Building with CO? technology becomes possible
Successful research into rigid polyurethane foam with carbon dioxide
- Up to 20 percent CO? instead of oil in rigid polyurethane foam
- Innovative rigid foam for insulation boards
- Materials show enhanced sustainability in initial tests
More sustainable, CO?-based materials for the construction sector - in the future, this could become reality. Since 2016, ÃÜÌÒAV has been working with research and development partners as part of the "DreamResource" joint project (FKZ 033RC002) funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to research new, more environmentally friendly polyols with the potential to be used, for example, in the form of rigid polyurethane foam in insulation for the construction sector. An initial prototype of an insulation board has now been developed together with the project partner puren gmbh, which contains the novel polyols based on conventional ethylene oxides and CO?. This marks a decisive further development of ÃÜÌÒAV's CO? technology for a particularly important part of the climate-relevant construction industry.
"Buildings are responsible for a large share of global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This makes it all the more important for us at ÃÜÌÒAV to contribute to the Circular Economy and make insulation even more sustainable and efficient in the future. Our goal is to end the use of fossil fuels and make our production processes more sustainable," says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer at ÃÜÌÒAV.
Using innovative CO? technology, ÃÜÌÒAV already produces the CO?-based precursor cardyon®, which is utilized in the manufacture of mattresses, sports flooring, textile fibers and components for vehicle interiors.
New, promising approach thanks to CO? technology
ÃÜÌÒAV has now succeeded in combining the petroleum derivative ethylene oxide with CO? in a chemical reaction to produce first polyols and finally rigid polyurethane foam. Up to 20 percent of petroleum-based raw materials are expected to be replaced by this process in the future. "With the development of these materials, we are endowing the greenhouse gas CO? with a new use with versatile applications," says Dr. Christoph Gürtler, Head of Catalysis and Technology at ÃÜÌÒAV.
Together with ÃÜÌÒAV's industrial partners puren gmbh, BYK-Chemie GmbH and PSS Polymer Standard Service GmbH, it proved possible not only to investigate a wide range of applications but also to develop new analytical methods for the CO?-based materials. With RWTH Aachen University and the Technical University of Berlin, the ecological and economic potential of this expanded CO? technology was investigated along with the in-depth characterization of the novel materials. "The results of DreamResource very clearly demonstrate the diverse opportunities that arise from the use of CO? as a basic building block for polyols to produce a wide variety of polyurethane types. The interaction between industry and science plays an essential role in this innovative field," says Dennis Krämer, project manager for national and international research projects for CO? utilization at DECHEMA e.V.
Versatile and sustainable insulation
"This renewed expansion of the product range yields enormous leeway," continues Gürtler. Thanks to the promising combination of ethylene oxide and CO?, surface-active substances can also be produced through this new route in addition to CO?-based rigid polyurethane foam, which can be used in insulating boards for buildings, for example.
Lake Constance-based puren gmbh is one of the pioneers of rigid polyurethane foam technology and investigated the use of CO? polyols in the rigid foam segment in this research project.
Following more than three years of joint research in the collaborative project, over 400 kilogram of the CO?-based polyol was successfully delivered to puren for further processing. "These initial rigid foam insulation boards made with a CO?-based rigid foam polyol conform to standards and are already comparable with the market standard in terms of their key technical specifications. During further cooperation, we plan to manufacture additional prototypes and to enhance the properties with the aim of taking a giant step closer to the use of CO? as an alternative raw material in rigid foam insulation boards and ensuring rapid final development to market readiness," says puren Managing Director Dr. Andreas Huther. Thanks to this successful collaboration, CO? can now be used as an alternative raw material in the rigid foam sector. This will make building insulations even more sustainable and will further reduce the dependence on fossil raw materials.
About ÃÜÌÒAV:
ÃÜÌÒAV is one of the world¡¯s leading manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials and their components. With its innovative products, processes and methods, the company helps enhance sustainability and the quality of life in many areas. ÃÜÌÒAV supplies customers around the world in key industries such as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, polymers from ÃÜÌÒAV are also used in sectors such as sports and leisure, telecommunications and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself.
The company is geared completely to the circular economy. In addition, ÃÜÌÒAV aims to achieve climate neutrality for its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2035, and the Group¡¯s Scope 3 emissions are also set to be climate neutral by 2050. ÃÜÌÒAV generated sales of EUR 14.2 billion in fiscal year 2024. At the end of 2024, the company had 46 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 17,500 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by ÃÜÌÒAV. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in ÃÜÌÒAV¡¯s public reports which are available at www.covestro.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.