at 40 degrees Celsius, is about one third lower. This means that the lubricant is easy to pump at relatively low operating temperatures, and the movement of the engine parts and gear wheels in the transmission slows only a little—an effect that has a direct and positive impact on fuel consumption.

Lubricants must be precisely coordinated to oper-ating conditions. Because thermal stress on the poly-mers is particularly high in the engine, comb poly-mers for engine oils contain fewer side chains than those for gear oils. Shear stability is the most

Politicians demand economical vehicles with low CO2 emissions Today, engine developers and car manufacturers not only focus their attention on the design and performance of their products but on fuel consumption and emissions. The pressure is coming primar-ily from the political arena: Over the next few years, the EU will be reducing the permissible fuel consumption of new vehicles in several stages. By 2015, manufacturers will have to reduce fuel consump-tion to the point that exhaust emissions are, on average, below 130 grams of CO2 per kilometer. In 2010, the average CO2 value of newly registered cars in Germany was 151 g/km. Car manufacturers and importers who do not comply with EU limits in the future will have to shoulder millions of euros in fines.

Engineers use an array of methods to reduce fuel consumption: lower vehicle weight, improved aerodynamics, more efficient en-gines and drive trains. Most of these methods are technical in nature. But the more sophisticated the component, the more expensive and time-consuming it is to increase its efficiency and performance even more. In addition to technical optimization, selecting a high-perfor-mance lubricant can also reduce a vehicle‘s fuel consumption and emissions. Thanks to their modified chemical structure, the new additives from Evonik each show optimal viscosity over a broad tem-perature range, and guarantee highly efficient operation of engines and transmissions. Test-stand results have shown that additives based on comb polymers achieve fuel savings of about 1.5 percent. The benefit corresponds more or less to that obtained through high-effi-ciency wheel bearings or an electronic start-and-stop system for the engine. For engine developers and car manu facturers, then, this margin is a giant leap. 333

ResouRCe effICIenCY



important factor in transmissions—in a fast turning transmission, extremely small toothed gear flanks are subject to strong forces and significantly higher pres-sures than in the engine. Consequently, comb poly-mers have to stand up to high shear forces while retaining optimal viscosity values over a wide range of temperatures.

Fuel consumption reduced once againAfter many years of development work, chemists at Evonik have developed four comb-polymer-based high-performance additives that meet all the demands of today’s engines and transmissions. Most impor-tantly, these developments also help reduce fuel con-sumption and emissions. In a comparison with a stan-dardized reference oil (RL 191), conventional PAMA additives have been shown to reduce fuel consump-tion by 3.5 percent—comb polymers in the engine oil, on the other hand, lower fuel consumption by 4.4 percent. In combination with gear oils, which also contain comb polymers, the savings increases to a total of about 1.5 percent.

At first glance, a 1.5 percent reduction in fuel con-sumption does not seem particularly high. Compari-son in absolute figures reveals the actual weight of this relatively small percentage: the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that, worldwide, road traffic emits about five billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Of this figure, 1.5 percent corres-ponds to a savings of 75 million metric tons. Accord-ing to EU standards, average CO2 emissions per vehicle and per kilometer must be reduced by about

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Additives are supposed to keep the viscosity of lubricating oils constantly within an optimal range over the widest possible range of temperatures. The viscosity index (VI) plays a decisive role. Changing temper-atures have a greater impact on the viscosity of oils with a low VI than on the viscosity of oils with a high VI



20 grams by the year 2015—and the new comb poly-mers can eliminate up to 2.5 of those grams.

This shows how the chemists at the Oil Addi tives Business Line are translating the ideas and wishes of engine developers and lubricant manufacturers into a chem ical structure of the required additives. They act as mediator between the growing technical chal-lenges of engines and drive trains, and the practical experience of lubricant manufacturers. This requires close cooperation with formulators in setting the very specific properties of the lubricant and a continuous exchange with customers and suppliers.

Every engine in the world is the same in this way: They all have to run, and run as long and as trouble-free as possible. But this alone is not enough anymore. Traffic is increasing dramatically worldwide, and is considered the problem child of climate policy be-cause, thus far, it has been unable to noticeably curb traffic-related greenhouse gas emissions.

This is why future vehicles will also be assessed based on whether engineers and suppliers have exhausted all potential for the lowest possible fuel consumption and low emissions. Against this back-drop, chemically custom-designed additives can help ensure that advanced engines not only function optimally but also consume as little fuel as possible. Doing so is not only in the interest of the driver but also car manufacturers, engine developers, and the oil industry—all of whom must ensure that, in the future, vehicles offer substantially lower emission levels and greater environmental compatibility. Only then will traditional drive technologies continue to be relevant. 777

Boris eisenberg joined Evonik‘s Oil Additives Business Line in 1995, and currently works in product development in the Innovation Management unit. Since 2008, he has been responsible for product devel-opment with a focus on defined polymer architecture. Eisenberg holds a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Darmstadt (Germany) and is author of more than 20 patents and scientific publications.+49 6151 18-3028, [email protected]

Dr. torsten stöhr studied chemistry with a focus on polymer science at Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (United States). He earned his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, at IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose (California, USA), and at Stanford University in Palo Alto (Califor-nia). He joined Evonik Industries in 2000, and came to the Oil Additives Business Line in 2002, where he worked on defined polymer architectures. Since 2008, he has been in charge of global product devel opment of all viscosity index improvers and pour point depres-sants of the business line.+49 6151 18-4743, [email protected]

Dr. Michael Müller is responsible for strategic mar-keting in the Oil Additives Business Line. After study-ing chemistry at the University of Freiburg and earning his doctorate there at the Institute for Macro molecular Chemistry in the working group of Prof. Gerhard Wegner, Müller started his career in 1984 at Evonik Röhm GmbH. He held different positions in research, application engineering and technical service in the Acrylic Polymers and Oil Additives Busi ness Lines, in-cluding most recently Global Business Man ager Engine Oil and Driveline for Oil Additives, before moving to his current position. +49 6151 18-4573, [email protected]

Influence of the engine oil on gas consumption. The measure-ment was taken on the engine test stand in Darmstadt, and a standardized reference oil (RL 191) was used for comparison. Compared to PAMA, oils with comb polymers can reduce gas consumption by another 0.9 percent

Comb PAMA

Advantage vs. RL191 [%]5.0

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Influence of the gear oil on gas consumption, measured as torque loss on the drive shaft. Here, too, comb polymers can help reduce gas consumption by another 0.5 percent compared to PAMA

PAMA: 20 °C; 44 °C; efficiency = 95.2% Comb: 20 °C; 44 °C; efficiency = 95.7%

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14 CAtALYsIs


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MetAtHesIs Is A chemical reaction in which four atoms receive new bonding affiliates in a single step. Depending on the sub strate combination, it is distin-guished between ring-closing metathesis (RCM), cross-metathesis (CM) and ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). The development of well defined catalytic systems for metathesis reactions won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2005.

Today, metathesis is a highly significant method of the chemical industry, for instance in the develop-ment and production of modern plastics or of active pharmaceutical ingedients (fig. 1). Ring-closing meta-thesis is an elegant method for construction of macro-cyclic ring systems and therefore is an indispensable reaction step in the synthesis of modern active phar-maceutical ingredients for the treatment of hepatitis C or cancer. Ring-opening metathesis polymerization is an effective method to produce specialty polymers for large, complex and corrosion-resistant com-ponents for automotive applications or chemical con-tainers. In oleochemistry, metathesis reactions are used for functionalizing unsaturated fatty acid deriv-atives.

Evonik markets metathesis catalysts under the name of catMETium® RF (fig. 2). All catalysts are based on unsaturated N-heterocyclic carbene Ru complexes (Ru-NHC). The catalysts all share the characteristics of high temperature stability, high turn-over numbers (TON), and high selectivity.

The metathesis of olefins plays a particularly im-portant role in oleochemistry, since this technology

Metathesis plays a key role in oleochemistry to make renewable resources usable for the chemical industry. The metathesis catalysts used for this purpose must be robust and highly active to convert the raw material qualities, which are subject to frequent fluctuations and occasional contam-ination. The Evonik portfolio features two catalysts, catMETium® RF2 and catMETium® RF3, that can solve this difficult task.

[ text Dr. Renat Kadyrov ]

Robust and selective: metathesis catalysts for oleochemical applications

allows for direct access to renewable resources and for their efficient use without creating any by-prod-ucts. For example, metathesis turns triglycerides and unsaturated fatty acid derivatives (from palm, soy, canola or sunflower oil) into fine chemicals, function-alized monomers, polymers, biodegradable lubricants and specialty chemicals such as cosmetics.

Cross metathesis of unsaturated fatty acids and acid esters with functionalized olefins, allow for ac-cessing a diversity of double-functionalized olefins. These represent interesting raw materials for creat-ing macrocyclical compounds, polyesters, poly-amides, lubricants or surfactants for example. On the other hand, the non-functional olefins that are gener-ated in the same process can be further converted to α-olefins, oil field chemicals, lubricant additives and waxes.

Highly prized robustness and stability at high temperaturesMetathesis catalysts for oleochemistry applications must have special properties for operating economi-cally. catMETium® RF2 and catMETium® RF3 meet these requirements. They stand out for high tolerance for a variety of raw material qualities, fulfill ing an essential prerequisite for the use of renewable re-sources in oleochemistry.

The thermal stability of catMETium® RF catalysts represents another advantage, which is especially im-portant in equilibrium-limited cross-metathesis

K AtALYse 15


+ ++

Cl

Cl

Ph

Ru

Mes MesN N

PCy3

Mes MesN N

RuS

Cl

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Cl

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Mes Mes

RuS

Cl

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Cl

NN

Me

S

Cl

Ph

Ph Ph

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N

NN

PCy3

Cl

Figure 2

Evonik´s catMETium® RF product family

Figure 1

Application areas of olefin metathesis

Ring-closing metathesis Cross metathesis

A A

Y Y

Oleochemistry

Ring-opening metathesis

Pharma

Polymer

n

nAntiviral active ingredients Functionalized oligomers

Bulk and special polymers

Dosing of activeingredients

Dental materials Coatings

catMETium® RF1 catMETium® RF2 catMETium® RF3 catMETium® RF4

16 CAtALYsIs


+

O

O

O

OO

O

333Figure 3

Homo metathesis of methyl oleate

777

or homo-metathesis. The high thermal stability of the catalysts allows for combining the catalytic meta-thesis step with thermal separation and to return non-converted starting materials to the process.

The high thermal stability of RF catalysts is evi-dent in the homo metathesis of methyl oleate, in which octadec-9-ene and dimethyl-9-octadec-9-ene-1, 18-dioate are obtained in an equilibrium reaction (fig. 3).

While saturated Ru-NHC complexes quickly de-grade at temperatures just above 70 °C and therefore produce a wide range of by-products, the catalysts of the catMETium® RF technology show unparalleled thermal stability and robustness, even at tempera-tures above 100 °C.

As a result, reaction speed and productivity sig-nificantly increase at high temperature (fig. 4). Even at high reaction temperatures, the catMETium® RF2 catalyst achieves a turnover number of > 200,000 with a selectivity of > 98 percent. With an integrated thermal separation of the products, the reaction equi-librium can be shifted toward higher volumes and yields without the risk of destroying the catalyst by thermal stress.

Simple business modelIn addition to the excellent activity, selectivity, and robustness of the catMETium® RF technology in var-i ous application areas, Evonik offers further added value with a clear, independent IP position that is also reflected in the business model. Evonik uses a simple proven business model to market the catMETium® RF catalysts that makes license agreements superfluous and allows for transparency. The total kilogram price for the catalysts includes all license fees for the use of intellectual property; customers have no further obligations.

This business model is also reflected in the name, since the acronym RF stands for Royalty Free. This allows customers to make use of the new catalysts without any restrictions.

Dr. Renat Kadyrov deals with synthe-sis, up-scaling and production of homo-geneous catalysts at Evonik´s Catalysts Business Line. He received his PhD from Kazan Sate University in 1984 under direction of Professor Boris A. Arbuzov. Over the next ten years he worked at the University of Kazan. He was as post-doctoral fellow at the University Halle/Saale (West Germany, 1986/87) and in the Max-Planck-Group at Rostock University (1993/94). From 1994 he worked at the University of Greifswald and at the Institute of Catalysis at Ros-tock University before in 1999 he joined Aventis R&T. Since 2001 he has been an employee of Evonik.+49 6181 [email protected]

catMETium® RF2Yield [%]

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Figure 4

Comparison of yield in C18 diester and C18 olefin in the homo metathesis of methyl oleate (catalyst loading 3 ppm, reaction time 2h)

Theoretical conversion in case of thermodynamic equilibrium of homo metathesis

Yield in by-products/isomers Yield in C18 diester and C18 olefin

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ResouRCe effICIenCY 17


„We’Re InCReDIBLY proud. A dream has come true,“ com-ment ed German extreme sportsmen Dirk Gion and Stefan Sim-merer at the end of their two-and-a-half week pioneering trip across Australia. The two piloted the Wind Explorer, a light-weight electric vehicle, from Albany on the Indian Ocean to Cor-por ation in 17 days and set three new records during their roughly 4,900 km trip: The first time a continent had been crossed by a vehicle power ed by wind and lithium-ion batteries, the longest overall distance covered by an exclusively wind-powered land vehicle, and the longest distance covered in 36 hours. „What‘s more it was resource-efficient and had virtually no impact on the climate,“ said Simmerer. The Wind Explorer was powered by lithium-ion batteries, recharged by a portable wind turbine whenever wind conditions permitted. The 200 kg vehicle there-fore only notched up electricity costs of around €10 for the al-most 5,000 km trip.

Gion and Simmerer came up with the idea for this record-breaking trip last summer. Just weeks later they found the necessary partners in German industry, led by Evonik Industries AG. Evonik provided the materials for the lightweight bodywork and the high-performance lithium-ion batteries. The battery pack with power of 8 kWh enabled the Wind Explorer to run for about 400 km in demanding temperatures of 60 °C. Dr. Klaus Engel, Chairman of Evonik‘s Executive Board, congratulated the team: „This was a tremendous achievement by Dirk Gion and Stefan Simmerer. It shows what pioneering spirit and German high-technology are capable of.“

The special feature of the Wind Explorer is that it is an elec-tric vehicle with its own mobile power supply. When the battery is empty, the pilots can recharge them via a portable wind tur-bine, if wind conditions allow, or via the conventional power net-work. It takes half an hour to erect the turbine and six-meter high

telescopic mast made of bamboo. In addition to wind power, the Wind Explorer can be driven by kites. In this way, the lightweight vehicle reached speeds of around 80 kph as it crossed the states of Western and South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

The pilots started in Perth. Having carried out various tests during the first 500 km, the real trip began in Albany. For the first 800 km to Nullarbor Plain the Wind Explorer was driven entirely by electric power. Strong winds then enabled the pilots to use the kites. Finally the Wind Explorer achieved its best per-formance within 36 hours at the south coast, covering 493 km. „It‘s great to see how lightweight construction and lithium-ion technology can provide a response to the problem of global warm-ing,“ said Simmerer.

The record trip from Albany to Sydney was not the first feat by Gion and Simmerer. Gion made headlines in 2004/2005 with the „Earthflyer“ kiteboard project in Australia and in 2006 as a water-skier towed by the “MS-Deutschland” cruise liner. In 1997 Simmerer was the first person to cross Chang Tang, the Tibetan high plateau, and climb Zangser Kangri (6,551 meters). He has since led expeditions in South America, Africa and Kamchatka.

Pioneering projects like the Wind Explorer are a good op-portunity for German industrial companies to test their technol-ogy under extreme conditions and extend their technical edge. Competition is particularly tough in the automotive sector, which is increasingly turning its attention to electric and hybrid vehi - cles. New lightweight materials such as ROHACELL®, which was used in the Wind Explorer, and smart tire technologies that re-duce rolling resistance are in great demand. However, the race for tomorrow‘s technology to power electric vehicles will be won principally by expertise in batteries. „Through our sub - sid iary Li-Tec we aim to become the European market leader in battery cells,“ said Engel. 777

The Wind Explorer pilot vehicle is a two-seated electromobile that weighs just 200 kilograms and with a range of 400 kilometers per battery charge. The bodywork consists mainly of a carbon fiber composite with ROHACELL® structural foam from Evonik. Its lithium-ion batteries, based on yet another Evonik technology, are charged by a mobile wind turbine or—in exceptional cases—in the conventional way from the power grid

Almost 5,000 km across Australia

Pioneering trip by the Wind Explorer

18 neWs


Prize awarded in the 2011 nano+art competition

What happens when art and science enter a dialogue, when space is given to the tensions and synergies between both disciplines? This year’s presentation of the prizes for the nano+art competition pro-vided at least a visually impressive answer to these questions. In his speech at the presentation ceremony, Dr. Harald Schmidt, head of the strategic R&D unit Creavis Technologies & Innovation, stressed the importance of nanotechnology for Evonik and highlighted the great potential for development of new products and improved pro-cesses.

1With her entry “Opera Ball” (left), Julia Lambrecht from Kassel was the grand prize winner of this year’s nano+art competition, and grateful recipient

of the €1,000 prize money. The winning image shows a photomicrograph of a crystallized organic semiconduc-tor material. Some of the crystals formed on the surface of the substrate during preparation of an organic tran-sistor. In this process, the development of the visible crystallites is an undesired side effect of the intended generation of organic semiconductor nanowires.

2 Second place and a check for €500 went to Aruna Ivaturi from the Nanoscience Centre of Cambridge University for her „Floral Bouquet“ (top right): „The multi-colored

‘dandelions’ in this floral bouquet represent women all over the world—various shades of personality, character and identity,“ explains Ivaturi. Her Floral Bouquet is a scanning electron micro-graph of tin oxide nanorods grown by a hydrothermal method. The dominance of the homogeneous nucleus formation during growth leads to the formation of dandelions. The stunningly unusual architecture of these „flowers“ makes them promising candidates for electrode material in such products as low-cost batteries and solar cells for the energy storage and conversion markets.

3 Third prize, which carried an award of €250, went to Claudia Mattheis for her “Dancer” (bottom right), a digital

micrograph of electrospun polymer com-posite nanofibers. The thickened parts, and their interplay with the fibers, were inter-preted as a pas sionate dancer, whose spirited movements can vibrate the surrounding area. This image addresses the theme of „Woman.“

The competition invited entries from female students, graduates and young scientists working in the field of nanotechnology at universi-ties, research institutes and other organizations in Germany and Europe. Entrants were asked to submit images from their research work on the themes of „Woman“ and „Man,“ with the ultimate goal of raising awareness of nanotechnology among the broader public and making it more understandable. This is why the Employer Branding unit of Evonik Industries has organized the event for the last six years.

neWs 19


Study verifies effectiveness of conditioning agent against hair breakage

Shampoos and conditioners that contain the new silicone conditioning agent ABIL® T Quat 60 from Evonik significantly reduce hair fiber breakage. This is the result of a joint study by Evonik‘s Care Specialties Business Line and TRI/Princeton of Princeton (New Jersey, USA), a leading independent research insti-tute largely devoted to the study of human hair. ABIL® T Quat 60 also provides outstand-ing conditioning features, such as easy comb-ing and a superior feel in both wet and dry states. The conditioning agent is universally suitable for all shampoos and conditioners.

Broken hair fibers are brittle, fray, and lead to the formation of unsightly split ends. As a result, they reduce the perception of hair smoothness, lower shine, and hinder a fluid, flowing motion. Because consumers rely on hair care products to solve this problem, im-proving the anti-hair breakage functionality of shampoos and conditioners is an important issue for the manufacturers of these products.

smoothness. All testing was performed on hair damaged in the standard way, and in -volved repeated combing with a custom-built automated grooming device, followed by counting the number of broken fibers. To en-sure statistical relevance, the experts evaluat-ed eight tresses per treatment. The results of the experiment show that the shampoo and conditioner formulations containing the new conditioning ingredient ABIL® T Quat 60 pro-vide a dramatic anti-breakage benefit by 60% for shampoo and 88% for conditioner.

The extreme effectiveness of ABIL® T Quat 60 against hair breakage is a result of its excellent substantivity to hair keratin. This silicone conditioning agent also provides impressive heat protection properties, long-lasting color protection, and a clean, silky skin feel. It is highly suitable for use in condition-ing shampoos, dandruff shampoos and con-ditioners, and even leave-in formulations and body washes.

Evonik always substantiates its hair prod uct solutions through many hair performance tests. As the experts from Evonik and TRI/Princeton have proven, ABIL® T Quat 60 reduces hair breakage in both shampoos and conditioners. Their joint study examined the breakage of hair that was treated with a shampoo and a conditioner containing ABIL® T Quat 60. The treated hair underwent de-fined tests that are often used to make claims regarding anti-breakage, strengthening, or

Nitrogen oxide reduction: Lines made from VESTAMID® compounds satisfy requirements

Evonik offers a variety of VESTAMID® poly-amide 12 compounds that help automobile manufacturers develop systems for reducing nitrogen oxide in diesel vehicles. All the gra-des offered by Evonik have performed excel-lently in tests, and some are already in use.

A 32.5-percent aqueous solution of urea serves as the reducing agent in systems de-veloped today by car makers for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitrogen oxides

AdBlue® places heavy demands on lines in SCR systems. They must be resistant to urea and ammonia as well as any gas mixture flow-ing back from the catalyst. Because the urea solution is heated to up to 60 °C, but freezes with expansion at –11 °C, good hydrolytic resistance and bursting strength at higher temperatures are essential, along with high impact resistance and elasticity at low tem-per atures.

Various VESTAMID® polyamide 12 com-pounds satisfy all these requirements. Evonik helps car makers develop their individual sys-tems by offering them a variety of products. All VESTAMID® compounds have been sub-jected to a recirculation test with AdBlue® at 60 °C and 80 °C (with external air temper-atures of 40 °C and 50 °C respectively) over a period of 5,000 hours, to check for any changes in their mechanical properties. All of the grades tested have excellent values for strain at break, bursting strength, and, in par-ticular, low-temperature impact strength at –40 °C.

Of all the grades tested, VESTAMID® LX9008 best satisfied all the requirements; VESTAMID® L2140 and X7293 are already being used in SCR systems.

from diesel engines. The VDA (German Association of the Automotive Industry) has registered this solution under the brand AdBlue®.

At temperatures above 60 °C, water de-composes AdBlue®, yielding carbon diox ide and ammonia; the latter in turn reacts with nitrogen oxides, forming water and nitro gen and thus reducing the emission of nitrogen oxides by about 90 percent.

Hair breakage, as revealed by a scanning electron microscope

Illustration of catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides



PLEXIGLAS® is transparent and formable, UV- and weather-resistant—an ideal material for manufacturing ultra-lightweight solar modules in shapes and colors that are in tune with design. Experts from Evonik and Sunovation are working together on lightweight-module solutions that open up com-pletely new avenues to climate-friendly power generation in architecture, vehicle construction and city planning.

[ text Peter Battenhausen, Markus Krall, Uwe Löffler, Andreas Wöll ]

PLEXIGLAS® stands up to glass in photovoltaics systems

Green power made easy

It is slated for mass-production this year: the SUNOVATION ECO TECHNICS carport. Developed by Sunovation and partners, the carport combines design with functionality. Its 8-square-meter photovoltaics surface can generate about one kWp of electricity and cover the consumption needs of an electric urban vehicle driving about 40 kilometers a day.

The power generated is fed into the network, and withdrawn again, when needed, via the integrated power plug. Specially fabricated for Evonik, the prototype shown in the photo has been installed in May 2011 on the premises of the Darmstadt site. To meet the design standards of this upscale carport, developers used PLEXIGLAS® materials in both the cover and carrier sheets



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PLAstIC oR GLAss? This is the question that countless car manufacturers, architects, packaging designers, and city planners have racked their brains over. Often, the answer is pretty simple: Plastic wins out whenever weight or formability is a pivotal fac-tor. Or put another way, plastic is the first choice if the focus is on fulfilling and implementing the de-sign plans of the architect or designer.

Interestingly enough, however, this question has played a minor role in photovoltaics (PV). The glass-on-glass modules currently in use consist of a carrier sheet and a cover sheet made of glass. Depending on the structural specifications for the glass strength, these standard systems have one grave drawback: Each square meter of glass module weighs at least 20 kilograms. In comparison, PV modules based on PLEXIGLAS® weigh half as much. Indeed, this is why

many construction projects fail to exploit the poten-tial of photovoltaics. A case in point is renovating existing buildings to make them more energy-effi-cient. The existing substructure is unable to bear the additional static loads of the glass modules.

Lightweight construction: an attractive niche in photovoltaicsConventional glass modules are, therefore, of limited use on account of their weight. Obviously, then, the glass has to be replaced with a transparent, resistant, but above all lightweight material. This is where Elsen-feld, Germany-based Sunovation GmbH began its work. The company has been devoting itself to light-weight construction modules for over 15 years and has been successful at carving a niche for itself

The Alstersonne, a solar catamaran that has sailed the Alster since the year 2000. Sunovation has installed its modules on a total of four of these catamarans, which are operated in Heidelberg, Hannover, and on Lake Constance, in addition to Hamburg. The PLEXIGLAS® solar modules form a curved, partially transparent roof on the catamarans. Their low-weight, high weather resistance, and formability make them especially useful for overhead applications



in the photovoltaics market. Currently, Sunovation is the only company that produces lightweight solar modules from plastic, keeps advancing their develop-ment, and has gained a wealth of experience in the field worldwide. A host of applications—bus stops, golf carts, and solar portholes for boats, the solar cat-amaran Alstersonne in Hamburg, the solar butterfly in Freiburg, which supplies energy to a radio tower, and the largest lightweight solar module in the world, measuring 1.5 meters by 4 meters—testify to the company‘s success.

The best possible material for the lightweight mod ules is poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA), which Evonik Industries has sold for over 75 years under the PLEXIGLAS® trademark. PLEXIGLAS® stands out from other plastics by virtue of its longevity, high UV- and weather resistance, high light transmission, and its outstanding surface hardness. As a thermo-plast, it can be handled and processed by all shaping methods and is completely recyclable.

PMMA for freedom of designIn addition to its low weight, PMMA has another key property that makes it superior to glass as a carrier sheet for solar cells. The modules can be produced in any shape desired. They can be easily bent into a roof over a bus stop or into a gently arching roof con-struction on solar boats, and they can be used in noise barrier constructions over express train and subway tracks, individually shaped for high-tech, power- generating façades. The lightweight modules are in-stalled either cold-formed, in which the module is clamped into an existing space, or following treat-ment in a heating furnace, in which it is shaped into its final three-dimensional form with the help of forming tools.

With its lightweight modules, Sunovation has opened up new areas of application in photovoltaics.

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The world‘s largest lightweight solar module with a cover sheet made of PLEXIGLAS®. The module measures 1.58 meters by 4 meters and has a maximum power of about 880 Wp. The true record, however, is its low weight. The SUNOVATION® module weighs only 80 kilograms, which makes it over 60 percent lighter than a glass-glass module of this size for overhead use. In addition, with a U-value less than 1 W/m²K, the module boasts excellent heat-insulation properties. The module exhibits outstanding structural properties, can withstand high mechanically applied loads, and excels with its durable, highly transparent and scratch-resistant surface

Schematic structure of a SUNOVATION® module

4 mm

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Solar cells (crystalline or thin-film technologies)

Cell-connector technology

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The substructures of buildings can be designed to weigh less and use fewer materials. When existing buildings are modernized, a relatively weak sub-structure is no longer a problem. Vehicles can be de-signed with curved roofs or interior constructions that supply power to the on-board system or battery and add no weight to the vehicle.

Advanced technology from SunovationSunovation modules basically consist of three layers. The upper cover sheet and the lower carrier sheet are both made of transparent plastic, but the carrier sheet can be a solid or a multi-wall sheet. Between these layers is a special permanently elastic multi-component silicone-based gel in which the photo-active solar cells are embedded. The solar cells float, as it were, in the gel and are decoupled from the carrier sheet and cover sheet. 333

stRenGtHenInG sALes

Plastic modules for the international market

Photovoltaics is a global business. This is why small, innovative companies do well to look for internationally active partners to strengthen their marketing position. Sunovation has therefore established a joint venture with MAGE AG to market polymer-based lightweight modules more effectively in other countries with great potential for photovoltaics. A subsidiary of MAGE AG, MAGE Solar GmbH, headquartered in Regensburg, special-izes in marketing OEM-produced mono- and polycrystalline standard modules. Another subsidiary of MAGE AG produces for the systemic completion of solar panels on the substructures and installation systems designed for PV modules. The company is active throughout Germany and eleven other countries, in-cluding France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Slovakia, and the United States, the key market of the future.

The façade of the Photovoltaics Information Center (PIZ) in Gelsenkirchen. The vertical shading “gills” are made of holographic mir-rors that focus the sunlight onto the interior SUNOVATION® modules. Another unique feature is that the gills can be adjusted to the sun’s position and aligned accordingly. This allows regulation of shade for the interior spaces behind them



The gel not only holds the solar cells in place but plays a central role in the forces that occur during forming. It consists of several components, and can be adapted to the shearing forces that occur during forming through formula modification—depending on how strong the sheets should be and whether the car-rier is designed to be solid or hollow. The forces are evenly distributed over the gel, which transfers the mechanical load to the cells. Both crystalline and amorphous silicon is used for the solar cells, but thin-film and dye cells are also possible.

The first PLEXIGLAS® roofs with integrated solar cells by Sunovation were installed more than thirteen years ago. But back then, photovoltaics was still not a generally accepted form of renewable power gener-ation. The only people interested in using PV modules were committed environmentalists and a few trail-blazers.

Since then, the times have changed dramatically. An increasing number of architects and developers have now gone in for “green building”—the idea of building private and public buildings as sustainably and ecologically as possible. A vital component of green building is recyclable modern construction ma-terials and environmentally and climate-friendly energy supply. This also applies to energy-efficient renovation and modernization of existing buildings, which plays an important role in the energy concept of the German federal government.

In green building, lightweight modules not only generate energy, but play additional roles: they pro-

vide roofing, thermal insulation and sound insulation, and create shade. To put it another way, why produce expensive roofs or façades that you have to equip with modules and thermal protection systems when all of your key requirements can be met with multi-func-tional solar modules?

High potential in the automotive industryA revolution similar to that in the construction in-dustry can be observed right now in the automotive industry. The vehicles of the future are no longer being developed and marketed based solely on tech-nical and aesthetic criteria. To reduce traffic emis-sions and allow the industry to meet its climate obli-gations, the fleet of the future will have to consist of ultra-light and eco-friendly (electric) vehicles. A higher plastic content and regenerative energy sup-ply will be key features.

Because the components have to meet the high standards of safety, durability, and quality exacted by mobile applications, the use of photovoltaics in ve-hicles poses a special challenge. Several renowned automakers are currently experimenting with solar-active roofs. Integrative plastic-based PV solutions have already been realized multiple times in concept cars.

But electromobility covers far more than just the vehicle alone. Eco-friendly driving also goes hand-in-hand with today’s charging stations. Together with

333

The latest version of PLEXIGLAS® Solar (0Z023) is even better adapted to the absorption spectrum of solar cells. It blocks sunlight below 350 nanometers, which damages the solar cells and cannot be converted into electricity anyway. At a wavelength of 350 to 400 nanometers, however, it allows more high-energy photons to pass through than other transparent plastics, thereby increasing the electricity yield of the solar module

Transmission [%]

Built by the Venturi company in 2007, the car with integrated solar roof made of SUNOVATION® modules can be marveled at in Monaco. The monocrystalline solar cells supply maximum power of 150 Wp

PLEXIGLAS® Solar 0Z023/PLEXIGLAS® Solar IM20—3mm UV blocking standard PMMA grade—3mm III-V cell spectral response

250 300 350 400 450 500

Wavelength [nm]

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0



its partners, Sunovation has developed the SUNOVA-TION ECO TECHNICS carport, a carport with inte-grated LED lighting that generates emissions-free electricity, thanks to curved PLEXIGLAS® modules that are a part of the roof. With a total surface measur-ing approximately eight square meters, the modules have maximum power of over 1 kWp. Compared to glass-glass modules, PLEXIGLAS® leads to weight savings of over 60 percent and allows delicate, aes-thetically pleasing construction. A prototype of the carport has begun operation in May 2011 on the grounds of Evonik in Darmstadt.

With Solar Carport, Sunovation and its roughly 20 employees are planning to take the plunge into mass-production. There is every reason to believe the carport will be a success. Its modular construc-tion makes it easily expandable for large-scale appli-cations, and installing it is incredibly simple. It can be set up on any even, stable substrate without a foun-dation and without a construction permit. Sunovation will even take back used solar modules and recycle them.

As these examples show, efficient products and systems tailored to a specific application are possible only through close cooperation between customers and material manufacturers. Evonik and Sunovation are currently studying the effect of various plastics on the performance of solar cells. For this purpose, nine modules are being measured and compared for their endurance on a test bench under real outdoor weathering conditions. The plastics used in the pan-els include conventional PLEXIGLAS®, polycarbonate, and PLEXIGLAS® Solar, which is optimized for mo-dules. The latter is a newly developed PMMA that shows improved transmission in the short-wave UV range. It allows high-energy radiation of between 350 and 380 nanometers to pass through far better than other plastics. Consequently, more high-energy pho-tons reach the solar cells and can be converted into electricity.

Low weight, optimal transmission, and high UV- and weather resistance are the main reasons why PLEXIGLAS® Solar was used as the cover sheet for the world‘s largest lightweight design module, which Evonik presented at the K trade fair for plastics in the fall of 2010. The module is 1.58 meters wide, four me-ters long, and weighs only 80 kilograms.

In the future, renewable power generation could become as commonplace as today‘s coal- and gas-fired power plants. Cars would be refueled with climate-friendly green electricity, buildings would be de-signed with power- and heat-generating façades and roofs, and in cities, emissions-free public transport would be the norm. But visions of this kind can be-come a reality only if high-tech and design are intel-ligently combined, that is, when material and function interact closely with one another.

For this to happen, materials manufacturers, de-velopers and customers along the entire value-added chain must cooperate and promote innovations to-

gether. Freely formable PLEXIGLAS® based solar mod-ules are opening up a highly promising but challeng-ing new field of application. The modules have to do more than just generate power efficiently and reliab ly. They must also fulfill the aesthetic expectations of architects, developers and customers, and as high-tech products, withstand the influences of wind and weather over many years. The partnership between Evonik and Sunovation is one example of how to le-verage the potential of advanced materials both eco-nomically and ecologically, while simultaneously meeting the demands of aesthetics, performance and sustainability. 777

Peter Battenhausen, business development manager for the Acrylic Polymers Business Line, works primarily with solar applications for PLEXIGLAS®.+49 6151 18-4519peter.battenhausen@ evonik.com

Markus Krallis founder and shareholder of Sunovation GmbH. In 1997, Krall developed the current SUNOVATION® module in cooperation with Evonik Röhm GmbH based on a feasibility study.+49 60 22 70 [email protected]

uwe Löffler is responsible for the Inter-national Market Segment Solar in Evonik’s Acrylic Polymers Business Line.+49 6151 [email protected]

Andreas Wöllis general manager of Sunovation GmbH and has extensive experience in photo-voltaics and solar thermal technology. He is primarily re-sponsible for the rebuilding of the company, further devel-opment of Sunovation tech-nology, and the development of a more efficient and powerful production process.+49 6151 [email protected]

26 BIoteCHnoLoGY


White biotechnology has become an indispensable part of the chemical industry. But experts agree: the field is still in its infancy. High double-digit growth rates and key strategic decisions show that industrial biotechnology will replace even more conventional petrochemical processes. At Evonik’s BioTechDay in March, some 200 participants discussed the opportunities this will create.

[ text Dr. Thomas Haas, Dr. Jan Pfeffer ]

Evonik BioTechDay

On a growth course

Biofuel, cosmetics or biopolymers: The desire to replace fossil raw materials has dramatically increased demand for renewable carbon sources

BIoteCHnoLoGY 27


foR YeARs, It was impossible to imagine how a chemical in-dustry could get along without oil. But because of finite deposits, political uncertainties, and technological advancement, the in-dustry has given more and more thought to new approaches, and for some applications, has already developed competitive or even better alternatives to petrochemical products. Thanks to micro-organisms and enzymes, biotechnological processes increasingly enable the development of products such as biofuels, polymers and solvents based on renewable raw materials.

“About ten percent of the world market for chemical products is now produced with the help of biotechnologically produced substances,” said Patrik Wohlhauser, the member of the Board of Evonik Industries AG with responsibility for innovation man-agement, at the opening of BioTechDay, which was held March 9–10 in Marl. “Evonik now generates about eight percent of its sales from white biotechnology, with high growth rates.”

Nearly 200 participants at the event learned about the poten-tial of biotechnology for the chemical industry. There was also a Product Marketplace, featuring classical biobased products, such as amino acids and cosmetic active ingredients, as well as new developments from Evonik, which are already established in this market. The Group has special expertise in developing strains, fermentation, and in processing bioproducts.

With its Biotechnology Science-to-Business Center (S2B Bio), Creavis strategic research and development unit for basic research activities, and its Biotechnology Area of Competence, in which Evonik bundles its cross-business-unit biotechnological know-how, the Group has positioned itself well in these areas. “The dream of creating a product in a single cell is impossible in classical chemistry. But thanks to biotechnology, it is becoming a reality,” said Dr. Thomas Haas, head of the S2B Bio and orga-nizer of the convention.

With biotechnology Evonik has expanded its technology port-folio to foster the growth fields of resource efficiency, nutrition and health, as well as the globalization of technologies. “Our in-novation projects are allowing us to move further and further into the so-called emerging markets,” said Dr. Peter Nagler, head of Innovation Management Chemicals & Creavis at Evonik.

Biotechnology requires patienceIt took longer for biotechnology to get where it is now than consultants predicted ten to 15 years ago, when a 25 or even 40 percent share of the world market in 2010 seemed possible. Tech-nological hurdles, radically altered industrial value-added chains that called for new partnerships, and market mechanisms for raw materials meant that companies had to design highly tar-geted and flexible biotechnology strategies.

“Theoretically, hundreds of chemicals and plastics can be man ufactured from renewable raw materials, but up to now, only a small number actually have,“ added Dr. Hanns Martin Kaiser, consultant at McKinsey & Company. He described the reasons for this, and the situation in industrial biotechnology in his presentation. In the past, bio-related sales were generated

The Product Marketplace at the Evonik BioTechDay provided material for discussion

mainly in biofuels, plant extracts and natural rubber. “Bio-based chemicals may be relevant to a broad spectrum of market partic-ipants,“ says Kaiser. “But right now, virtually no manufacturer can cover the value chain alone. This means that partnerships are essential.“ Kaiser cited five forces driving continued growth in this sector: cost competitiveness, flexible use of raw materi-als, consumer demand, technological innovations, and pressure from public authorities.

Trend in raw material prices means substantial planning uncertaintyThe costs for biotechnologically manufactured products are in-creasingly competitive with those of classical petrochemistry. “Until now, the prices of crude oil and raw sugar, for example, haven’t had much to do with each other,” said Kaiser. But this also means that it is hard to predict when a biotechnological process will be cheaper than a petrochemical process, 333

28 BIoteCHnoLoGY


According to estimates, the chemical industry generates about 7 percent of its sales revenues in biotechnology. Major segments are biofuels, plant extracts, and natural rubber

Sales chemical industry 2008 Bio-dependent sales 2008

€ billions

Source: SRI, F.O. Licht, Frost & Sullivan, Press search

Product class

Biofuels

Plant extracts1

Natural rubber

Food/feed ingredients

Pharmaceutical ingredients

Oleochemicals

Polyols

Enzymes

Bioplastics

Others

Examples

EthanolBiodiesel

Hydrocolloids (gums, industrial starches, etc.)Essential oilsFlavors and fragrances

Rubber (isoprene, etc.)

Organic acids (citric acid, lactic acid, etc.)Amino acidsVitamins

Enzymatic APIsBiologics

Natural fatty acidsFatty alcoholSurfactants

Sorbitol, mannitol, xylitolGlycerol

Detergent enzymesGrain processing enzymes

PLA, PHAStarch based plastics, etc.

Other specialtiesR&D services

1 In 2008 only selected regions of world markets available; updated based on 2010 split

1,745(100%)

1,619(93%)

126(7%)

Share in biotechnology sales in € billions

40

37

18

9

7

5

4

3

2

1

‘The Pull’ of the U.S. Renewable Fuels Standard ‘The pull’ has advanced worldwide technology innovation that continues to evolve and improve through government funding and led to increase venture capital and public and private company funding

Renewable fuels1 (unclassified) – 1st generation Advanced biofuels2 – 3rd & 4th generation Biomass-based biodiesel3 Cellulosic biofuels4 – 2nd generation

Mrd. Liter

Quelle: U.S. Renewable Fuels Standard

140

120

100

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60

40

20

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

1 Includes all types of biofuel2 Biofuels other than corn-based ethanol with GHG savings >50%3 Biodiesel with GHG savings >50%4 Lignocellulosic biofuel with GHG savings >60%

GR

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ARG

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Y &

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BIoteCHnoLoGY 29


particularly since the situation could change several times over the course of the years, depending on the trend in raw mate rial prices. Moreover, biotechnologically produced chemi-cals are not necessarily superior when it comes to reducing CO2 emissions. It depends on the method of production.

On the other hand, the legislation enacted in recent years and government subsidies have unquestionably favored advancement of biotechnology. “Because of these measures, there is a good chance that the scope of industrial production will double in the next few years,“ said Kaiser. Nevertheless, this should not give people false hope. Aside from the high investment required, the long time-to-market, and society’s skepticism regarding sustain-ability, so far very few products based on biotechnology that enable new functionalities have successfully been placed on the market.

Martin Todd, managing director of LMC International, illus-trated just how complex the decision for or against a certain raw material for a biotechnological process can be. The British com-pany is a consultant to companies in agribusiness all over the world. “The demand for renewable carbon sources is increasing rapidly, thanks to fast economic growth and the desire to replace fossil sources.” As a result, raw material prices have climbed be-cause arable land has had to be expanded to create „more expen-sive areas,“ the rising cost of crude oil has increased the pro-duction costs of farmers, and because of the widespread use of biofuels, whose prices directly correlate with rising crude oil prices.

“This is why the prices for renewable carbon sources will follow those of fossil carbon sources,” said Todd. The dynamics vary, however, for reasons that include energy content (when compared to crude oil, vegetable oils have a 1 to 1 content, while ethanol is 0.7 to 1 in the same comparison), the pricing politics of the Brazilian government, which mean that fuel prices in that country can differ greatly from world prices, and economically attractive byproducts (such as glycerin) that occur in the pro-duction of biofuels. “Because of their high energy content, vegetable oils are likely to be more expensive than carbohy-drates, especially because they are many times more land inten-sive and their potential crop areas are geographically limited,”

333

333

The technology demon-stra tion facility of Buta-max, a joint venture of BP and DuPont, with a specified nominal capac-ity of 37,000 liters biobutanol per year

said Todd. “When it comes to carbohydrates, a resource like su-gar cane is a less obvious topic for the ‚Food vs. Fuel‘ debate, but it also requires arable land, obviously.”

Simplified production processes, thanks to biocatalystsJack Staloch does not believe that there is a food shortage cur-rently, but does believe that “food is lacking in the right places.” Staloch is a vice president of the agricultural multinational Car-gill, and worldwide head of the Biotechnology Development Center. For the last four years, there has been a law in the United States that stipulates a threefold increase in the use of biofuels as a share of fuel consumption by 2022. Fifty billion liters were produced in the United States last year—half of the world‘s pro-duction, and more biofuel than ever before.

Owing to its biotechnological expertise, Cargill is also active in this segment, though it is far from its only field of activity. “Biotechnology accounts for about four percent of our sales,” said Staloch. The company has core competencies in fermen-tation, enzymes, separation and engineering. “Thanks to bio-technology, we can develop new products and processes, or lower production costs,” said Staloch.

A good example is the production of lactic acid. To extract lactic acid following bacterial production, lime and sulfuric acid had to be added to the fermentation broth. But with Cargill’s newly developed yeast bacteria, sugar can now be fermented to lactic acid without the same amount of additional chemicals—and at the same production rates and yields. To find the right bio-catalyst, Cargill researchers tested about 1,200 yeast strains. They then modified the best candidates before ultimately trans-ferring the fermentation to the production level. “We also rec-ognized, however, that this yeast strain makes a good fermen-tation platform for other applications,” said Staloch, “such as organic acids for plastics and synthetic fibers.”

Ray W. Miller, Global Business Development Manager in the Applied Bio Sciences Division at DuPont, stressed that chemical companies operating in the field of biotechnology have to have a lot of patience. A pioneer in industrial biotechnology,

30 BIoteCHnoLoGY


Miller made no secret of the fact that it took some time before the decision-makers of his own company were ready to commit to biotechnology. “Today, even the American consumer is demanding green products,” said Miller with a touch of self- derision.

Technology platforms expand the fields of applicationCiting the example of 1,3-propandiol, a glycol produced biotech-nologically from glucose, he explained that sales remained low from 2000 to 2006 but then rose dramatically in 2007. “Our an-nual growth rates now average 50 percent,“ said Miller. More-over, DuPont is building its Sorona® polymer platform on bio-propandiol—a business that used to be the domain of petro-chemistry. These kinds of polymers enable highly dimensionally stable clothing, durable car seat covers, as well as plastic resins that protect against moisture and odors. DuPont supplies other biotechnologically produced materials in such indus tries as cosmetics, packaging, polymers and biofuels. Together with the energy company BP, DuPont has established the joint ven-ture Butamax, which is now developing a second-generation biofuel.

Dr. Elke Hofmann, Commercial Director Europe at Butamax Advanced Biofuels, stressed the importance of such biofuels, which have a higher energy content than bioethanol. “One of the biggest weaknesses of bioethanol is its 30 to 40 percent lower energy content compared to conventional fuels,” said Hof-mann. “The energy content of biobutanol, on the other hand, is closer to the values of conventional fuels.” So Butamax embarked on a quest for the right butanol molecule. After intensive

research, isobutanol was selected in 2004. “We tested hundreds of different molecules,” said Hofmann. Butamax produces the butanol with a modified yeast strain. Biobutanol shows advan-tages along the entire value-added chain including the ability to be more easily blended than ethanol at the refinery.

In 2007, butanol successfully passed a fleet test that included vehicles from model years as early as the 1990s. So in 2009, the company began construction on a pilot plant in Hull (England), with a specified nominal capacity of 37,000 liters per year. The plant is currently in the start-up phase. “We plan to start marketing the biobutanol in the United States in 2013 with plans to expand to Europe,“ announced Hofmann.

333

Dr. thomas Haasheads Evonik s Biotechnology Science-to-Business Center which is under the direction of Creavis Technologies & Innovation.+49 2365 [email protected]

Dr. Jan Pfeffer works as Project Manager Research and Development in the Biotechnology Science-to-Business Center.+49 2365 [email protected]

777

© ButamaxTM Advanced Biofuels LLC

Butamax‘ de novo pathway to produce biobutanol with a modified yeast strain

X2 Ethanol + 2 CO2

Biomass

Sugar

2 NAD+

2 NADH

2ALS KARI

PyruvateO

O O O

Acetolactate

2 NADH

2 NAD+

O

O

O O

O

O

OH

OH

OH OH

OH

H

OH

OH

OH

HO

HO

DHAD

α-Ketoisovalerate Isobutanal Biobutanol

KivD

ADH2 e–, 2 H+

2 e–, 2 H+

H2O CO2

Dihydroxyisovalerate

CO2


neWs 31

Robust, flexible, and fast drying: the new clear coating technol ogy from EvonikTwo-component (2K) PUR coatings were formerly regarded as the global benchmark for high-grade coatings. They are particularly weather and chemical resistant, and the hardness-to-elasticity ratio is right. Another advantage is that they cure at room temper-ature. In certain applications, however, the abrasion resistance of the coating films leaves much to be de-sired. The new polysilane system developed by Evonik offers many of the advantages of 2K PUR coatings, and it is at the same time especially tough.

With this development, Evonik has solved a prob-lem that persisted for a long time. In the past, many silane-based coatings lacked the desired flexibility, due to their high crosslinking density and high SiO2 content. Evonik‘s new coatings show none of the unwanted brittleness. This result was achieved by developing a resin concept based on oligomeric silane resins in combination with acrylate polyols with a balanced ratio of organic and inorganic components. An important feature is that, because of the high reactivity of polysilanes toward water and polyols, these coatings are processed as two-component systems.

Evonik has also developed a novel catalyst concept for its new coatings. Thanks to this development, the polysilane coatings cure rapidly even at room temper-ature. The new coatings thus provide a genuine alter-native to the current standard.

Demanding façade design with PLEXIGLAS® Mineral

Credits scientific Advisory BoardDr. Norbert FinkeEvonik Degussa GmbHInnovation Management Chemicals & [email protected]

editor in ChiefDr. Karin Aßmann Evonik Services [email protected]

Contribution editorsChrista FriedlMichael Vogel

Design Michael Stahl, Munich (Germany)

PhotosEvonik IndustriesKarsten BootmannDieter DeboTim WegnerStefan WildhirtSunovation (p. 21, 23, 24)Butamax (p. 29)Stuwil/Fotolia (title)Pinnacle Pictures/Getty Images (p. 4 top)Stefan Richter/Fotolia (p. 8)Nazira/Fotolia (p.11)slobo/iStockphoto (p.12 bottom)Mauritius Images/Phototake (p.19)

Printed by Laupenmühlen Druck GmbH & Co.KG Bochum (Germany)

Reproduction only with permission of the editorial office

Evonik Industries is a worldwide manufacturer of PMMA products sold under the PLEXIGLAS® trademark on the European, Asian, African, and Australian continents and under the ACRYLITE® trademark in the America

PublisherEvonik Degussa GmbHInnovation Management Chemicals & Creavis

Rellinghauser Straße 1–1145128 EssenGermany

PLEXIGLAS® Mineral for extremely weather-resistant structural shellsIndividual façade design depends on the interplay of touch, shape and light. PLEXIGLAS® Mineral provides new options for this purpose. This mineral-filled acrylic is homogeneously colored, can be thermoformed in two or three dimensions and shows unique reflection behavior.

„PLEXIGLAS® Mineral makes it possible to achieve story-high, formed, individually routed or printed façade elements,“ says Ralf Nettner, Product Manager for PLEXIGLAS® Mineral at the Acrylic Polymers Business Line of Evonik Industries. „Our material paves the way for creative ideas.“

But PLEXIGLAS® Mineral not only has a stylish look, it is also exceptionally tough and defies all winds and weathers. The façade material offers high im-pact strength and UV stability. It can be fastened to all conventional supporting structures. It combines a velvety reflective surface with high brilliance and durable color stability. PLEXIGLAS® Mineral is available in many standard colors as well as individual shades.

PLEXIGLAS® Mineral is extremely flame-retardant and emits very little smoke. Its combustion gases are neither corrosive nor toxic. The material is rated Class D, s2, d0 to EN 13501-1. PLEXIGLAS® Mineral NF is rated in Class C, s1, d0.

Forget about gloss that fades. Create your world of wow.Visit us at www.plexiglas.net and www.plexiglas-polymers.com and find out more about PLEXIGLAS® and its high-gloss surfaces that last.

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