Bayer Begins Construction of 200-Ton Carbon Nanotube Plant in Germany

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Bayer MaterialScience AG (Leverkusen, Germany), a manufacturer of polymers and high-performance plastics, has commenced construction of a facility to produce carbon nanotubes at Chempark in Leverkusen, Germany. With a planned production capacity of 200 tons per year, the facility will be developed at an estimated investment of $30 million.

Baytubes are single- or multi-wall carbon nanotubes, consisting of hexagonal carbon rings in a tight honeycomb structure. The structure is in the form of tubes with defined diameters and may have one of more walls. Bayer produces two grades of carbon nanotubes -- Baytubes C 150 P, with a carbon purity of greater than 95%, and Baytubes C 150 HP, with greater than 99% of carbon purity. Baytubes C 150 P has three to 15 walls, with an average inner diameter of 4 nanometers and outer diameter of 13-16 nanometers.

Bayer produces carbon nanotubes through the catalytic chemical vapor deposition process, in which carbon-containing gas is passed through particulate catalysts at high temperatures, resulting in the growth of carbon nanotubes. The process can be used to produce single- and multi-wall carbon nanotubes of high purity and aspect ratio. For large-scale production, reactor technologies such as fluidized beds, floating catalysts and rotary kilns are employed.

In 2004, Bayer began bench-scale production of carbon nanotubes in a reactor with an inner diameter of 10 centimeters and a production capacity of 3-5 tons per year. In 2007, the firm commenced operations at a pilot plant at Laufenburg in southern Germany to produce 60 tons per year of carbon nanotubes. The pilot plant consists of two reactors, each with a capacity of 30 tons per year. The upcoming 200-ton-per-year plant at Chempark will employ the fluidized bed reactor technology. Bayer intends to commence industrial-scale production by 2011 by setting up a 3,000-ton-per-year plant based on the fluidized bed reactor technology.

In February this year, Bayer obtained regulatory approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to sell Baytubes in the U.S. The approval applies to both the C 150 P and C 150 HP grades that are manufactured at the pilot plant in Laufenburg.

Widely touted as the next major technical revolution in material sciences, the carbon nanotubes are used to produce tough, strong yet lightweight materials. The products have unique mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. With the ability to make plastics conductive, carbon nanotubes can be used to produce antistatic packaging films or plastic containers to protect computer chips and fragile integrated circuits. Battery manufacturers can use the product to modify electrodes in lithium ion batteries. In the automotive industry, addition of carbon nanotubes to plastic body parts eliminates the need to apply a conductive primer to the body part before painting, which directly translates into cost savings.

Carbon nanotubes also help to increase the resilience and stiffness, and hence the mechanical strength, of composites, resulting in more robust yet lighter components. This renders them extremely suitable for the manufacture of longer and lighter rotor blades, thereby increasing the energy efficiency of wind turbines. With the use of about 20 kilograms of Baytubes, the overall weight of rotor blades can be reduced by up to three tons. Carbon nanotubes are also used in the manufacture of lightweight transportation containers and robust sports equipment.

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