Following a successful test phase, German firm Bayer is aiming to commercialise the use of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide as a new raw material for plastics. The company has started the planning process for the construction of a production facility at its site in Dormagen, Germany, where CO2 will be used to produce a precursor for high-quality foam. The objective is to initially make larger quantities of this precursor available to selected processors from 2015.          

The use of carbon dioxide benefits the environment. CO2 replaces a portion of the fossil raw materials, such as petroleum, that would otherwise be used exclusively. At the same time, Bayer expects the new process to provide economic advantages over the conventional production method.

"CO₂ is taking on a new light: The waste gas is turning into a useful and profitable raw material. That makes us one of the first companies worldwide to take an entirely different approach to the production of high-quality foams," says Patrick Thomas, CEO of Bayer MaterialScience. The materials manufacturer collaborated with partners from industry and academia to develop the process, which has been tested intensively over the last two years. As part of the publicly funded research project "Dream Production", a pilot plant at Bayer’s main site in Leverkusen produced smaller quantities of the precursor polyol, in which the CO₂ is chemically bound.

The substance is used for the production of polyurethane foam. This material can be found in many everyday items, including upholstered furniture, automotive parts, refrigeration equipment and insulation material for buildings. In internal tests, the new foams show at least the same high quality as conventional material based entirely on fossil fuels.

"After successfully completing the test phase, we are now launching Stage 2 with the target of commercialisation," says Thomas. The first use of the new CO₂-based flexible foam will be for the production of mattresses.

The planned production facility in Dormagen will have a capacity of several thousand metric tonnes. "This will not be enough to accommodate the market demand, of course. It is Bayer’s patent-registered technology and we have not yet decided to be the exclusive producer of this innovative polyol. Licensing might also be a possibility," adds Thomas.