elements 44, Issue 3 | 2013

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY

Multitalented insulation materialsPhYSICOChEmICal aNalYtICS

Extreme measuring accuracy, extreme sensitivityCOatING & BONDING tEChNOlOGIES

Matting agent in paints: innovative, tailored, sustainable

elements44Quarterly Science Newsletter Issue 3|2013

elements44 Issue 3|2013

2 CONtENtS

6

14

24

COvER PICtURE

One topic of this edition is the matt surface trend

NEWS

4 Evonik opens innovation center for cosmetics industry 4 Laying of the foundation stone for Biolys® plant in Russia 5 Evonik plans new silica plant in Brazil 5 New Composites Project House: Materials for lightweight construction

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY

6 Thermal insulation systems face new challenges: Multitalented insulation materials

NEWS

13 New tailor-made cleaners for EUDRAGIT® formulations 13 Production start for a new generation of PVC plasticizers

PhYSICOChEmICal aNalYtICS

14 Extreme measuring accuracy, extreme sensitivity

PlaStICS tEChNOlOGY

20 The future is black and white

COatING & BONDING tEChNOlOGIES

24 Matting agent in paints: innovative, tailored, sustainable

OPEN INNOvatION

30 Evonik Open Innovation Conference 2013: Off the beaten path

NEWS

35 VESTAMID® Terra: In service on the Hockenheimring 35 One million tons of VESTOPLAST®

CatalYSIS

36 Selective reduction of aromatic nitro groups

NEWS

38 REACH: Successfully registered 38 Award for Responsible Care 39 CR Report 2012: Evonik reaches goals ahead of time

39 Credits


3EDItORIal

Sustainability

Patrik WohlhauserMember of the Executive Board, Evonik Industries AG

AQura, Evonik’s analytical services subsidiary, has stepped up its game: With its investment in NMR and mass spectrometry, it can now analyze with greater speed, precision, and sensitivity. But the new equipment produces a wealth of data that needs to be properly interpreted. Behind every good measurement that moves us forward, there is an intelligent mind.

This proves, once again, that it is not machines, processes, or data that brings forth innovation but people who know what to do with them. And we should never forget that innovations are not just made by people but for people. Ultimately, they should make a contribution to social welfare and growth without excessively exploiting or permanently damaging available resources.

Evonik is doing its part: The environmental goals we set for ourselves have been achieved two years earlier than planned, and you can read about this in our Corporate Responsibility Report, which is now available. From 2004 to 2012 we have reduced specific—that is, production-related—energy-based greenhouse-gas emis-sions by 20 percent, specific production waste by 23 percent, and specific water con-sumption by 31 percent. Our original goal was to reduce all three values by 20 per-cent by 2014. Behind this success, too, you will find dedicated employees who have made this progress possible through technical measures, among other means.

And all the while, environmental protection does not stop at our factory gates. Our desire to make the greatest possible contribution to economical use of raw materials and energy also extends to our products. A good example is our activities with insulation materials. In this field, Evonik is active on a number of levels—whether as a supplier of vital additives, such as foam stabilizers, or prefabricated high-performance materials. Our business units have unique expertise in the devel-opment of new or more effective additives, optimizing existing insulation materials, and bringing innovative systems to market maturity. The goal is always the same: conserve resources and climate, reduce costs and energy consumption. Because in the end, sustainability means credibility.


4 NEWS

Laying of the foundation stone for Biolys® plant in RussiaGermany-based Evonik Industries is progress-ing according to plan with the extension of its core business of amino acids for animal feed. At the end of June in Volgodonsk (Rostov region, Russia) the foundation stone for the new Biolys® plant was laid in the pres-ence of the Governor of the Rostov region, Evonik representatives, customers, and part-ners. It will be constructed by the joint ven-ture OOO DonBioTech, which belongs to the Russian Varshavsky Group, and Evonik as a minority shareholder.

The new plant will come onstream in 2015 and have an annual capacity for Biolys® of around 100,000 metric tons. Biolys® is a high-ly efficient source of the amino acid L-lysine and is used as a feed additive in modern ani-mal nutrition. Production in Volgo donsk is based on Evonik’s fermentation technology. Wheat from the Rostov region will be used as a raw material, which the joint venture will process itself.

With the recently completed production expansion in Blair (USA), the construction of a new plant in Castro (Brazil), and the

plant in Volgodonsk, Evonik will have an annual production capacity of 500,000 metric tons of Biolys® from 2015. “This will strengthen our leading position in the pro-duction of feed-grade amino acids, which are an important part of our growth strate-gy,” said Evonik Executive Board member Patrik Wohlhauser.

The Governor of the Rostov region, Vasily Golubev, emphasized the advantages of the site and the collaboration. “The new site will

benefit many people—including future employees and meat consumers in our coun-try,” he mentioned.

Dr. Reiner Beste, head of the Health & Nutrition Business Unit at Evonik, was very pleased with the local support and the build-ing progress: “We’re making good progress and are confident that, from 2015, Volgodonsk will make an important contribution to effi-cient and sustainable meat production in Russia.”

and office space. A special separate workshop area is available for cooperative projects with customers. Overall, Evonik has invested close to €17 million in the new building, which was engineered in accordance with modern eco-logical standards.

On the edges of the event, Evonik also stepped up its successful cooperation with the University of Duisburg-Essen with the sponsorship of a new junior professorship and funding for ten new doctoral scholar-ships. The junior professorship in the depart-ment of chemistry is to be sponsored for a period of six years. It will focus primarily on macromolecular and interfacial chemistry, as these competencies play an important role for the Consumer Specialties Business Unit. Professor Dr. Ulrich Radtke, president of the University of Duisburg-Essen, commented: “This flagship project demonstrates how suc-cessfully science and industry can work together for mutual benefit.”

Evonik opens innovation center for cosmetics industryEvonik Industries has opened a new innova-tion center for products for the cosmetics in-dustry at its Goldschmidtstraße site in Essen. Some 90 employees of the Consumer Spe-cialties Business Unit of Evonik will work in the innovation center, primarily for applica-tions in the cosmetic industry.

“The new innovation center and its devel-opments will further reinforce our competi-tive position in the growing global market for

cosmetic products, with particular focus on the requirements of our customers. Our em -ployees in Essen have extensive experience, the necessary know-how, and creativity to meet the expectations of our customers,” said Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board (CEO) of Evonik, at the opening ceremony.

The new innovation center covers a total area of approximately 5,000 square meters on five floors and includes both laboratories

Laying of the foundation stone at Volgodonsk: (from left) Patrik Wohlhauser, member of the Executive Board of Evonik, Vasily Yurievich Golubev, Governor of the Rostov region, and Vadim Varshavsky

In Evonik’s new innovation center in Essen around 90 employees work at developing new products for the cosmetics industry


5NEWS

Evonik plans new silica plant in BrazilEvonik Industries has started basic engineer-ing for a production plant for precipitated silica in Brazil. Subject to the approval of the responsible bodies, Evonik aims to complete the plant in the year 2015 to market precipi-tated silica in the South America region from local production. The planned facility in Americana, with an investment level in the middle double-digit million-euro range, would be Evonik’s first silica production in South America. The silica marketed under the ULTRASIL® brand name is particularly used in energy-saving tires with low rolling resis-tance, while the silica sold as SIPERNAT® is applied in the feed and food industry as well as the paints and coatings industry.

In South America, and in Brazil in partic-ular, demand for precipitated silica is rising strongly. Two reasons for this are the signif-icant growth of the local automotive industry, on the one hand, and a rising demand in the area of life-science and in agriculture, on the other, for example as a dosing aid for animal

feed. “In our expansion course, we aim to accompany the growth of our global key cus-tomers, particularly in the tire industry,” says Dr. Thomas Haeberle, member of the Evonik Executive Board and responsible for the com-pany’s Resource Efficiency Segment. Evonik expects additional demand due to a planned labeling obligation for fuel-saving tires in Brazil.

According to expert estimates, the market for tires with low rolling resistance will grow globally by a good 18 percent annually in the next five years. Evonik therefore wants to sig-nificantly expand its global silica capacities: By 2014 alone, capacities are planned to increase by around 30 percent compared to 2010.

The use of silicas in combination with silanes allows for the production of tires with a significantly reduced rolling resistance that save up to 8 percent of fuel (compared to conventional passenger car tires). Dr Johan nes Ohmer, head of Evonik’s Inor ganic

Ma terials Business Unit, explains: “We’re the only provider offering both components and are therefore a competent partner for high-performance tire compounds for our customers from the tire and rubber industry.”

A composite consists of at least two different materials, such as a matrix material and rein-forcing fibers. It is characteristic of compos-ites that the starting materials remain physi-cally distinguishable. The mechanical prop-erties of the composite differ from those of the starting materials, however. Dr. Sandra Reemers, head of the Composites Project House, explains: “By selecting the right start-ing materials and assembling them, the pro-cess as well as the properties of the com posite can be customized for a particular applica-tion.”

The issues being worked on at the Com-posites Project House are current and future customer requirements such as rapid, profit-able processability of the composites. “Take, for example, the auto industry, where up to now composite parts have only been able to be installed in small quantities and only after the coating has been burned in. The goal here is to develop materials that can be installed in the same way as metal components, i.e. before the paint is applied,” says Reemers.

New Composites Project House: Materials for lightweight constructionEvonik Industries launched its Composites Project House in spring 2013. Evonik’s tenth project house is based primarily in Marl, with a branch in Darmstadt. The Composites Project House will develop new materials and system solutions for the lightweight construc-tion sector. Among the topics addressed will be automotive and aviation applications and applications in the domain of renewable energies.

“Our aim in setting up the Composites Project House is to expand our expertise in the field of composites. Innovative compos-ites will make it possible to improve resource efficiency significantly at the same time,” says Dr. Dahai Yu, Evonik’s Executive Board mem-ber responsible for the Specialty Materials segment, who believes that composite mate-rials for the lightweight construction sector are an attractive market for Evonik. In some market segments, the composites market is growing by a double-digit percentage. Evonik has been offering composites for specific applications in the lightweight construction industry for some time now: ROHACELL® as a structural foam in fiber-reinforced compos-ite parts, VESTAMIN® as a hardener compo-nent for thermoset matrix systems, and VESTAKEEP® as a matrix for thermoplastic composites, to name just a few examples.

The Composites Project House will develop new materials and system solutions for the lightweight construction sector which plays an increasing role in the automotive and aviation industries among others


6 RESOURCE EFFICIENCY

Thermal insulation is one of the oldest cultural techniques—and today it has become a megatrend. And no wonder: Superior thermal insulation helps to save resources and protects the climate, reduces costs and lowers energy consumption. Advanced materials and systems from Evonik demonstrate not only excellent insulating properties but also feature novel added qualities. Because only added value is convincing.

[ text Dr. Thorsten Schultz, Dr. Frank Menzel ]

Multitalented insulation materialsThermal insulation systems face new challenges


7RESOURCE EFFICIENCY

PEOPlE havE alWaYS had to protect themselves against cold or heat. Without insulated clothing and buildings, complex cultures could not have developed and people could not have settled every climate zone. The focus today, more than ever, is on altering the efficiency to achieve the desired benefits. In Ger-many, generation of heat constitutes over 55 percent of all primary energy consumption. This breaks down into residential heat (heating and hot water, approx-imately 35 percent) and process heat (in industrial applications, approximately 20 percent). On the other hand, energy consumption for cooling and air con-ditioning in hot regions is also on the rise, which means that, globally, the total generation of heat and cold dominates primary energy consumption. This clearly shows how important efficient insulation tech-nology and materials are for the future. Indeed, it is directly linked to the development of energy con-sumption, anthropogenic climate effects, energy costs, and, not least, geopolitical interdependencies.

With an estimated volume of about €45 billion per year, and current growth rates of about 7 percent, the global market for insulation materials is as big as the trend implies. The lion’s share of the market is currently covered by lower-cost foam and fiber sys-tems, especially polystyrene and polyurethane foams, as well as glass and mineral fibers. Biological insula-tion materials such as cork and cellulose fibers are considerably less important, since they are usually more expensive than synthetic materials that deliver the same insulation performance. On the other hand, a diverse and growing market for high-performance insulating materials has been established.

Heat transport is a complex phenomenon that is largely determined by solid-body heat conduction, heat transport in gases, and heat transport by radia-tion. In a good insulating material, those three con-tributions need to be minimized, which is challenging because all those transport phenomena are intercon-nected with each other in a complex manner.

How well a solid body conducts heat depends on its density, its inner structure, the materials used, and their heat capacity. Gas heat conductivity, on the other hand, comprises two separate contributions: thermodiffusion (heat transfer through collisions be-tween gas molecules) and convection (heat transport by means of a gas flow). To prevent convection, it is sufficient to limit the gas’s freedom of movement in

Multitalented insulation materials

at least one direction in space to a few millimeters. This principle is exploited, for example, in conven-tional double glazing.

Thermodiffusion can be reduced only by prevent-ing the gas molecules from hitting each other. The easiest way to do this is by lowering the gas pressure (vacuum insulation systems). Alternatively, the gas can be enclosed in a porous system, in which the sta-tistical frequency of gas/gas collisions is significantly lower than that of gas/pore-wall collisions (the so-called Knudsen regime). This effect is largely respon-sible, for example, for the good insulating perfor-mance of silica systems, but it requires average pore diameters below micrometer. 333

How does thermal insulation work?

The Dewar flask (left) as the core of a thermos is the prototype for vacuum insulation

Multilayer insulation (below) is used primarily in space travel

The variety of insulation materials (below) illustrates their great importance and range of requirements



Radiation-based heat transport can be reduced by inserting a solid material between the warm and cold side of an insulating body to absorb, reflect, or scatter the radiation. A brightly polished aluminum plate is an outstanding radiation shield, but not a good insulating material, since aluminum has a high ther-mal conductivity. However, this reflection effect is exploited in combination with vacuum insulation in a conventional thermos, for example, or so-called multilayer insulation systems, whose primary use so far is in space applications.

Given the multitude of interdepending physical phenomena, the development of an insulation ma-terial is a complex task. Polystyrene foam (Styro-por®), for example, has a low density and, therefore, low solid-phase heat conduction. But at the same time, the pores in the foam are so large that the air inside develops its full heat conductivity through thermodiffusion. Significantly lower values would be achievable in sub-micrometer pores. Because the thickness of the pore walls has a lower limit, how-ever, the solids content would grow in the case of finer pores, which would more than compensate the benefits on the gas side.

Advanced gray polystyrene foam panels: Adding carbon black or graphite ensures additional reduction in the transfer of radiant heat

The optimal insulation— a genuine challenge

Moreover, polystyrene foam presents almost no ob-stacle to infrared radiation. This is why the industry is increasingly selling gray or “mottled” plates that consist of white and dark beads. The dark color comes from added graphite or carbon-black particles, which act as effective radiation shields. But here, too, larger additions would result in increased density and solid heat conductivity, and would therefore be counter-productive.

To reduce the thermodiffusion, the air in the pores could be replaced by a heavy gas. But since polysty-rene exhibits a comparatively high permeability to gases, these filling gases would diffuse out very quickly. Air would flow in and the benefit would be lost.

As hard as it is to imagine everyday life without insulation materials, optimizing them is just as chal-

333



lenging. This is particularly true because to meet all the requests and requirements of the customer, mod-ern insulation materials have to be multitalented, as it were, and display numerous other qualities above and beyond their pure insulating effect.

The wish list is long, and includes such properties as high mechanical strength and elasticity, tempera-ture-resistance and moisture tolerance. Insulation materials also shall be non-toxic, non-flammable, easy to handle, installation-friendly, and easy to discard. They should not provide a breeding ground for mold and algae, and should be compatible with other ma-terials. The requirements also include variable water transport properties, from watertight to permeable, or even heat retention capabilities. A long service life and customized optical appearance are also in de-mand. For insulating systems that offer such addi-tional qualities and, therefore, significantly added value, the market today is accepting considerably higher system costs.

Evonik is active on a number of levels in the field of insulation materials—whether as a supplier of vital additives, such as foam stabilizers, or prefabricated high-performance materials. Today, different busi-ness units have unique expertise in the development of new or more effective additives, optimizing exist-ing insulation materials, and bringing innovative sys-tems to market maturity.

333

Only the right formula creates perfect qualities

Not everything that has been known for years and is well established on the market has reached the end of optimization. Polyurethane (PU) foams are a good example of a material that we can no longer do without in our everyday lives. In the Business Line Comfort & Insulation of the Business Unit Con-sumer Specialties, everything is about the optimi-zation of this class of materials. PU is a high-quality insulation material, especially for wall construc-tions, installation of doors and windows, and seal-ing gaps in walls. High-performance PU foams are also extremely important for insulating refrig - e rators and freezers.

Ensuring optimal heat insulation: insulation board with PU foam



From left to right: Aerated concrete, compacted rock wool board, rock wool fleece, CALOSTAT® and a vacuum insulation panel in direct comparison. The differing heights of the blocks show how thick the insulation has to be to achieve the same insulating performance

With a complete portfolio of a wide variety of foam stabilizers and catalysts for PU insulation mate-rials, Evonik is the global market leader in PU addi-tives and can look back on a more than 50-year his-tory in this market segment. The additives are what make the production of PU foams possible in the first place. They also determine the quality and lifetime of a foam, and whether it insulates perfectly when it is used. Improved foam stabilizers that are, in many cases, customized for the unique PU systems of indi-vidual customers, ensure a particularly fine-pored and faultless foam structure for PU insulation mate-rials for the best insulating effect. PUs are also con-quering new markets: They could play an important role in the electric car of the future, protecting the passenger compartment against heat and cold.

Silica has long been among the traditional addi-tives of high-temperature materials. The Inorganic Materials Business Unit supplies fumed silica (AERO-SIL®) to the fireproofing industry for the production of linings for industrial furnaces and metal crucibles, as well as insulating jackets for hot lines and contain-ers that range in temperature up to 1,200 °C during

333

Well insulated with silica

use. In addition, AEROSIL® is supplied to producers of cooktops, who use it for the bottom of the cook-tops. Here, effective insulation can be achieved at a depth of less than 2 centimeters, which means that while the glowing red wires of the cooktop heat the food, the kitchen furniture is protected from high temperatures.

Vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) are a high-per-formance insulation system, in which silica-based pressed plates are vacuum-packed in a multilayer, airtight film. With VIPs, cooling appliances effort-lessly make the leap to the highest energy efficiency class. Vacuum insulation panels based on AEROSIL® are increasingly penetrating other markets as well, including the construction sector and highly insulat-ing transport containers.

One of the most recent developments based on fumed silicas is the high-performance insulation board CALOSTAT®—a hydrophobic insulation board

While refrigerators in energy efficiency class A+++ are expensive to buy, they cost less to run, thanks to vacuum insulation panels

Source: www.Ratgeber-Geld-sparen.de, 2013

Initial cost Operating costs over ten years

A+++

A++

Waste equipment (built from 2000)

2,000 EUR 1,000 1,500

700 400 1,100

500

500 650 1,150

500 1,450 1,950

0



333

that fills the gap between the established low-cost materials and high-priced vacuum insulation panels, particularly for construction applications. Their excellent insulation performance enables exception-ally low mounting depths. In addition, they exhibit a good pressure-resistance, high water vapor perme-ability, and are non-flammable. Pilot production began in 2013.

Functional silanes also play a role in thermal insulation—as a waterproofing agent for insulation materials based on silica and glass fibers on the one hand, and as a raw material for silica aerogels on the other. The latter are nanoporous materials that, in certain fields of application, achieve even better ther-mal insulation performance than fumed silica, but sometimes at significantly higher cost. A stable, grow-ing market has developed that Evonik is serving as supplier.

In the Performance Polymers Business Unit, high-performance foams are developed for a wide variety of applications. SOLIMIDE®, a polyimide foam, in addition to high temperature and flame resistance, offers an outstanding lifetime. It has become firmly established in equipment for naval vessels and in air-craft construction. The SOLCOUSTIC® Duct Liner product line serves the market for air-duct liners, which relies not only on the products’ excellent ther-mal insulation properties and favorable fire class but also on their excellent acoustic insulation properties and long service life.

SOLIMIDE® in its countless possible variations and applications

P84 fibers with their prominent propel lerlike cross section, which helps define their good insulating performance

Another field for high-performance foams

Polyimides are also source materials for especially heat-resistant and insulating fibers (P84), and are used primarily for hot-gas filters in waste incinera-tion plants and coal-fired power plants. The outstand-ing thermal insulation performance of the extremely fine fibers, which can withstand continuous tempera-tures beyond 250 °C, allow them to be used in heat protection clothing for firefighters and metalworkers. But in addition, P84 remains elastic and tensile even at extremely low temperatures near absolute zero. This has led to the development of rugged and



is just as important as it is to customers in various industries, not to mention real estate owners and end users. One thing is clear: the profile of requirements for insulation materials and systems is increasingly multidimensional. One outstanding but singular char-acteristic is no longer enough for success on the mar-ket. Future insulation materials will be multitalented, and will be measured and evaluated on the sum of their performance characteristics, not just their insulating performance.

Thanks to their comprehensive expertise, the ex-perts at Evonik can always find the right answer to customers’ evolving preferences and requirements when it comes to nearly any insulation material. As supplier, Evonik collaborates closely with the cus-tomer to optimize insulation performance and all other critical characteristics, as well as on the pro-duction processes for the various materials and sys-tems. The company’s extensive portfolio, outstanding customer focus, and considerable in-house develop-ment initiatives have ensured Evonik’s advancement in this field to a globally perceived and recognized partner. And as for the future, all lights are green: thermal insulation is and will remain a megatrend. In the long run, no one can afford to waste precious resources and energy. 777

Dr. thorsten Schultz has worked as development engineer in the Process Technology & Engineering unit since 2006. His work focuses on product develop-ment and process optimization. After studying chemical engineering at the Technical University of Clausthal, he first worked for two years as a shift manager in the production department of a medium-sized chemicals company. Schultz earned his doctorate in the field of electrochemistry and process analysis at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems in Magdeburg. phone +49 6181 59-2887, [email protected]

flex ible insulation systems for cryogenics, such as pipelines and containers for cryogenic, liquefied gases like liquid nitrogen or liquefied natural gas (LNG). Currently, external partners are acquired to be system integrators for these developments.

Another promising material is ROHACELL®. This structural foam is based on polymethacrylimide and has outstanding mechanical properties, a long service life, and temperature resistance, as well as good ther-mal insulation properties. Therefore, ROHACELL® is an ideal material for advanced lightweight construc-tion in the aviation and automobile industries. Sand-wich components with the lightweight but ultra- strong foam core significantly reduce weight and fuel

ROHACELL® under the microscope

Where is the field of insulation materials headed?

consumption while also protecting the passenger compartment from heat and cold. In sandwich con-structions, outer layers made of fiber-reinforced resins or thermoplastics are applied to the foam core. The foam can also be heated in combination with thermoplastic outer layers, shaped, and joined in a single process.

Where is the field of insulation materials headed? For the insulation specialists at Evonik, this question

333

Dr. Frank menzel has headed an application engi-neering department within the Silica Business Line (in the Inorganic Materials Business Unit) since 2003. After earning his PhD in chemistry at the Technical University of Clausthal, he first worked as laboratory and production manager in a rubber factory in the automotive supply industry before moving to head Research, Development and Application Technology Silicone Rubber at Hüls Silicone GmbH. He headed the AEROSIL® R&D department from 1999 to 2003.phone +49 6181 59-2262, [email protected]


13NEWS

their mild chemistry, low processing tem-peratures, and simple handling procedures these products are particularly user- friendly.

Evonik will market Chematic® RL/RS Cleaner and Chematic® NE/NM Cleaner to the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical indus-tries. The manufacture and global supply of the products will be handled by Dober. The business partnership combines the expertise of both companies and provides Evonik customers with a truly unique value.

New tailormade cleaners for EUDRAGIT® formulationsEvonik Industries and Dober Chemical Corp. have brought two detergents on the market which have been specifically developed for cleaning coating equipment after processing pharmaceutical formulations based on EUDRAGIT® RL/RS and EUDRAGIT®NE/NM. The products, Chematic® RL/RS Cleaner and Chematic® NE/NM Cleaner, were de-signed to provide higher cleaning efficiency and lower asso ciated process cost. Both de-tergents will be exclusively marketed by Evonik Industries.

Evonik and cleaning science specialist Dober joined forces to address cleaning challenges associated with the processing of extended release coating systems. The properties of Chematic® detergents were spe ci fically designed for sustained release EUDRAGIT® polymers.

Based on customer feedback gathered by Evonik, the new detergents show a nearly 70 percent reduction in cleaning time. This in

turn results in shorter downtime, reduced labor costs, and significant energy savings. In ad dition, the products meet worldwide regulatory requirements and are GMP com- pliant.

Dr. Jean-Luc Herbeaux, head of the Health Care business line at Evonik, stated, “Thanks to the collaboration with Dober, we are now able to offer cleaning solutions for EUDR A-GIT®, which are superior in terms of safety, effectiveness, and cost-efficiency.” Due to

Production start for a new generation of PVC plasticizersEvonik is launching a new generation of PVC plasticizers under the ELATUR® product brand. With this strategic portfolio expan-sion, Evonik is consistently developing its range of sustainable plasticizers.

In June 2013 production started for the phthalate-free plasticizer 1,2-Cyclohexa-dicarboxylic acid diisononyl ester. Evonik’s new production plant came onstream at Marl Chemical Park with an annual production capacity of 40,000 metric tons. Investment was in the double-digit million euro range. The phthalate-free plasticizer is sold under the ELATUR® CH brand name.

Consistent research will help to add fur-ther innovative products to the new genera-tion of plasticizers. This includes marketing

bio-based plasticizers that Evonik plans to launch additionally. Negotiations with coop-eration partners are at the final stage. To develop the plasticizers further, Evonik oper-ates its own research and development labo-ratory at Marl Chemical Park, also offering technical customer service.

“The expansion of the portfolio with phthalate-free and bio-based plasticizers is an ideal addition to our existing VESTINOL® product family that has been tried and tested for decades,” says Dr. Rainer Fretzen, head of Evonik’s Performance Intermediates Business Line. “With the new plasticizers from the ELATUR® brand, customers now have an even wider portfolio from which to choose the plasticizer that best suits their

The Chematic® detergents have been specifically developed for cleaning coating equipment after processing pharmaceutical formulations based on EUDRAGIT®

The production start for a new generation of PVC plasticizers is appreciated by—from left to right: Jan Van den Bergh, head of the Advanced Intermediates Business Unit, Mayor of Marl (Germany) Werner Arndt, Dr. Dahai Yu, Board member of Evonik Industries, Dr. Rainer Fretzen, head of the Performance Intermediates Business Line

The new production plant for the phthalatefree plasticizer ELATUR® at Marl Chemical Park

individual requirements. Evonik thus offers its customers a complete service including logistics and technical support from a single source.”

Plasticizers from Evonik are primarily used in the plastics, automotive, and construction industry.


14 PhYSICOChEmICal aNalYtICS

Sandra Peter in the NMR laboratory setting samples on the sample changer


15PhYSICOChEmICal aNalYtICS

Mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy are among the tools of modern analytics. Because of growing demand and the strategic importance of the process, AQura GmbH has modernized and expanded its range of equipment. Organic components can now be routinely identified and quantified with previously unknown precision and sensitivity.

[ text Dr. Eberhard Busker, Dr. Marcus Maurer ]

WEEk aFtER WEEk, when forensic pathologists use sophisticated analytical methods to solve complicated murder cases on the TV show CSI, it often amounts to pure entertainment, far removed from reality. What few viewers can know is that many of the tests demonstrated on the show are possible only with mass spectrometers. But Hollywood is not the only place where analytics is receiving greater attention. Time and again, modern methods and equipment are making it possible to do the kind of analytical work that appeared unthinkable or took far too much time only a few years ago.

Against this backdrop, AQura, Evonik’s analytics service provider, has completely modernized and

Extreme measuring accuracy, extreme sensitivity

expanded its range of equipment for mass spectrom-etry and nuclear magnetic resonance over the last two years. Internal and external customers can now access additional measuring capacities and state-of-the-art analytical opportunities at the Hanau and Marl sites. In mass spectrometry, AQura went from one to four high-performance devices that are used partic-ularly in conjunction with liquid chromatography.

By this method, complex compounds are initially separated to allow the individual substances to be an-alyzed in more detail free from impe diments. Two of the new mass spectrometers are based on the detec-tion of oscillating ions and thereby allow extremely precise measurement of the molecular mass. 333

Alexander Kaiser at one of AQura’s new mass spectrometers

Mass uncertainty[ppm]

Number of molecular formulas

500.00 1,285

100.00 184

20.00 35

10.00 18

5.00 8

2.00 4

1.00 1

0.05 1

Mass uncertainty[ppm]

Number of molecular formulas

500.00 205

100.00 47

20.00 12

10.00 7

5.00 4

2.00 2

0.10 2

0.05 1

O

O

O

O

OH

O

HO

HO

OH

OH



Figure 1Structural clarification involves determining the molecular formula based on the mass. The smaller the error in measuring a mass, the fewer molecular formulas there are to evaluate. With unlimited measurement accuracy, each element combination can be determined through mass spectrometry alone. The FT ICR devices used at AQura set the highest possible standard

The new NMR devices at AQura enable substance measurements in the ppm range

Test mass: 390.27701 (DOP)Permissible elements: C, H, N, O, S

Test mass: 180.06339 (glucose)Permissible elements: C, H, N, O, S

Mass filter

Quadrupole, ion trap

MALDI TOF

HRQuadrupole

Orbitrap, oaTOF

FT ICR

S/N = 356:1

S/N = 1,024:1

RT probe head S/N 332:1

Prodigy CryoS/N 1,093:1



Moreover, fragments can be selectively gener-ated to provide additional valuable information. The measurements are suitable for determining elementary compositions and, above all, for helping to clarify the chemical structure of unknown substances. The two other devices are triple qua-drupole mass spectrometers that are particularly good at quantifying analytes down to the trace level.

Precision to the fourth decimal placeMass spectrometry is always based on the same prin-ciple: the substance under examination is transferred in an ionized state to the gas phase. Depending on the ratio of mass and electrical charge, ions can take various tracks and be selectively fed to a measuring device that can record their mass and incidence.

Mass spectrometry is an extremely sensitive pro-cedure that allows analysis of even the smallest quan-tities of a substance. Clarifying a structure requires as few as 1,000 ionized molecules of a substance, which in practice opens access to attomolar quanti-ties of a substance. The mass of the analytes can be precisely measured at less than one part per million (ppm). For a molecule with a nominal mass of 300, this corresponds to an accuracy of 0.0003 atomic mass units. Just a few years ago, this kind of perfor-mance was possible only in a very few highly special-ized laboratories at academic research institutes. Today, this information is offered routinely and with high sample throughput.

But what requires this level of measuring preci-sion? If a molecular mass can be correctly determined

to the third or fourth decimal place (“accurate” mass), as is the case with advanced devices, the number of questionable element combinations can be signifi-cantly reduced (fig. 1). This must occur before the analyst can clearly and unequivocally correlate the measurement results and the substances they are based on, taking into account the sample history.

In principle, the more that is known about the an-alytes beforehand, the better. And the equipment is able to analyze more than just the interactions of complex substances. Indeed, a tandem mass spec-trometer can also be used to generate fragments through collisions with the atoms of an inert gas. These fragments then supply additional information in the structural analysis, because the predetermined breaking points of the starting molecules are fore-seeable from theoretical considerations.

Unfortunately, the method also has its Achilles heel, which is based on the individual detection be-havior of the analytes, or the “response factor.” This can differ by a factor of one thousand, depending on the substance. Over and over again, analysts are forced to adapt the method, which is actually a pot-pourri of methods, to the task at hand. This takes experience.

Nuclear magnetic resonance has proven to be an ideal complement to mass spectrometry. AQura re-cently modernized its range of equipment for this analytical process, too. About 20 years ago, the rule of thumb was that measurement values below 5 weight percent of the main components would disappear in the measurement noise of this method. Technology has made great advances since that time, how- 333

Figure 2The cryogenic cold head (red signal) significantly improves the signaltonoise ratio (S/N) compared with a conventional probe head (blue signal), and thereby increases the sensitivity of the measurement

Figure 3Compared to a conventional probe head, the cryogenic cold head shortens the time required to obtain a signal by a factor of four to nine

333



ever, and measurements in the ppm range are no longer a problem with the NMR equipment used at AQura.

Nuclear magnetic resonance exploits the behavior of the “spin” of the atomic nuclei: if an atomic nucleus is exposed to a magnetic field, it aligns its spin to the field. Now, if radio frequency is emitted at the right energy, the atomic nuclei change the orientation of their spin, and resonance occurs. The special attrac-tion of NMR spectrometry is that the intensity of the measured signal is strictly proportionate to the num-ber of affected atomic nuclei of the analytes—in other words, nuclear magnetic resonance is independent of response factors and calibration with measurements compared to a standard sample. This method, then, allows absolute measurements.

Reducing the noise for improving the signalBut the measurement works only with substances whose atoms have a nuclear spin that is not zero. These atoms include, for example, hydrogen 1H, car-bon 13C (their natural abundance in substances is only about 1.1 percent), fluorine 19F, nitrogen 14N and 15N or phosphorous 31P. But a number of metals also have at least one isotope with a nuclear spin, which means they can also be analyzed.

Small differences in the chemical environment of the atom—in the structure of the molecule—are re-flected in different resonance frequencies, which means that each atom supplies a separate signal. This is why nuclear magnetic resonance is one of the most important analytical tools in structural clarification. Because of the direct connection between signal in-tensity and concentration, quantitative measure-ments are also possible.

The only weakness of the method is its low sensitivity per se. Because of the spin, the atomic nuclei can take on two different energy states. But the difference between these two states is extremely minor, and in thermal equilibrium at room temperature, both levels have almost the same energy. So only a very low number of suitable atomic nuclei are available for measurement. The result is a poor signal-to-noise ratio.

There are a variety of ways around this problem. One approach is stronger magnetic fields. But this drives up the costs of the technology exponentially. Statistics supplies another approach: adding several identical measurements results in an improved sig-nal-to-noise ratio, since the signal grows proportion-ate to the number of individual experiments, but the noise only with the square root of the number of experiments. For example, the addition of 16 individ-ual measurements increases the signal by a factor of 16, while at the same time the noise increases by a factor of only four. This is why an increase in sensi-tivity is purchased at the price of a lot of measuring time, which can run up against limits in the everyday work routine.

A third approach, and one that has been used at the AQura sites in Marl and Hanau for the last several months, is cooling the electronics to reduce the noise. A “cryogenic cold head” is used for this purpose. By this method, the sample is still at room temperature in the probe, but the receiving coils and preampli-fiers are cooled with liquid nitrogen. This improves the sensitivity (fig. 2) and shortens the time to obtain a signal by a factor of four to nine (fig. 3)—an appre-ciable advantage, especially with spectroscopic meth-ods, which require several hours’ measuring time.

The importance of better mass spectrometers and NMR spectrometers to work in a specialty chemicals

333

The cold probe head improves sensitivity and shortens the time required to obtain a signal



777

Dr. marcus maurer heads AQura’s Molecular Spec-troscopy Competence Center—to which the NMR and IR Spectroscopy units belong—in the Corporate Innovation Strategy & Management unit. Maurer studied chemistry at Berlin University and was award-ed his doctorate from Goethe University Frankfurt in the field of NMR spectroscopy. In the year 2000, he joined the former ASTA Medica (now Zentaris), where he initially managed the NMR laboratory and later an analytics laboratory in the quality control unit. He assumed his current position at AQura in 2012. phone +49 2365 49-84740, [email protected]

Dr. Eberhard Busker heads AQura’s Mass Spectro m-etry Competence Center in the Corporate Innovation Strategy & Management unit. He studied chemistry at the University of Cologne, where he was also awarded his doctorate in 1979 in the field of organic chemistry with a focus on mass spectrometry. Busker went on to join the former physical chemistry research depart-ment at Degussa AG in Hanau. Since then he has dealt with analytical issues from the fields of research and development—at AQura for nearly all units in the Group, but also for external customers from the fields of pharmacy and biotechnology. phone +49 6181 59-3946, [email protected]

sequent quality controls. This is also where mass and NMR spectrometers provide more help.

Another field that benefits from this analytical process is the monitoring of pollutants. When it comes to environmental regulations, today’s factories are subject to very stringent maximum limits, some of which lie in the lower ppm range. With the help of HPLC-MS coupling, Evonik can, for instance, use target-component analysis to identify substances in simulated process streams that are hard to analyze. In one case, the company was able to verify, within a reasonable amount of time, that a planned installation would comply with the specified emissions limits.

Highthroughput analytics in biotechnologyThe advanced analytics of AQura also allows Evonik to use new research methods such as fermentation. Nowadays, biotechnological research often begins with the evaluation of many different bacterial strains, with an eye toward their suitability for the production of certain desired substances. Mass spec-trometry and NMR spectroscopy can be used to verify even extremely low quantities of the poten-tially interesting substances in the fermentation liquid. If analysts are able to verify that a strain pro-duces the desired product (proof of principle), a com-pany can formulate a patent application at an early stage. Gaining this kind of time means a key com-petitive advantage for the company in an increasingly important business segment.

The two new triple quad MS devices, therefore, are used primarily for fermentation analysis, and the NMR analytics measures as many as 100 samples per week for this field of research. Moreover, Evonik’s biotechnological research sites in Marl and Halle (Westphalia) now operate their own mass spectrom-eters for fermentation products so that their exper-iments can be evaluated as rapidly as possible. The analytics experts at AQura often take on development of the methods and the subsequent structural clari-fication.

The analytics upgrade does not render human expertise superfluous—on the contrary: the instru-ments produce large quantities of data that have to be interpreted. At higher measuring capacities, that requires additional, highly qualified staff. And AQura is currently hiring. A particularly innovative con-stellation has been formed in cooperation with Creavis: several AQura employees work directly on site in the fermentation laboratory in Marl, where they assist young biotechnologists in using the ad-vanced analy tical techniques.

AQura’s advanced analytical systems are open to all of Evonik’s business units and are in strong demand. In the end, high sensitivities, high through-put and reliable results foster both reliable assertions and cost-effectiveness.

company can be illustrated by examples from a vari-ety of fields—from quality assurance in the pharma-ceuticals industry, analysis of complex substance mixtures, pollutant analysis, and biotechnology.

Quality requirements call for highperformance analyticsAs is well known, the pharmaceuticals industry is subject to very strict rules, subsumed under the Good Manufacturing Practices, which assist quality assur-ance in production processes. Even if impurities in the product reach a content of only 0.1 percent, the manufacturer has to explain the source and eliminate it. Frequently, problems that arise in the production process like this are time-sensitive. Mass spectro m-eters and NMR spectroscopes are ideal complemen-tary analytical instruments, which can supply the nec-essary information within a few seconds.

With mass spectrometry, analysts often develop a hunch regarding the structure, which they then have to verify by NMR methods. Combining both methods not only helps in the further investigation of impurities but also in the analysis of products of decomposition, which can be generated during stress tests for pharmaceutical products. Often, there are several substances that occur in extremely small quantities but must still be identified individually.

Another application example arises from the answer chemical companies are increasingly giving to the challenge of discount suppliers of commo dity-type products: instead of simply developing products that can be copied, more and more manufacturers are resorting to complex products that are made of a number of individual substances—and are therefore difficult to analyze during development and sub-


20 PlaStICS tEChNOlOGY

Plastics technology is not just one of the key domains of German engineering, but also a relevant Evonik business area. Thanks to good relations between the specialty chemicals company and university-based research, the most recent meeting of the Scientific Alliance of University Professors of Polymer Technology (WAK) was held at Evonik in Marl. The meeting provided a good opportunity to share information on material developments, technologies, and trends, and to discuss potential for cooperation.

[ text Dr. Ursula Keil ]

“thE thINGS YOU conceive today, we will use and put into practice tomorrow,” said Dr. Joachim Leluschko, head of the High Performance Polymers Business Line (HP), in his opening address to the members of the Scientific Alliance of Polymer Tech-nology (WAK) gathered at Evonik’s Marl site. At the invitation of Innovation Management at HP, these university professors working in plastics technology (mainly in Germany) conducted their June 2013 meet-ing at Evonik’s largest site. The invitation resulted from the long-standing good relations between Dr. Karl Kuhmann, responsible for processing technology at HP, and the research centers at the universities. The meet ing of the Scientific Alliance offered an ideal opportunity to intensify the bonds which the pro-ducer of high-performance polymers already has with academia and institutes in the field and to explore possibly building similar relationships with other institutes, as well.

“What hardly anyone knows, even in the plastics industry, is that, based on volume, the use of plastics surpassed that of steel all the way back in 1989—even five years earlier in automobile production. This is why plastics technology is a significant focus of Ger-man engineering. It centers on the interaction of materials, design, and processing and how those cor-relations allow us to determine the feasibility of com-ponents and their utilities. In addition to applying scientific knowledge, engineers also employ their sys-tematically acquired experience, their intuitive abil-

ities, and their creative skills to devise technically novel and economically viable solutions.” This was how Professor Alois K. Schlarb, spokesman for the WAK Executive Board and head of the Composite Engineering department at the University of Kaisers-lautern, introduced WAK.

The future is black and white

Professor Alois K. Schlarb, spokesman for the WAK Executive Board and head of the Composite Engineering department at the University of Kaiserslautern, delivering his opening speech at the meeting


21PlaStICS tEChNOlOGY

“We don’t sell pieces of plastic; we sell solution developments”In its pursuit of specific functionalities in high-qual-ity special polymers, versus the pursuit of predomi-nantly volume-based goals, the HP Business Line is expressly focused on innovative and economically compelling solutions. “We don’t sell pieces of plastic; we sell solution developments,” explains Joachim Leluschko. “We can manipulate things even at the monomer stage of development and thus influence the properties of subsequent products, given that we are fully back-integrated all the way to the butadi-ene.” Whereas, for many years, the business line sold only plastics granulate and powder, these days it also produces semi-finished goods such as foams, poly-imide fibers, and a variety of films and sheets, as well as entire modules, such as membrane modules for organic-solvent nanofiltration or hollow-fiber mod-ules for biogas cleansing, alongside the core line of polyamide-12 products and the high-temperature polymers polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and poly-phthalamide (PPA).

So where is the interface between science and ed-ucation on the one hand and industrial developments on the other? What kind of qualifications is the in-dustry looking for in university graduates, and how can industry assist academia? A number of brief speeches concerning the approach taken by the Re-search and Development unit and outlining current

The future is black and white

developments at HP kicked off discussion on these topics. For instance, Dr. Klaus Burger, head of Inno-vation Management at HP, reported on the develop-ment of an adhesion promoter for hybrid technology, which triggered vigorous discussion among the WAK members. (Editor’s note: Tragically for all colleagues and everyone at the event, Dr. Klaus Burger passed away a few days later. Evonik is mourning the loss of a bright and compassionate colleague, manager, and employee.)

“The future belongs to multimaterial composites”As far as Prof. Werner Hufenbach, head of TU Dres-den’s Institute of Lightweight Design and Plastics Engineering, is concerned, “The future belongs to multimaterial composites.” The newly developed adhesion promoter was recently launched into mass application at Mercedes Benz. The carmaker uses the copolyamide VESTAMELT® to coat an aluminum tube that connects the two A pillars in its automobile and supports the entire dashboard—from the steering section to the glove compartment. Whereas these elements were previously welded or screwed to the tube with the help of metal brackets, they can now be adhesive-bonded to the tube using injection mold-ing. This solution can achieve weight reduction by as much as 20 percent.

“Right now, we are still taking an empirical approach to thermoshaping ROHACELL®,” 333

Polymers made by Evonik are increasingly used in the production of innovative, highperformance sandwich components


22 PlaStICS tEChNOlOGY

explained Stefan Plass, head of Growth Line Ad-vanced Technologies at HP, to the assembled experts. “The ability to simulate this process would be really helpful,” he added, suggesting cooperation on a new processing method for the structural foam. Because of its homogeneous cell structure, ROHACELL® pos-sesses the best mechanical qualities at a given density, which is why it is widely used in industry as a struc-tural core material for the manufacture of lightweight composite parts. The only problem is that processing a foamed sheet into a complex shape generates too much waste.

Evonik is taking two approaches to reducing such waste. The first is thermoshaping the plastic hard foam, which involves heating large ROHACELL® sheets using infrared technology and then molding them into the desired geometric form. The second option for a material-saving manufacturing process

is in-mold foaming. In this process, pre-expanded granulate is directly foamed into the desired geomet-ric form. This second method lends itself particularly well to the production of complex structural profiles. The development focus for in-mold foaming is on fur-ther reducing cycle times from the current level of around 20 minutes.

Demands on development work are becoming increasingly complex“The future is black and white,” said Thomas Große- Puppendahl, head of the Resource Efficiency Growth Line, by way of introducing the topic of organic sheets, saying he sees future thermoplastic prepregs and tapes containing not only carbon fibers, but glass and aramid fibers, too. The polymers for the matrix pose a formidable challenge, as they need to be fluid enough and moisten the fibers well enough to enable fast processing, and they need to prevent pores from forming and to also have good adhesive qualities. To achieve optimum impregnation and an optimum fiber content, it is crucial that the processing conditions are perfectly geared to the task, given that only a rel-atively narrow process window is available (varies depending on the matrix polymer).

Evonik is working with its partners to develop a system of direct-melt impregnation that is expected to replace the suspension or powder impregnation methods currently used and thus improve the con-

333

Dr. Ursula keil is in charge of Communication Base Business at the High Performance Polymers Business Line. After completing a degree in food chemistry, she went on to acquire a doctorate at the Julius Maximilians University Würzburg. She embarked on her career in 1989 when she joined what was then Hüls AG in Marl to operate in the field of lobby and trade-association work for plastics in packaging (later in construction). After assignments in the Board Office and at Internal Communications, she took on her current position in 2001. phone +49 2365 49-9878, [email protected]

Evonik displayed a range of newly developed components with relevance to the topics under discussion at the meeting (including PEEK used in medical technology, product developments for the oil and gas industry, selective laser sintering, multifunctional material composites, and membrane modules for biogas scrubbing and organophilic nanofiltration), inviting participants to touch and feel the products

Experts inspecting the prepreg samples made of carbon fiber and Evonik polymers

Dr. Karl Kuhmann, Director Processing Technology & Development, explaining the coextrusion of fuel lines made of polyamide and barrier layers


23PlaStICS tEChNOlOGY

ditions for processing. Through the outstanding impregnation of individual filaments, the new method achieves improved mechanical values and a lower pore count, ultimately cutting costs substantially against those for conventional methods. Here, too, several WAK members see potential for lending scientific support to the process of developing this technology.

These examples illustrate how the demands on development work are becoming increasingly com-plex, in terms, for example, of development times and product performance requirements, amidst demand-ing application environments for the products. “What’s important,” concludes Dr. Karl Kuhmann, who organized the meeting, “is that customers are closely incorporated into the process early on.” Dr. Kuh mann added that increasing internationalization and local-ized operations were likewise important factors, and that the focus needed to be centered on the target process and its application right from a very early stage. Collaboration and partnership with univer-sities, he said, were important considerations in the endeavor to meet these demands.

Partnerships are important for universities and industryIndustry and academia should benefit equally from partnerships. This is especially the case for bilateral research projects or pre-competitive research within the scope of collaborative projects. And education

and training at the university has a key role to play here. “Students sometimes come to realize that they would have been better off switching courses only after they have failed their final bachelor exam. In the old system of intermediate diplomas, such realization was liable to dawn upon both the students and the educators at an earlier point in time,” surmised a WAK member.

According to Dr. Georg Oenbrink, who oversees Evonik’s cooperative involvements with univer-sities, the chemicals industry is currently only hiring a small number of graduates with a bachelor degree, since existing structures and job profiles do often not favor their employment. WAK appealed to Evonik and the industry as a whole to support it in the debate over preserving the path to qualification as a “Doktor-Ingenieur” (versus an overly academic course of doctoral studies), which is highly regarded around the world.

After a final tour of the Marl Chemical Park, which included stops at the polymerization facility for polyamide 12 and HP’s application proofing facility, the consensus among WAK members was that Inno-vation Management at HP had organized an exciting day that had yielded many new insights and produc-tive discussions. The dialog started at the meeting will de finitely be continued. 777

FaCtS aND FIGURES

Scientific Alliance of University Professors of Polymer Technology (WAK) is an association

• of30 university professors of plastics technology;

• some 1,000 employees • founded on October 25, 1999

Purpose • the scientific and professional promotion of

polymer technology• awards annual prizes for the best scientific

work in plastics technology as oriented on the three key areas of material, design, and processing

• publisher of the peer-reviewed, Web-based Journal of Plastics Technology, Carl Hanser Verlag

• maintains a database of current dissertations on plastics technology topics

Web site: www.wak-kunststofftechnik.de

A tour of the Marl Chemical Park for the WAK members included a stop at the facility for the continuous polymerization of laurolactam to polyamide 12

The polymers produced by Evonik need to prove their viability in processing. The visiting experts in plastics technology witnessed a demon stration at High Performance Polymers’ processing lab of how material developments by the business line undergo suitability testing


24 COatING & BONDING tEChNOlOGIES

Matt finishes are a popular trend. A team at Evonik Industries’ Inorganic Materials Business Unit has now developed a new process to produce matting agents for UV coatings efficiently and in a way that conserves energy, making it as good for the environment as it makes economic sense.

[ text Dr. Gottlieb-Georg Lindner, Dr. Rüdiger Mertsch, Matthias Müller ]

Matting agent in paints: innovative, tailored, sustainable


25COatING & BONDING tEChNOlOGIES

thE WORlD aROUND us likes to wear coatings. We coat auto-mobiles, machines and equipment, even timbers, façades, floors, and countless everyday objects. Paints and coatings make things more durable, protect them from moisture and damage, and im-prove their haptic qualities and their appearance. Satisfying all these functional demands requires the complex, precision blend-ing of various ingredients.

Evonik has long operated in this market, supplying raw ma-terials and functional additives to coatings manufacturers. One of the special segments in this market is that for UV-hardening systems. Requiring no water or organic solvents, these systems are the agents of choice for coatings of large surfaces and smooth products and materials in particular, including parquet-flooring timbers, garage doors, and façade elements.

UV coatings harden within a matter of seconds when exposed to high-energetic light, which causes the double bonds of the acrylates in the bonding agent to break up and the monomers to then form a stable network. In most cases, UV coatings are lacquers, but the market does offer colored finishes, too.

The global market for paints and coatings was valued at around US$ 89 billion in 2012, with almost half of that figure attributable to industrial coatings. While UV coatings may only account for a relatively small segment of 3 to 5 percent, that share is growing at around twice the rate of segments for other coat-ing systems. One reason for this rapid growth is that more and more formula makers and users want solvent-free products, so as to minimize emissions into the atmosphere and water. UV coatings are exemplary in terms of how well they satisfy the requirements outlined in the Technical Guidelines on Air Qual-ity Control (TA Luft), the objective of which regulation, essen-tially, is to limit the use of solvents in commercial and industrial applications, and thus reduce emissions.

Matt surfaces are in fashion—for cars as well as for furniture or flooring



Microscopic surface coarseness is what creates a matt lookMatt is a popular trend in just about all coatings. Non-glossy sur-faces are less prone to scratching, are easier to clean, and they look elegant and precious. In certain products, such as traffic signs, display boards, and instrument panels, matt finishes also help to prevent unwelcome reflection. That is why gloss reduc-tion has for years now been one of the key demands made on UV-hardening coatings.

Surfaces are made to look matt through a microscopic degree of roughness in the finish. This coarseness is so slight that it is not discernible to the touch. An uneven surface will distribute large portions of the light it captures in all directions, creating a diffused visual effect. Matting effects can be created in a va-riety of graduations. Experts orient finishes on a six-degree scale of glossiness ranging from highly glossy (more than 90 scale units) all the way to extremely matt (less than 10 scale units). In

contrast to solvent-based coatings, UV coatings do not shrink much as they harden, thereby remaining smooth. The desired matt effect needs to be created by a higher amount of special de-signed particles. These additives are usually inorganic particles that endow a coating with the desired degree of coarseness.

In principle, the less glossy you want a surface to be, the stronger the light will need to be diffused. The correlations in-volved are somewhat more complex, however, than one might at first expect. A higher share of finer particles in the coating do not automatically result in an even more highly matted surface. The effect is also contingent on the angle with which the light hits the surface and on its wavelength. And the degree of influ-ence which particle size has increases the thinner a coating layer is. What’s more, the proportional content of very fine particles in a coating plays a role, as well, since they fill gaps between the larger particles and thus can either increase or decrease the de-gree of coarseness. The thickness of the layer applied and the formula used for the coating are additional factors in the equa-tion of the resulting visual effect. Last but not least, the spatial structure of the acrylate oligomers and monomers significantly influences the matting properties of UV-hardening coatings. To create matt or even totally lusterless surfaces, it is important that the matting agent matrix does not shrink as much as the bond-ing matrix surrounding it during the hardening process.

Figure 2Schematic representation of the formation of a matted coating film

Wet coating Film shrinkage dueto the solvent evaporation

Dry coating

Figure 1Reflection of light on a glossy (left) and matted (right) surface

Glossy surface Matted surface



333

Coarse-particle matting agentACEMATT® HK 440/d50 = 14.5 µm

Fine-particle matting agentACEMATT® OK 607/d50 = 4.4 µm

Figure 3Model for matting thick-layered UV coatings by volume shrinkage

Volume shrinkage has a major influence on the matting effect

Thickness of applied layer: 55 µmVolume shrinkage: approx. 8%Shrinkage efficiency: approx. 50%Actual shrinkage: approx. 2 µm

Figure 4Image of the virtual surface structures of a cured thick-coating film. The less-pronounced long-waved structures of coarse-particle matting agents produce the undesired high sheen

Coarse-particle matting agent ACEMATT® HK 440/d50 = 14.5 µm

Derived from modelHeight difference: approx. 2.0 µm with low rougheningHigh gloss at both angles of measurement

Fine-particle matting agent ACEMATT® OK 607/d50 = 4.4 µm

Derived from modelHeight difference: approx. 2.0 µm with higher rougheningLow gloss at a 60° angle of measurement but high gloss at an 85° angle of measurement

Coarse-particle matting agentACEMATT® HK 440/d50 = 14.5 µm

Fine-particle matting agentACEMATT® OK 607/d50 = 4.4 µm

Figure 5Model for matting thin-layered UV coatings when the particle size of the matting agent is close to the thickness of the dried coating layer

Thickness of applied layer: 10µmVolume shrinkage: approx. 8%Shrinkage efficiency: approx. 50%Actual shrinkage: < 0.5 µm

Volume shrinkage is of secondary importance

Silica and the art of grinding

A matt UV coating normally contains a 5 to 10 percent share of matting agent. The products from Evonik’s ACEMATT® range have proven particularly effective. They are made using amor-phous silica (SiO2) produced as a reaction of water glass and sul-furic acid. The silica is precipitated in large reactors, filtered, dried, and ground. Technically very challenging, the grinding process determines the size of the particles, their homogeneity and size distribution, and ultimately, therefore, how effective the matting agent will be when added to the coating.

Experts know that the behavior of small and miniscule par-ticles is often difficult to anticipate and that it takes a great deal of experience to be able to manipulate it. In some ways this ap-plies likewise to the tiny matting particles used in coatings. Mea-suring 4 to 12 micrometers in diameter, they may not be nanopar-ticles, but they do possess a large reactive surface which influ-ences their behavior.

The challenge is to grind and finish the particles in such a way that they will blend into the polymer network of the bond-ing agent and not influence the coating in any unwanted way. For one thing, the experts must make sure the matting agent does not have a negative impact on the viscosity or the flow be-havior of the final coating. They also need to prevent any chem-

ical reaction with other ingredients contained in the coating. Matting agents must not be allowed to agglutinate, since this could result in grainy specks appearing on the surface. And not every matting agent is suitable to every type of coating. A mat-ting additive needs to have the right qualities for the particular type of application and the particular formula it is being used for.

Untreated silica is normally hydrophilic—a state which does not lend itself well to some coating systems. The surface prop-erties of particles can be changed by target-coating them, thereby manipulating their behavior in the finishing product. This post-treatment involves a rather elaborate process when performed by conventional means. The particle coating is added to the precipitated but still moist silica, which is then washed, filtered, dried, and later ground. The wastewater and exhaust produced by the process subsequently need to be properly puri-fied and disposed of.

Onestep grinding and coatingA team at the Inorganic Materials Business Unit has now devel-oped a new grinding process that not only produces a better out-come, but also allows grinding and coating of the particles to be executed in a single procedure. This process ensures an

Values from actual practice60° reflectometer value: 46.185° reflectometer value: 86.0Max. roughness profile height Rz: 0.77 µmCenter-line average roughness Ra: 0.08 µm

Values from actual practice60° reflectometer value: 22.685° reflectometer value: 77.8Max. roughness profile height Rz: 1.20 µmCenter-line average roughness Ra: 0.14 µm



excellent yield and, more importantly, it produces no waste-water or exhaust.

The innovative new process is now being employed for the first time ever. It reduces energy requirements by as much as 70 percent against conventional methods of manufacturing sur-face-treated, precipitated silica.

The new process makes the production of matting agents easier as well as more economically and ecologically efficient. It produces narrow particle size distribution, with the share of unwanted fine particles reduced. It achieves yields of virtually 100 percent. It causes no abrasion and thus no problematic con-tamination of the product through grinder material. The process requires much less technical effort than conventional wet meth-ods, making systems of this kind a more attractive option in terms of the costs involved.

This novel grinding-and-coating process is therefore the ba-sis for an in-house technology platform. Because the dry process can be used for different silica, it can be employed on a broader scale than the methods previously resorted to for manufactur-ing coated and uncoated matting agents. For one thing, the new process enables the use of widely varying coating materials—even ones which had previously been considered unsuitable. That includes substances which react with water or which are classified as water-hazardous.

333 New technology platform for dry particle coatingThe new technology—by which the mentioned energy savings are being realized—is already being used to produce two matting agents: ACEMATT® 810 and the ACEMATT® 790. Both are un-coated precipitated silica containing medium- and large-size particles and used predominantly in coil coating and industrial finishes.

The newest member of the ACEMATT® family of products is ACEMATT® 3600, a fine-particle precipitated silica post-treated with modified siloxanes. The new product exhibits outstanding matting properties, enhances surface quality, transparency, and scratch-resistance in UV-hardening coatings, and it has no detrimental effects whatsoever on application properties. Thanks to the medium-size, specially coated particles it contains, ACEMATT® 3600 is particularly suitable for very thin coating applications of 1 to 3 micrometers; but it is no less suitable for relatively thick layers of coating of more than 20 micrometers. This profile makes ACEMATT® 3600 a top high-performance product amidst the available range of matting agents for UV coatings.

The coatings market is a conservative one. And so it needs to be. The development of a new coating system takes five to

Coating formulation: #3 TSD: approx. 75 µm Coarse-particle matting agentACEMATT® HK 440

60° reflectometer value: 24.985° reflectometer value: 84.8


Applied to a PMMA sheet UV drying method: Hg radiator

Band: 100W/cm, 5m/min

1.35 µm

1.55 µm

0.5 µm

0.5 µm

0.5 µm

0.5 µm

Coating formulation: #1 TSD: approx. 75 µmFine-particle matting agentACEMATT® OK 607

Figure 6Surface topogram of thickly applied matted UV coatings (TSD = dry film thickness)

Coating formulation: #3 TSD: approx. 15 µm Coarse-particle matting agentACEMATT® HK 440



Applied to a PMMA sheet UV drying method: Hg radiator

Band: 100W/cm, 5m/min

1.93 µm

5.97 µm

0.5 µm

0.5 µm

0.5 µm

0.5 µm

Coating formulation: #1 TSD: approx. 15 µmFine-particle matting agentACEMATT® OK 607

Figure 7Surface topogram of thinly applied matted UV coatings (TSD = dry film thickness)



Dr. Rüdiger mertsch has headed Application Technology for Coatings in the Inorganic Materials Business Unit since 2006. He studied chemistry at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and earned his doctorate in the field of polymer chemistry. After holding two positions in the coatings industry, Mertsch moved to Evonik in late 1999. There, he was initially responsible for Technical Service for inorganic products in the coatings industry and then group leader for pigment blacks before taking on his current responsibilities.phone +49 6181 59-6229, [email protected]

Dr. Gottlieb-Georg lindner has been responsible for R&D for matting agents in the Inorganic Materials Business Unit since 2008. Lindner studied chemistry at Philipps University in Marburg, and at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England, later earning his doctorate in Marburg. Following a two-year stint as a Humboldt Fellow at the National Institute for Research in Inorganic Materials in Tsukuba, Japan, he began his professional career in silicas research at the former Degussa. Lindner was posted to several of the Group’s offices abroad before accepting his current position.phone +49 2236 76-2052, [email protected]

matthias müller has served as director for Marketing Coatings in the Inorganic Materials Business Unit since early 2012 and coordinates global activities for the Coatings Industry Segment within the Silica Business Line. Educated as a chemical technician at the former Degussa AG, Müller worked in Application Technology as a technical assistant for R&D from 1991 to 2000. While completing studies in sales and marketing, he also held positions in Customer Service and Marketing in the former Advanced Fillers & Pigments Business Unit. Müller was Marketing Manager Coatings for the Europe/ROW Region from 2008 to the end of 2011.phone +49 6181 59-13454, [email protected]

seven years and considerable financial resources. That invest-ment is only economically viable if a product, once launched on the market, can sustain sufficient market longevity. A dura-ble market situation holds the promise of economic stability for raw materials and additives suppliers. So the coatings mar-ket is a prudently evolving market rather than a quick-shifting one.

Market suppliers are already busy developing the raw mate-rials and ingredients that will satisfy market needs tomorrow and beyond. Not a problem for Evonik. For years now, the com-pany has been providing consistent, reliable quality to the coat-ings market, serving customers not just with a product, but always with handling, security, and application support, too. Coatings experts likewise drive developments in this field, optimize ad-ditives, raw materials, and processes, and thus adapt products flexibly to changing customer demands and market circum-stances.

The Inorganic Materials Business Unit’s technology platform fits perfectly into this strategy, providing, as it does, the oppor-tunity for sites around the world to use this grinding and coating process to serve their regional markets with the needed matting agents. A new production will go on-line in Taiwan in early 2014, for example, to serve the Asian market. Thanks to the new tech-nology, that plant will be highly economical.

Responding to customer demands flexibly

More importantly, the newly developed process allows Evonik to respond to customer demands quickly and expressly. It enables variously sized particles to be produced for varying applications, and it means Evonik is able to manufacture matting agents not just for polyacrylate-based coatings, but for epoxy- or polyure-thane-based systems, as well. It even makes it possible to grind and coat particularly reactive materials in an inert atmosphere.

Flexibility is a typical trait of our times. In economically pros-pering, newly industrialized countries, for example, we find that a lot of formula makers and users shy away from using liquid coatings because they often cause environmental and health problems, and that they turn instead to solvent-free alternatives which are both ecologically and economically compelling. It is before this background that the new technology platform en-ables greater flexibility for everyone concerned: the formula makers to manage and optimize the matting effect of solvent-free UV-hardening coatings; end customers to enjoy longer-life, bet-ter-looking products; and Evonik to reap the ecological benefits along with the economic ones and thus satisfy the megatrend of sustainability, meaning emissions reduction, energy conserva-tion, and efficiency enhancement. Also, it allows Evonik to cater to emerging customer demands as they present themselves. 777

30


OPEN INNOvatION

Evonik Industries held its first in-house Open Innovation Conference in early May. Experts spent an entire day discussing the challenges of innovation management, which is currently transitioning to a new phase.

thE NamE FREDERIC Tudor was probably a lot better known 200 years ago than it is today. In the first half of the 19th century, the Boston businessman built a worldwide trading empire that shipped natural ice from the northern parts of America to Africa, India and Japan. The “Ice King” thus became a model for the American ice industry.

But innovation—as we call it today—in other industries quickly caused the downfall of the natural-ice empire in the second half of the 19th century: in 1859, Frenchman Ferdinand Carré pro-duced the first artificial ice by freezing water through rapid vaporization of condensed ammonia. Over ten years later, Carl von Linde built the first refrigerator that worked with dimethyl ether. Tudor, who died in 1864, did not live to see this. His natural-ice empire declined rapidly. In 1880, the first refrige rator went into operation in Calcutta (India), Tudor’s one-time natu-ral-ice stronghold.

Over 100 years later, a number of successful companies are once more facing the question of how markets and business mod-els develop and how they can avoid Tudor’s fate over the inter-mediate and long term. This much is certain: innovation man-agement will play a crucial role. And because the outlook in innovation management has significantly changed again in the last few years, Evonik decided it was time to hold an event to address these new trends: the first Evonik Open Innovation Conference (EOIC) was held on May 8, 2013, with about 160 participants.

“Evonik views itself as a creative, innovation-driven com-pany,” said Dr. Georg Oenbrink, Senior Vice President Innova-tion Networks & Communications at Evonik and initiator of the event, at the beginning of the conference. In the future, internal exchange among experts or long-term partners will no longer be enough to create new innovations, Oenbrink continued. To be successful in new fields of business, a company has to under-stand the entire value-added chain. This is why they take advan-tage of external knowledge.

Off the beaten path

Evonik Open Innovation Conference 2013

Dr. Georg Oenbrink, Senior Vice President Innovation Networks & Communications at Evonik


31OPEN INNOvatION

In his presentation, Frank Mattes described the current situation as “the beginning of the third generation of innovation management.” According to the founder and Managing Director of the innovation-3 network, which specializes in open/colla-borative innovation, this third generation is marked by a variety of elements: the increasing importance of internal and external innovation networks, the ever-increasing use of Web 2.0 tools for activities relating to innovation such as collaboration and dialog between experts, and Open Innovation, in which ideas and competencies from outside the company are systematically used for its own innovation management.

“In the first generation, innovation functions were restrained. Companies tried to get over these barriers with individual proj-ects,” said Mattes. “In the second generation, the process para-digm came to the forefront.” Now, in the third generation of innovation management, it is about “understanding innovation as a network-oriented and collaborative activity on a global scale—from products and services to new business models.”

In the eyes of Maximilian Kreuzer, who works in the Inno-vation & Technology business area at Lanxess, open innovation has two main things going for it: when people have problems, they tend to ask the same people over and over for advice, and many people often cannot tell you precisely what their problem or solution is. “This is why it’s important to bring people together to discuss their ideas,” Kreuzer continued. “If your approach to open innovation focuses on people, you automatically do many things the right way.” In his presentation, Kreuzer described how Lanxess identified the internal success factors for open in-novation. This is important, because “there is no shortage of ideas, but there is a shortage of resources for selectively pursu-ing them.”

Prof. Bernd Griesbach, Professor of Production Processes, CAD/CAM and Machine Tools at the University of Applied Sci-ences Ingolstadt, also addressed the importance of the human factor in innovation management. “It’s all about a company’s culture,” said Griesbach, who headed innovation management for production at automaker Audi prior to his professorship at Ingolstadt. “This is why innovation management always has to be accompanied by competence management.” Competence management is more than instruction and training: “It’s a man-agement discipline, in which expertise is described, developed, and applied.” This is the only way to generate a connection be-tween the strategic alignment of a company and the individual prospects of an employee.

As Prof. Diane Robers demonstrated in her presentation, which was based on new empirical studies, companies that pursue collaborative approaches to innovation management gain direct competitive advantages. Robers, Professor of Service Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the European Business School in Oes-trich-Winkel, used the development of mobile IT and the Internet to demonstrate the need for cooperation and cross-sector ap-proaches to innovation to meet the upcoming challenges.

“Radical and transformative innovations develop in an inter-disciplinary atmosphere, often at the boundaries between 333

Frank Mattes, Managing Director of innovation3

If your approach to open innovation focuses on people, you automa ti-cally do many things the right way

Maximilian Kreuzer from the Innovation & Technology business area at Lanxess

Prof. Bernd Griesbach, University of Applied Sciences Ingolstadt


32 OPEN INNOvatION

industries, markets, technologies, and fields of application,” said Robers. This is why there are already a great many inno-vation networks in business and R&D. “Studies that we have conducted with project partners prove that companies that work closely together along the value-added chain are more success-ful than those that rely solely on their own knowledge.” In the beginning, this kind of cooperation is not always easy, because the participants come from different industries and, therefore, speak “different languages.” “This is why it’s helpful to have a third party acting as ‘translator,’” said Robers.

An example of this kind of third party is MBG Innovation Consulting, which does roughly two-thirds of its consulting proj-ects within the chemical industry. Thomas Müller-Schwemer, Partner and Managing Director, showed EOIC participants how strategic management of the value-added chain “can help realize not only additional sales revenues, but also additional profit mar-gins.” He summarized his experience from previous projects in four points: first, you should take on the leadership role in the value-added chain, otherwise you will quickly be exposed to pricing pressure. Second, you should try to partner with a large company, but not the largest, “because frequently, the market leader has no interest in changing the status quo.” Third, you should demand corresponding commitments from all partners—for example, in the form of investment, sales, or development goals. And fourth, “Cooperation over a variety of value-adding stages is the only thing that allows an opportunity to implement innovative business models,” said Müller-Schwemer.

Control your own IPA big challenge with open innovation is control of your own IP: who is allowed to profit from developments after the collabora-tion, and how? It is often impossible to know this in the begin-ning. On the other hand, a successful partnership aimed at new business models requires openness among the partners if inno-vation is to play a role at all. Three speakers at the EOIC pre-sented their approaches for handling this problem.

The first speaker was Dr. Martin Raditsch, Managing Direc-tor of InnovationLab GmbH (iL), which positions itself as the joint application-oriented research and transfer platform of science and business in the Rhine/Neckar metropolitan region. It is supported by the Universities of Heidelberg and Mannheim, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, as well as BASF, Heidel-berger Druckmaschinen, Merck, and SAP. The 30 partners work under one roof, along the entire value-added chain of organic electronics. The very heart of their activities is cooperative research, the transfer of inventions into marketable products, and the education of junior employees.

“Our experience shows that a leading-edge cluster works one hundred times faster than a conventional collaboration,” said Raditsch. The underlying agreements are complex—for example, a contract might specify that Partner X gets a Y percent share of the sales if the product is successful—“but the message for the actual iL researchers is simple: Talk openly with each other!”

333Companies that work closely together along the value-added chain are more successful than those that rely solely on their own knowledge

Thomas MüllerSchwemer, Managing Director MBG Innovation Consulting

Prof. Diane Robers, European Business School in OestrichWinkel


33OPEN INNOvatION

The Belgian Research Institute IMEC can now boast a nearly 30-year history of success with open innovation. Four hundred of the more than 2,000 employees are sent to IMEC on a temporary basis by industrial partners to work jointly on common R&D programs. IMEC works predominantly for the semiconductor industry, conducting R&D that can be transferred to industrial conditions through a system of cocreation with the industrial residents at IMEC’s site.

To get industry partners to conduct joint research with and at IMEC—also bringing together different players of the value chain into a common R&D program—IMEC’s research programs start two generations ahead of market introduction—so early enough in the life cycle of a technology platform, when IP can still be shared in a pre-competitive space (as functional building blocks). IMEC concludes bilateral agreements with its partners—and, thanks to this approach, reaches its objectives quickly due to the flexible nature of the model allowing partners to join at different moments in time, as Johan Van Helleputte, Senior Vice President Strategic Development at IMEC, stresses: “Other R&D consortia in the industry require on average six months longer to negotiate and conclude their entire consortium contracts.” IMEC has now transferred its own program-based business model to the life science arena. “But here, in addition to IMEC, we need another partner (hence dual core approach) to make a joint value proposition to the different nodes of the value chain, combining biomedical/clinical and nano-electronics expertise,” explained Van Helleputte.

Innovation development needs rulesT-Systems, the business-customer subsidiary of Deutsche Tele-kom, is also currently setting up an innovation platform on which projects will be carried out end-to-end together with partners. The project, called ICT Open Innovation Ecosystem, is guided by the principles of Open Innovation and Cross Industry and aims to speed up new, ICT-inspired business model transforma-tions. “To do this, we and our partners will develop a set of rules for innovation, a financial framework, as well as an IP framework that should ensure things get off to an easy start,” reported Tor-sten Günzel, Ecosystem Program Manager.

This “innovation laboratory” concentrates on information and communication technologies and will map the innovation process end to end, but focuses on prototypes and joint imple-mentation. In addition to Deutsche Telekom, potential partners also include other groups such as Allianz, VW, or DHL. “With this approach, we’re also making the innovative power of Deutsche Telekom available to other partners in a structured way,” explained Günzel.

Finally, three speakers used case studies to discuss how their companies have successfully opened up new fields of business. Dr. Simone Arizzi, Director Technology & Innovation EMEA at DuPont, described how his company got into the photovoltaics business a decade ago. “Because our knowledge of the needs of this market was sketchy at best, it was important that our

Intellectual Property: “Talk to each other!”

Dr. Martin Raditsch, Managing Director InnovationLab GmbH

Johan Van Helleputte, Senior Vice President Strategic Development at Belgian Research Institute IMEC

Torsten Günzel, Program Manager of the ICT Open Innovation Ecosystem at TSystems

333


34 OPEN INNOvatION

first task was to understand the entire value-added chain,” said Arizzi. “Then we were able to answer the questions of where our strengths lie and where the market opportunities are.” For DuPont, the answer involved partnerships with companies and universities. “Speed and differentiated technology are key to successful entry in such markets,” said Arizzi.

The right product at the right time—when it comes to vital-izing market success, this truism is not easy. For plastics manu-facturer Ticona, a subsidiary of the chemical company Celanese, it is a familiar problem, since about two-thirds of its business is customer-specific. Dr. Klaus Kurz, Global Open Innovation Tech-nology Manager at Ticona, focused his presentation, among other things, on how his company created new approaches to innovation through customer workshops, and the structured way he and his partners followed up on them. “Between 2009 and 2012, we were able to increase our patent applications ten-fold and the innovation pipeline fourfold,” said Kurz. The parent group now plans to transfer Ticona’s success to other business units.

Manfred Rink, head of New Business at Bayer Material-Science, discussed another approach to learning to improve our understanding of the entire value-added chain of a market, us-ing the construction industry as an example. “As a supplier of raw materials—a supplier of polycarbonate, for example—we are at the very beginning of an extremely complex value-added chain,” said Rink. “Consequently, many of the important players, such as investors, developers, architects, and general contrac-tors are hard for us to reach, even though they have a big impact on what material is used in a construction project.”

Three years ago, therefore, Bayer MaterialScience started the EcoCommercial Building (ECB) network. The network of-fers local expertise for all climate zones and types of building in “program centers” worldwide, in such areas as process optimi-zation, energy concepts, knowledge transfer, sustainability, and the associated communication measures. There are also flagship projects on various continents. More than 70 companies have now joined the network. “It’s hard to estimate the direct bene-fits of the ECB,” admits Rink, “but it’s given its members insight into regional markets that they never had before—especially in Asia.”

Based on the variety of topics and approaches presented at the Open Innovation Conference, conference chair Georg Oen-brink concluded at the end of the event that “there is no one solution for all the challenges of innovation management.” In reality, each case requires careful analysis to find the best ap-proach. Oenbrink thinks it has become clear, however, that open innovation always requires a cultural change. And: “Without risk management, innovation isn’t possible. This is why manag-ers have to learn to accept calculable risks.”

333

777

Speed and better technology are key to market entry into new fields of business

Dr. Simone Arizzi, Director Technology & Innovation EMEA at DuPont

Dr. Klaus Kurz, Global Open Innovation Technology Manager at Ticona

Manfred Rink, head of New Business at Bayer MaterialScience


35NEWS

The coolant lines of the 8000 series have three layers: The inner layer consists of a polypropylene specially adapted for this application. On top of this is an adhesion pro-moter layer, followed by the outer layer con-sisting of the high-grade specialty polyamide VESTAMID® or the biobased VESTAMID® Terra.

Evonik’s biobased polyamides have also been successful in other applications. They have been used commercially since 2010 as monolayer tubes in, for example, air brake lines of utility vehicles, in semitrailers and trailers, and for pneumatic lines. The use of the biobased material in multilayer tub-ing systems for coolant lines is new, how-ever.

For many years, Evonik Industries has been making components specifically for the Lotus Exige to test them under the high de-mands imposed by motor racing. The findings flow into commercial-scale production—and not only in the automotive industry.

VESTAMID® Terra: In service on the HockenheimringRED Motorsport’s Lotus Exige completed the third race of the new season taking place in the Touring Car Championships (TCC) of the Deutscher Motorsport Verband (DMV) at the Hockenheimring. The racing car, which Evonik uses to test new applications, boasts a num-ber of novel features this year including a multilayer line for charge-air cooling. The green section of the line has an outer layer of a biobased polyamide, VESTAMID® Terra. This is the first time Evonik Industries is test-ing the multilayer tube system with the biobased plastic on the race track.

Since 2007, Evonik has been testing cool-ant line systems consisting of multilayer tubes of petroleum-based VESTAMID® under tough racing conditions. These multilayer tubes serve as lightweight replacements for rubber hoses and reinforced lines. The MLT 8000 multilayer tubing system has since proven its performance in vehicles world-wide. The racing car of the current season uses MLT 8000.3 with an orange outer layer.

This system is around 870 g lighter than cool-ing line systems with steelflex tubes, which means a weight reduction of more than 70 percent.

One million tons of VESTOPLAST®The millionth ton of the sought-after poly-olefin VESTOPLAST® has been produced at Evonik’s facility in Marl. For almost 40 years, the VESTOPLAST® product family of the Coating & Adhesive Resins Business Line has been giving hot melts a reliable adhesive force. From diapers to packaging to kitchen worktops to trunk linings in vehicles, VESTOPLAST® serves a spectrum that could hardly be more diverse thanks to its special adhesive properties.

Initially, these products were by-products from the production of isotactic polypropyl-ene (IPP). The VESTOPLAST® success story began in the 1970s when product quality started to improve and demand rose. The for-

mulation with VESTOPLAST® improved the quality and properties of hot melts to such an extent that a new area of application with huge potential emerged. Following the suc-cessful development, the specific production was therefore integrated into the former polybutene plant in 1981. Capacity was pro-gressively increased many times over from the initial 12,000 metric tons, and one pro-duction line turned into four.

Today, the product line comprises around 19 different types of products for a variety of applications. The 70 employees of the pro-duction facility that supervise this in shift operation 365 days a year round the clock ensure high-quality products.

The employees at the Marl production facility are proud of the millionth ton of VESTOPLAST®

Passed the test on the racing circuit—multilayer tube for chargeair cooling with an outer layer made from biobased polyamide VESTAMID® Terra

“We are aiming to develop further areas of application and thus ensure new prospects for the future,” says Dr. Lutz Mindach, head of Hot Melts Marketing and Application Engineering.

The product family, which to date exclu-sively comprised thermoplastic and reactive product types, was recently expanded. An entirely new stable aqueous dispersion, pre-dominantly on the basis of non-polar poly alpha olefins with a solids content of close to 50 percent, enhances the existing portfolio. The now broader range of applications con-siderably optimizes the product properties and can actually create entirely new potential applications.


36 CatalYSIS

In the catalytic hydrogenation of aromatic nitro compounds to the corresponding amines, unwanted side reactions often occur if the nitro compound also contains other multiple bonds. Evonik has solved this problem by means of a new platinum- iron catalyst: When reducing p-nitrocinnamic acid ethyl ester to p-aminocinnamic acid ethyl ester, for example, the catalyst gives impressive results with a selectivity of 96 percent.

Selective reduction of aromatic nitro groups

High throughput testing device for catalyst screening

NO2 NH2NH2

O O O

NO2

EtO

O

EtOEtOEtO

Figure 1 Hydrogenation of para nitrocinnamic acid ethylester.The two molecules on the right are unwanted byproducts

CONtaCt

Dr. konrad möbus is a technical man-ager in the R&D unit in the Catalysts Business Line. He studied chemistry at the University of Marburg and received a PhD in the subject in 1996. After completing postdoctoral studies at the Free University of Amsterdam and further education in technical chemistry at the Dechema Institute in Frankfurt, he started his career at the former Degussa in 1999. From 2000 to 2005 he was Project Leader and Applications Manager at the Degussa site in Calvert City, Kentucky, USA. Since 2006 he has been globally responsible for R&D for precious metal powder catalysts.phone +49 6181 [email protected]


37CatalYSIS

aROmatIC amINES aRE valuable intermediates in fine chem-icals production, being used in dyes, pharmaceuticals, and agro-chemicals. They are produced by catalytic hydrogenation of the corresponding aromatic nitro compounds.

While this seems simple enough, in practice many problems may occur: Complex aromatic nitro compounds, as are used par-ticularly in pharmaceutical chemistry and agrochemistry, often contain other functional groups with carbon-carbon, carbon- nitrogen, or carbon-oxygen multiple bonds. Depending on the activity and selectivity of the catalyst used these bonds may also be affected. This results in the formation of a number of unwanted side products that reduce yield, produce additional waste, complicate work-up, and may necessitate additional puri-fication steps that escalate production costs. In extreme cases these problems may make the process as a whole economically unviable.

Evonik has investigated this problem intensively which has enabled the company to enjoy a leading market position in noble metal powder catalysts used in a large number of catalytic hydro-genation and oxidation reactions. The main area of application is the synthesis of fine chemicals for the pharmaceutical and agro industries, for whose needs new catalysts are continually being developed and existing catalysts optimized.

The latest developments include a catalyst that selectively hydrogenates aromatic nitro groups to amines without reducing

Selective reduction of aromatic nitro groups

777

other functional groups. The catalyst consists of well-defined platinum-iron crystallites that are selectively deposited on a suit-able substrate such as activated carbon. It is suitable for hydro-genating aromatic nitro compounds that also contain, in addition to one or more nitro groups, reducible carbon-carbon, car bon-nitrogen, or carbon-oxygen multiple bonds. All tests show that during hydrogenation with the iron-platinum catalyst, the latter groups are barely affected or remain completely unaffected.

An example is the hydrogenation of p-nitrocinnamic acid ethyl ester (fig. 1) in N-methylpyrrolidone as a solvent, using a plati-num-iron catalyst containing 5 percent platinum and 1 percent iron on an activated carbon substrate. With a conversion rate of 90 percent, the selectivity relative to the p-aminocinnamic acid ethyl ester was 96 percent; only traces were formed of the over-hydrogenated product (p-aminophenyl)propionic acid ethyl ester (fig. 2).

Evonik’s research showed that the platinum-iron catalyst gen-erally represents a major improvement over current commer-cially available systems allowing higher yields and reducing side products and therefore also waste. The catalyst is available in commercial quantities; and as usual, Evonik also offers extensive technical support, using high-throughput experiments and catalyst optimization to rapidly identify the most suitable cata-lyst with the optimal platinum iron ratio for the particular application.

Figure 2 Hydrogenation of para nitrocinnamic acid ethyl ester with various precious metal catalysts

NH2

EtO O

NH2

EtO O

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

5 % Pt + 1 % Fe on activated carbon

3 % Pt + 0.6 % V on activated carbon

3 % Pt + 0.6 % Cu on activated carbon

3 % Pt on activated carbon type 1




3 % PtS on activated carbon type 1

3 % PtS on activated carbon type 2

5 % Pd on activated carbon type 1




Product distribution [GC areas %]


38 NEWS

REACH: Successfully registered As of May 31, 2013, Evonik has registered all substances relevant for the second REACH registration period with the European Chemical Agency ECHA. Substances can no longer be marketed or purchased arbitrarily within the EU. The REACH chemicals regu-lation has been in force since June 1, 2007. If the production or import of a substance ex-ceeds 1 metric ton per year, that substance has to be registered with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki.

REACH recognizes several windows of time for this registration. In the pre-registra-tion phase ending in late 2008, Evonik pre-registered nearly 4,000 substances. These pre-registrations were required for using the three registration periods (2010, 2013, 2018) as transitional periods for prepar-ing the dossiers for the different production volumes of the substances already in use.

For successful registration, an extensive technical dossier with an enormous volume of information has to be prepared for each of the affected substances. In addition to the physicochemical properties of a substance,

this information also includes toxicological and ecotoxicological data. It must also include a description of the conditions under which a substance can be used so it can be used safely.

In the past two and a half years, Evonik successfully registered over 180 additional substances that had to be registered by the end of the second registration period (May 31, 2013). These included substances pro-duced in volumes of over 100 metric tons per year in the EU or that are imported into the EU. Registration of these substances ensures that they can be produced, marketed, and imported in quantities over 100 metric tons per year in the EU past the May 31, 2013 deadline.

By end of June 2013, Evonik has success-fully completed a total of about 600 registra-tions for approximately 400 substances. Registration is over, but it starts again. The third and final registration period for sub-stances in the volume band of 1 to 100 metric tons of production/import per year ends on May 31, 2018.

Award for Responsible CareReceiving the Association of International Chemical Manufacturers’ (AICM’s) 2013 Responsible Care Merit Award, Evonik was recognized for its performance in promoting responsible practices in the China region. In a first-time awards ceremony of this kind, a total of 18 companies received recognition for their improvements to in-house safety, envi-ronmental protection, health, and methods of promoting Responsible Care. Dr. Die Dong, the head of USGQ Greater China, ac-cepted the prize on behalf of Evonik.

In his capacity as the deputy chairman of AICM, Dr. Hans-Josef Ritzert gave a speech outlining the milestones of the AICM Responsible Care initiative in China. “We have demonstrated to the public that the chemical industry is capable of making its production processes and the methods it employs much safer, more health conscious, and environmentally friendly,” he said. “What’s more, we are confident that the

public will gain even greater trust in and a better appreciation of the chemical industry if more and more companies adopt the prin-ciples of our Responsible Care initiative.”

As one of the core members of AICM, Evonik has been actively promoting the Responsible Care (RC) initiative in China through joint efforts with AICM. Several pro-grams have been introduced to ensure the company’s production activities correspond

with the RC principles. Evonik has defined a strategy roadmap to implement Responsible Care and endorse it through various actions and programs, including a three-year region-al environmental, health, safety, and sustain-ability-compliance auditing program, the implementation of internal RC standards, an RC self-assessment program at all sites in the Greater China Region, a “Good Neighbor Program,” and a variety of public events.

Dr. HansJosef Ritzert (left) and Dr. Die Dong (middle) receive the Responsible Care Merit Award


39NEWS

CR Report 2012: Evonik reaches goals ahead of timeEvonik has reached all self-imposed environ-mental goals two years ahead of schedule. This is highlighted in the company’s Cor po-rate Responsibility Report 2012, which doc-uments that Evonik reduced its specific (i.e. production-output-related) energy-related greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent in the time from 2004 to 2012. During the same period, specific production waste fell by 23 percent and specific water consumption by 31 percent.

“The early attainment of goals is an excel-lent example of the way Evonik continuously improves its processes. It is the achievement of our dedicated employees who made this progress possible with a number of technical and organizational measures,” noted Thomas Wessel, member of the Executive Board and Chief Human Resources Officer of Evonik. Original plans had called for the Group to reduce all three values by 20 percent by the year 2014.

Overall, Evonik invested some €39 million in improved environmental protection in the past year, with operating expenses for envi-ronmental protection totaling €251 million. Compared to the previous year, energy use declined by 3 percent to a total of 89.48 peta-joules in 2012.

The annual Evonik Corporate Respon - si bility Report provides details on the com-pany’s commitment to greater ecological, economic, and societal sustainability. As in previous years, the latest Corporate Respon-si bility Report of Evonik meets the require -

Credits Scientific advisory BoardDr. Felix MüllerCorporate Innovation Strategy & Management [email protected]

Editor in ChiefDr. Karin Aßmann (responsible)Evonik Industries [email protected] LocherEvonik Services GmbHEditorial [email protected]

Contributing EditorChrista FriedlMichael Vogel

PhotosMark AnsorgDirk BannertKirsten Neumann Frank PreussBernd Thissen Stefan Wildhirt AerospaceEd.org (p. 7 bottom)LepoRello (Wikipedia)/ Deutsches Museum (p. 7 top)Sunpor Kunststoff GmbH (p. 8 top)Fotolia:kroogle (title), vinz89 (p. 5 top),kanvag (p. 6), Stihl024 (p. 24/25), 2mmedia (p. 25), 3darcastudio (p. 26), terex (p. 29 bottom)Getty Images/Peter Cade (p. 9 top)

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Rellinghauser Straße 1–1145128 EssenGermany

We can learn to do business and trade sustainably—with the napuro business game used by Evonik, for example

ments for the successful application of level A+ of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) in compliance with the GRI 3.1 reporting guidelines. GRI is the internationally recog-nized standard for comprehensive sustainabil-ity reporting and has confirmed the reporting level for Evonik. Large parts of the report underwent an assurance review by an audit-ing firm.

The Corporate Responsibility Report 2012 of Evonik can now be accessed online at www.evonik.com/responsibility

We protect masonry against weathering and grime long term, and much more besides. Together with our customers, we develop exceptional solutions for exceptional applications. We are the creative surface specialists for industrial coatings, architectural coatings, printing inks and automotive needs. Which problem would you like us to solve for you?

Achtung Lithozeile druckt nicht mit! Diese Datei ist ohne Überfüllungen angelegt! Farbton Offset-Druck 48c 100m14359 033-9-2-A • Evonik Anzeige Englisch • Motiv Dom • 4c • Format: 210 x 297 mm + 5 mm Beschnitt • 26.07.13 • amelements/Englisch, OF

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We look forward to keeping old buildings young for you.

We love your problems.

elements 44, Issue 3 | 2013

Documents

Transcript of elements 44, Issue 3 | 2013