Elements35 - Perfectly lubricated Green power made easy Designing with Polymers - Evonik Industries

Page created by Virgil Collins
 
CONTINUE READING
Elements35 - Perfectly lubricated Green power made easy Designing with Polymers - Evonik Industries
elements35
Quarterly Science Newsletter                         Issue 2| 2011

Designing with Polymers

Perfectly lubricated
Green power made easy
Catalysis

Metathesis catalysts for oleochemical applications
Biotechnology

Evonik BioTechDay
Elements35 - Perfectly lubricated Green power made easy Designing with Polymers - Evonik Industries
02      Content s

                                                                   	NEWS
       08
                                                                04 	   New plant for organic specialty surfactants in China
                                                                04 	   Catalysts for biodiesel: plant in Argentina planned
                                                                05     Fiscal year 2010: the best result so far in the Chemicals core business
                                                                06     PEEK polymer capacity to be expanded
                                                                06     First project house in Taiwan
                                                                07     Plans for isophorone plants in China
                                                                07     Evonik acquires the hanse chemie Group
                                                                07     VESTAKEEP® enhances safety of automotive steering columns

                                                                       DESIGNING WITH POLYMERS
      20                                                    08 Innovative engine oil additives reduce fuel consumption and
                                                           		 CO2 emissions: perfectly lubricated

                                                           		 CATALYSIS
                                                            14 	 Metathesis catalysts for oleochemical applications: robust and selective

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

                                                           		NEWS
                                                            18 	       Prize awarded in the 2011 nano+art competition
                                                            19 	       Study verifies effectiveness of conditioning agent against
      26
                                                           		          hair breakage
                                                            19         Nitrogen oxide reduction: Lines made from VESTAMID® compounds
                                                           		          satisfy requirements

                                                           		 DESIGNING WITH POLYMERS
                                                            20 	 PLEXIGLAS® stands up to glass in photovoltaics systems:
                                                           		 green power made easy

                                                                   	BIOTECHNOLOGY
                                                                26     Evonik BioTechDay: on a growth course
     The cover photo shows sugar cane, a vital renewable
     raw material for white biotechnology                  		 NEWS
                                                            31 	 Robust, flexible, and fast drying:
                                                           		 the new clear coating technology from Evonik
                                                            31 	 PLEXIGLAS® Mineral for extremely weather-resistant structural shells

                                                                31 	 Credits

elements35 Issue 2|2011
Elements35 - Perfectly lubricated Green power made easy Designing with Polymers - Evonik Industries
Editorial           03

All set for the future
If your car’s transmission and engine oils contain Evonik’s new comb polymers as
viscosity index improvers, your average fuel savings will be 1.5 percent. You’re not
impressed? Car makers see it differently. According to EU guidelines, average CO2
emissions per vehicle and kilometer must be reduced by about 20 grams by 2015—
and our new comb polymers can account for up to 2.5 of those grams.
    Comb polymers are just one of about one hundred research projects in the field
of resource efficiency, out of a total of 500 projects currently underway at Evonik. In
2010, we increased spending on R&D by 13 percent to €338 million, having held it
constant at €300 million, despite the economic crisis.
    This past financial year shows how high the demand has been for Evonik’s spe-
cialty chemicals: compared to most competitors our rebound was faster and stron-
ger. In 2010, we increased sales revenues by 26 percent over the previous year to         Patrik Wohlhauser
                                                                                          Member of the Executive Board of
€13.3 billion, and even tripled net income to €734 million. We’ve generated the best
                                                                                          Evonik Industries AG
result so far in our Chemicals core business—with an EBITDA margin that puts us
at the vanguard of our industry.
    This demonstrates that in 2010 Evonik was more profitable than ever before. We
already generate more than 80 percent of our chemical sales—a solid €10 billion—
from significant market positions. We want to build on that in two ways. First, we’ll
invest in high-margin businesses with above-average growth. To this end, we plan
to spend a total of €6 billion by 2015 for projects that include expanding our capaci-
ties for isophorone, DL-methionine, precipitated silicas, and chlorosilanes.
    Second, through our innovative strength, we plan to tip the scales in our favor.
Our research projects are allowing us to move further and further into the so-called
emerging markets. The latest example is our new Light & Electronics Project House,
which began its work on April 1. Located in Taiwan, this project house will expand
our opportunities as we operate within one of the most important electronics mar-
kets in the world. And, as our first project house outside Germany, it enables us to
intensify the global reach of our research activities and close ranks with our custo-
mers.
    At its core, Evonik is now a specialty chemicals company. To advance our align-
ment to the future-oriented markets of health and nutrition, resource efficiency,
and globalization of technologies, Evonik has appointed three new members to its
Executive Board: Dr. Yu, Dr. Haeberle, and me. My responsibilities include inno­
vation management and international sales—a combination that underscores the vital
connection between research and market proximity.

                                                                                                           elements35 Issue 2|2011
Elements35 - Perfectly lubricated Green power made easy Designing with Polymers - Evonik Industries
4    Ne ws

    New plant for                                                                                           head of the Consumer Specialties Business
                                                                                                            Unit. „Now we are following our customers
    organic specialty                                                                                       to Asia, with state-of-the-art technology and

    surfactants in China                                                                                    correspondingly high-quality ingredients.
                                                                                                            This allows us to supply our customers at the
                                                                                                            accustomed high level of quality.“
    Evonik is building an integrated production                                                                 China is expected to be the biggest mar-
    plant for organic specialty surfactants at its                                                          ket for cosmetics in Asia short-term, leaving
    site in Shanghai (China). With an investment                                                            Japan behind to number 2 position. The mar-
    volume in the upper double-digit million                                                                ket in China will account for 25 percent of the
    range, the production network± is scheduled                                                             global absolute growth of the upcoming five
    to begin operation in mid 2013. The various                                                             years. The Chinese market for cosmetic in-
    specialty surfactants based on renewable raw                                                            gredients, which is mainly driven by multi-
    materials will be used primarily for cosmetics                                                          national corporations, is growing by 10 per-
    and laundry care products, as well as for in-                                                           cent annually. The main reason for this
    dustrial applications. Evonik is a leading sup-                                                         growth is the developing middle class in
    plier in these areas.                                                                                   China, whose consumption patterns have
        By building the plant at the Shanghai site,      The Chinese market for cosmetic ingredients is     changed in favor of higher qual­ity products.
    Evonik benefits from the infrastructure of the       growing by 10 percent annually                         In Asia, the market for laundry care prod­
    large Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP)                                                            ucts is driven by a growing environmental
    and close proximity to its customers‘ produc-           The new integrated production plant will        consciousness. Evonik’s products are par­
    tion facilities. The integrated production net-      produce ingredients for cosmetics and laun­        ticularly eco-friendly. For industrial special-
    work will feature state-of-the-art technology        dry care products, as well as specialty surfac-    ty surfactants, the market is growing based
    and meet correspondingly high environment­           tants for industrial applications. The Chinese     on improved technology standards and
    al standards. Last fall, in its most recent pro-     cosmetics industry accounts for the lion‘s         increas­ing regulatory requirements. With
    ject at SCIP, Evonik commissioned a plant for        share of production.                               the con­struction of the new integrated pro-
    the production of plastics and plastics ingre-          „We are already well-positioned in the          duction plant, Evonik is also increasing its
    dients—a 250-million-euro investment for             market for cosmetic ingredients in Europe          local capac­ities in technical service, market­
    the Group.                                           and the United States,“ says Dr. Claus Rettig,     ing and sales.

    Catalysts for biodiesel: plant in Argentina planned
    Evonik Industries is planning to build a new
    facility to produce catalysts for the manufac-
    ture of biodiesel in Argentina. Basic engineer­
    ing for this plant, which will have capacity of
    over 60,000 metric tons p.a., has now been
    completed and construction work is expected
    to start in July 2011. Following completion,
    which is scheduled for the end of 2012 at the
    latest, the plant will produce ready-to-use
    alcoholates for use as catalysts in the produc-
    tion of biodiesel from renewable raw mate­
    r­ials. The project is still contingent on the ap-
    proval of the relevant authorities.
         The plant will be located in Puerto             Unit. The new plant will supply especially         ity in Argentina. In the new process, alcohol­
    General San Martin, in the Rosario region, at        Argentina and Brazil.                              ates are produced by reacting alcohol with a
    the heart of Argentina‘s biodiesel industry.             Evonik has proven expertise in the pro-        lye.
    Evonik is planning to build the plant on the         duction of biodiesel catalysts, backed up by            Evonik is already a global market leader
    same site as Terminal 6 S.A., which operates         many years of experience. In 2009 it started       in biodiesel catalysts—a position it also holds
    a large biodiesel facility. „Locating the facili-    up a new production facility in Mobile (USA)       in South America. „The planned new facility
    ty at the Terminal 6 site enables us to use the      with capacity of 60,000 metric tons p.a. This      in Argentina strengthens our commitment to
    existing infrastructure and gives us excellent       plant, which was built in just nine months,        this region,“ says Van den Bergh. „In the mid-
    logistics connections. It could therefore be         serves the growing North American market           term, we are anticipating strong double-digit
    erected swiftly, enabling us to supply cata-         for biodiesel.                                     growth in the biodiesel market.“ Evonik oper­
    lysts competitively to customers in South                Following the success of the new produc-       ates a facility in Niederkassel-Lülsdorf, near
    America,“ comments Jan Van den Bergh, who            tion technology at this US facility, the plan is   Cologne (Germany) as well as its facility in
    heads the Advanced Intermediates Business            to use the same technology for the new facil­      the USA.

elements35 Issue 2|2011
Elements35 - Perfectly lubricated Green power made easy Designing with Polymers - Evonik Industries
N e ws       5

Fiscal year 2010: the best result so far in the Chemicals core business
„2010 was an outstanding year for us,“ com-              chemicals business ranks among the sector         Group aims to achieve a sustained reduction
mented Dr. Klaus Engel, Chairman of the                  leaders as of 2010. „We want to remain            in costs of € 500 million p.a. from 2012. All
Executive Board of Evonik Industries AG, at              among the best in class in the future as well,“   key cost items were analyzed and structures
the financial press conference. The Group‘s              said Engel.                                       and processes were examined with a view to
core chemicals business reported by far the                  The Group has therefore embarked on           attaining this goal. By the end of 2010, spe-
best performance in its history. In order to             key strategic investment projects. It is plann­   cific measures had been defined to meet all
realize its focus on specialty chemicals, at the         ing to invest €500 million in a new methio-       target savings and over three quarters of the
end of 2010 Evonik agreed to sell a majority             nine facility in Singapore, which is scheduled    savings (almost € 400 million) had already
stake in its energy business to a consortium             to start producing feed additives in 2014. In     been achieved.
of municipal utilities in Germany‘s Rhine-               addition, capacity for precipitated silicas in
Ruhr region. As a result, the Energy Business            Asia and Europe is to be increased by 25
                                                                                                           Chemicals reported a
Area has been reclassified to discontinued               percent by 2014. Further, Evonik is planning
operations. In addition, further progress was            to build a new facility for isophorone chem­      record performance
made in amalgamating the residential real es-            icals, prefer­ably in Asia, to come on stream     The Chemicals Business Area grew sales by
tate companies Evonik Immobilien GmbH and                in 2013. The Group already occupies sig­          a strong 29 percent to € 12,867 million (2009:
THS GmbH.                                                nificant market positions in all three of         € 9,978 million). This was driven mainly by
    „Our refocusing has almost been complet­             these businesses and now aims to strength­        volumes and prices. In most business units
ed. In the future, the name Evonik will be               en them selectively in the relevant growth        demand was back at or even above the level
synonymous with global leadership in special-            markets.                                          seen in the first half of 2008, before the re-
ty chemicals,“ said Engel. The focus is on the                                                             cession. As a result, many production facilities
most important global megatrends. „We want               Group sales and                                   operated at full capacity.
to grow and increase our profitability further.                                                                The effective action to cut costs and raise
                                                         earnings considerably
To achieve that, in future the management of                                                               efficiency, together with a substantial rise in
Evonik will be geared to making us faster,               higher than last year                             volumes, high capacity utilization, and in­
leaner and more flexible, with an even stron-            Group sales advanced 26 percent to € 13,300       creased margins boosted both EBITDA and
ger market focus,“ said Engel.                           million. Strong demand, high capacity utili-      EBIT to record levels. Earnings in all business
                                                         zation and improved margins lifted earnings       units were well above the pre-recession level.
Additional Executive Board                               before interest, taxes, depreciation, amorti-     EBITDA grew 47 percent year-on-year to
                                                         zation and the non-operating result (EBITDA)      € 2,357 million while EBIT surged 83 percent
members appointed                                        47 percent to € 2,365 million. The Group‘s        to € 1,702 million.
for chemicals business                                   EBITDA margin improved from 15.3 percent
The Executive Board has therefore been in-               to 17.8 percent. Earnings before interest,
                                                                                                           Spending on
creased to six members effective April 1,                taxes and the non-operating result (EBIT)
2011. Patrik Wohlhauser (46) is the Executive            surged 89 percent to € 1,639 million; net in-     R&D increased
Board member responsible for the Consumer,               come tripled to € 734 million in 2010 (2009:      Evonik increased research and development
Health & Nutrition segment, Dr. Thomas                   € 240 million).                                   spending by 13 percent to € 338 million in
Haeberle (54) is responsible for the Resource                In response to the economic crisis, Evonik    2010 (2009: € 300 million). Around 60 per-
Efficiency segment and Dr. Dahai Yu (49) for             introduced the „On Track“ efficiency enhance­     cent of this was spent on the development
the Specialty Materials segment. With an                 ment program at the start of 2009. To bring       of new products and new technology plat-
EBITDA margin of 18.3 percent, Evonik‘s core             a lasting improvement in competitiveness, the     forms.

Chemicals Business Area: R&D spending [%]                            R&D in the Chemicals Business Area

Development of new products                                  40      R&D employees		                                                       approx. 2,300

Basic research for new key technologies                       19     Locations 		                                                           more than 35

Improved production processes for established products        24     Total R&D projects 		                                                   approx. 500

Improved applications for established products                11     R&D projects focusing on resource efficiency 		                         approx. 100

Other                                                          6     Cooperation with universities and scientific institutes 		              approx. 300

                                                                     Number of new patent applications 		                                    approx. 250

                                                                     Patents (granted and pending) 		                                   more than 24,000

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

                                                                                                                                        elements35 Issue 2|2011
Elements35 - Perfectly lubricated Green power made easy Designing with Polymers - Evonik Industries
6    Ne ws

    PEEK polymer capacity to be expanded
    Evonik Industries is significantly expanding        ufacturing components that must withstand         manager. VESTAKEEP® PEEK polymers are
    its polyether ether ketone (PEEK) capacity in       long-term use under the most severe end-use       used in demanding applications in medical as
    response to growing global demand. Along            environments.                                     well as in the automotive, aerospace, semi-
    with a number of optimization measures, the             „The capacity expansion not only reflects     conductor, and entertainment electronics in-
    company is modernizing an existing plant.           the continuous growth in all relevant indus-      dustry and in the oil and natural gas sectors.
    The project at the Changchun site in China is       tries, but is also the result of the successful   Furthermore, thanks to the unique combina-
    scheduled to be completed by 3rd quarter            commercialization of numerous new projects.       tion of mechanical, thermal and tribological
    2011. Evonik has been selling its highly tem-       This expansion testifies to the on-going com-     properties VESTAKEEP® PEEK allows the
    perature-proof and chemical-resistant PEEK          mitment we are making to support our              replacement of metal in these and several
    polymers under the brand name VESTAKEEP®            customer’s continued growth“, says Sanjeev        other applications.
    for a number of years. They are used for man­       Taneja, Evonik’s global business VESTAKEEP®           VESTAKEEP® 5000G is the latest PEEK
                                                                                                          polymer in addition to Evonik’s product
                                                                                                          range. The material offers significantly
                                                                                                          higher impact resistance and a better fatigue
                                                                                                          profile under dynamic stress as compared to
                                                                                                          commercial available grades. It addresses the
                                                                                                          unmet needs of the customers. The company
                                                                                                          also introduced its VESTAKEEP® M and
                                                                                                          VESTAKEEP® I series for applications in med­
                                                                                                          ical and implant industry two years ago. The
                                                                                                          comprehensive product portfolio covers vir-
                                                                                                          tually all industrial applications and supports
                                                                                                          Evonik’s strategy of serving as a long-term,
                                                                                                          reliable partner in the PEEK market.

                                                                                                          Evonik´s Changchun
                                                                                                          site in China

    First project house in Taiwan
    Evonik Industries is setting up its first project   mers’ innovation cycles, which are becoming       cycles are becoming shorter and shorter,”
    house outside Germany. Light & Electronics,         progressively shorter.”                           says Dr. Michael Cölle, head of the project
    a research and development unit established             Fast-growing electronics segments include     house. “The task of this project house is to
    on April 1, is located in the Hsinchu Tech­         displays, LEDs, portable communication and        acquaint ourselves better with customers’
    nology Park in Taiwan. The focus of its work        information devices such as navigation de-        processes and value chains, and consolidate
    is new products and technologies for the            vices and tablet PCs, as well as photovoltaics.   our opportunities in these markets through
    photovoltaics, display, LED, and lighting in-       The key Asian regions are China, Japan,           joint developments.”
    dustries.                                           Korea, and Taiwan, where a number of im-              In the project houses, Evonik works on
        The project house seeks partnerships and        portant R&D companies in this field have          medium-risk research topics involving mul­
    joint developments with Taiwanese institutes,       their headquarters. According to the German       tiple business units; the emphasis is there­fore
    and above all, with local electronics compa-        Institute in Taipei, Taiwan stands out among      on medium- and long-term success. Project
    nies. This is another strategic step in the con-    these countries as the world market leader in     houses run for three years, during which time
    solidation of the Group’s global position.          such products as notebooks, scanners, moni-       roughly 15 to 30 employees typically develop
    “With the new project house, our goal is to         tors, and LCD monitors. Evonik already main-      new products and technologies in collabora-
    move closer to one of the most important            tains partnerships with Taiwanese companies       tion with cooperation partners and universi-
    electronics markets in the world so that we         through the joint ventures Evonik Forhouse        ties. As a rule, the new developments of the
    can tap into the growth opportunities the           Optical Polymers manufacturing acrylic poly­      project houses are marketed by a business
    region offers,” explained Patrik Wohlhauser,        mers in Taichung for TFT liquid crystal dis-      unit or continued through an internal start-up.
    the member of Evonik‘s Executive Board re-          plays, and Evonik Cristal Materials Cor­por­          Light & Electronics is the ninth project
    sponsible for innovation management. “The           ation, which produces glass lenses for the        house to be set up by Evonik and its strategic
    new site is a further development of our suc-       next generation of LEDs.                          research and development unit Creavis
    cessful project house concept. With this,               Additional contacts will be made and cul-     Technologies & Innovation. The company’s
    Evonik is intensifying its focus on business        tivated through the project house. “Elec­tron­    long-term strategic goal is to make the pro-
    development and customer loyalty and is             ics and lighting are extremely fast, dynamic      ject house the nucleus of another R&D com-
    adapt­ing its innovation processes for custo-       markets, whose innovation and product life-       petence center for the Group in Asia.

elements35 Issue 2|2011
Elements35 - Perfectly lubricated Green power made easy Designing with Polymers - Evonik Industries
N e ws       7

Plans for isophorone plants in China
Evonik Industries plans to construct new iso-       region. Evonik currently produces isopho­rone
                                                                                                                              Isophorone derivatives
phorone and isophorone diamine plants in            chemicals in Mobile (Alabama, USA), as well                               are used in, among
Shanghai (China). Basic engineering at the          as in Marl and Herne (Germany).                                           other things, composite
                                                                                                                              materials for wind
Multi User Site China (MUSC), Evonik‘s pro-              “Evonik is the only company globally that
                                                                                                                              turbines
duction site in Shanghai, should be complete        produces and markets the entire range of
within the next few months, and the world-          isophorone chemicals,” says Dr. Ulrich Küst­
scale plants are scheduled to go onstream in        hardt, head of the Coatings & Additives
2013. With this investment, Evonik is sending       Business Unit. “And with the construction of
out a clear signal for further growth in iso-       the new world-scale, state-of-the-art plants,
phorone chem­icals, and is emphasizing the          we plan to strengthen this position and at
high signif­icance of the strategically impor-      the same time extend our global production
tant Asian region.                                  network into Asia.” Isophorone, isophorone
    Growing global demand from a large              diamine, isophorone diisocyanate, and their
number of user industries is the driving force      derivatives are important components in the
behind the decision to construct the new            production of industrial flooring, artificial
plants. The planned investment will allow the       leather, and paints and coatings, for exam­
company to benefit from the future growth           ple. They are also used in high-performance
of the market and in particular to satisfy          composite materials and in chemical synthe-
increasing demand from customers in the Asia        sis.

Evonik acquires the hanse chemie Group
At the end of March 2011 Evonik Industries          subject to the approval of the corporate         by end-consumers in such markets as the
closed a purchase agreement to acquire the          bodies.                                          construction industry, automotive manufac-
hanse chemie Group. By acquiring the Group,            Based in Geesthacht, near Hamburg, the        ture, dental technology, and in photovoltaic
which includes hanse chemie AG and nano-            hanse chemie Group produces high-quality         systems. The silicate-based nanomaterials
resins AG, Evonik will be able to enter addi-       components and raw materials for the             and other specialties by nanoresins AG are
tional markets for specialty applications in sil­   man­ufacture
                                                          ­­      of sealants and adhesives,         used in highly scratch-resistant coatings, ad­
icone chemistry. Both parties agreed not to         molding and casting compounds, for exam­         hesives, fiber composites, and embedding
disclose the purchase price. The sale is still      ple. Hanse chemie AG’s products are used         materials.

VESTAKEEP® enhances safety of automotive steering columns
The BMW Group has approved spindle nuts             not break, even under the most severe con-       The PEEK polymers that had been used in the
made from VESTAKEEP® PEEK, a polymer                ditions. In case of an accident, the spindle     past were unable to meet BMW’s stringent
made by Evonik Industries, for use in elec­trical   nuts will not break and thus prevent­ing any     requirements and failed during stress tests.
steering column adjustment assemblies. The          plastic pieces from disabling the function of    Thanks to its improved ductility and impact-
VESTAKEEP® L4000G-based spindle nuts do             safety-relevant features such as airbags.        resistance, VESTAKEEP® PEEK passed the
                                                                                                     tests and also met the requirement of high
                                                                                                     dimensional stability at different tempera­
                                                                                                     tures.
                                                                                                         VESTAKEEP® spindle nuts are used in the
                                                                                                     electrical steering column adjustment assem-
                                                                                                     blies that are manufactured by Solingen,
                                                                                                     Germany-based C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH
                                                                                                     & Co. KG. Thanks to their exceptional char­
                                                                                                     acteristics, they may in the future also be used
                                                                                                     in mechanical steering column adjustment as-
                                                                                                     semblies.
                                                                                                         Evonik`s PEEK polymers offer particu­larly
 VESTAKEEP® based                                                                                    high resistance to temperatures and chem­
 spindle nuts passed
                                                                                                     icals.
 the stress tests

                                                                                                                                  elements35 Issue 2|2011
Elements35 - Perfectly lubricated Green power made easy Designing with Polymers - Evonik Industries
8   D ESIGNI N G WITH PO LYM ER S

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

                 Innovative engine oil additives reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions

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

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

elements35 Issue 2|2011
Elements35 - Perfectly lubricated Green power made easy Designing with Polymers - Evonik Industries
D ESIGNIN G WITH POLYMER S               9

No machine, plant, engine would be any use                           This principle applies to all fluids—whether honey,
with­out lubricant. Wherever moving metal surfaces                   water or oils. The viscosity index (VI) is key to the
come in contact with each other, a lubricant is vital.               evaluation of lubricants. It describes the temperature
They reduce friction, muffle noise, prevent prema-                   dependency of the kinematic viscosity of the oil—the
ture wear and tear. Lubricants work best when their                  force necessary to loosen the molecular interlocking
viscosity is aligned to the application: if the oil is too           and get the oil to flow. Oils with a low VI change their
thick, it prevents the parts from moving. If it is too               viscosity with the temperature more easily than oils
thin, the metal surfaces can engage without any pro-                 with a high VI. As a rule, engines require oils that
tection—machines and engines then break down very                    work reliably both summer and winter, which means
quickly.                                                             oils with a high viscosity index. These kinds of oils
    The effectiveness of lubricants depends on their                 provide adequate lubrication in summer, and are suf-
viscosity, and the viscosity, in turn, depends on the                ficiently free-flowing in winter.
temperature. The colder the temperature, the higher
the viscosity, and the thicker the fluid. At high tem-
peratures, viscosity decreases, and the liquid be­                   High standards for mineral oils
comes thinner and more free-flowing. This is based                   Pure mineral oils are suitable to only a limited extent
on a simple molecular mechanism: particles of thick                  in applications with changing temperature ranges. At
liquids are strongly bound to each other by mole­cular               15 degrees Celsius, they are already as thick as butter
interactive forces and, therefore, relatively immobile.              and behave less like lubricants and more like brakes
This inner friction resembles the movement of two                    on the moving parts. Today, a conventional engine
layers of molecules lying interlocked, one above the                 oil has to work reliably and efficiently between minus
other. Force must be used to overcome the inter­­-                   40 and plus 150 degrees Celsius. This is why existing
l­ocking. When the temperature rises, the interactive                engine oils normally consist of a low-viscosity base
forces weaken, and the molecules glide across each                   oil selectively thickened with additives.
other easier. The viscosity decreases as a result, and                   Evonik has long produced polymer-based additives
the liquid becomes thinner.                                          that increase and optimize the viscosity index. 333

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

                                                           Solubility in oil
 Poor                                                                                                                 Good

 Low                                                                                                                  High
                                                            Temperature

                                                                                                                                elements35 Issue 2|2011
Elements35 - Perfectly lubricated Green power made easy Designing with Polymers - Evonik Industries
10      D ESIG NIN G WITH POLYM E R S

                                                                                     333 The type of polymers and, above all, their molec­
                                                                                      ular mass, is key to the effectiveness of these viscos­
                                                                                      ity index improvers (adding 3 to 7 percent corres-
                                                                                      ponds to an additive content of 2.5 percent): the
                                                                                      larger the molecules, the more they swell with rising
                                                                                      temper­atures and keep the lubricant sufficiently
                                                                                      thick, even at high operating temperatures.
                                                                                          Large molecules do have one weak point, how­
                                                                                      ever: mechanical stress in the thin lubrication gap
                                                                                      can easily tear the polymer chain. For this reason, the
                                                                                      second key parameter for the suitability of a lubrica-
                                                                                      tion oil is the shear stability of the polymers used.
                                                                                      High shear stability means that the molecular chains
                                                                                      are split slowly, even with heavy mechanical loading,
                                                                                      so the polymer breaks down only after several years
                                                                                      of service. Gear oils are expected to retain their lu-
                                                                                      bricating effect for about 20 years, while engine oils
                                                                                      are supposed to work reliably for approximately
                                                                                      30,000 kilometers.

                                                                                      VI improvers ensure the viscosity
                                                                                      stays as constant as possible
                                                                                      Evonik has supplied VI improvers based on poly­
                                                                                      alkyl(meth)acrylate (PAMA) for decades under the
                                                                                      VISCOPLEX® trademark. The molecules consist of a
                                                                                      long polymethacrylate chain with alkyl side chains
                                                                                      that ensure solubility in the base oil. In solution, the
                                                                                      PAMA chains form a ball, which wells up with in­
                                                                                      creasing temperature. When this happens, the balls
                                                                                      expand, thereby increasing the viscosity of the oil. To
                                                                                      be more exact, VISCOPLEX® ensures that the viscos­
                                                                                      ity of the solution remains as similar as pos­sible com-
                                                                                      pared to that of the pure base oil without additive.
                                                                                          What the chemists are doing, then, is thwarting
                                                                                      physics: The effect is contrary to the natural behav­
     Measuring kinematic
     viscosity, which indicates
     how much force is
     required to get a liquid
     to flow                      At low temperatures, the comb polymers reduce the kinematic viscosity
                                  of the oil compared to PAMA by about one third. At high temperatures,
                                  they achieve the same good values as PAMA polymers. Bottom line: comb
                                  polymers reduce the temperature dependency of viscosity

                                  Log log (KV [cst+0.8])                                                                     Expanded
                                                                                                                             PAMA
                                              Contracted
                                              PAMA

                                                                                                                             Expanded
                                                                                                                             comb

                                              Collapsed
                                              comb

                                                                                                                             Oil-insoluble
                                                                          Base oil                                           PAMA backbone
                                                                                                                             oil-soluble
                                                                                                                             polyolefin arms
                                                                                                          Log T [K]

elements35 Issue 2|2011
D ESIGNIN G WITH POLYMER S                    11

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

Even more powerful: comb polymers
The specialists from Darmstadt have developed a
completely new architecture for the molecules of the
polymers. The backbone consists of extremely long,
polar molecule chains that carry non-polar polyole-
fins as side chains at regular intervals.
    Chemists refer to these as “comb polymers” be-
cause their structure resembles a comb. The building
blocks of the long backbone consist of short-chained
methacrylates, and other co-monomers. By varying
the percentages of the monomer mixture, the pola-
rity of the chain and the number of side chains can
                                                              Politicians demand
be selectively controlled during polymerization.              economical vehicles with
About 100 monomers have an aver­age of 0.8 to 1.6
molecular teeth, each with some 400 carbon atoms.             low CO2 emissions
    The modified structure results in completely new
properties. The long side chains ensure extremely             Today, engine developers and car manufacturers not only focus
good solubility in the base oil over a broad tempera-         their attention on the design and performance of their products but
ture range. The stiffness of the backbone is designed         on fuel consumption and emissions. The pressure is coming primar­
in such a way that the large molecules „collapse“ at          ily from the political arena: Over the next few years, the EU will be
low temperatures by forming very small units, so that         reducing the permissible fuel consumption of new vehicles in several
the lubricant remains adequately free-flowing. If the         stages. By 2015, manufacturers will have to reduce fuel consump­
temperature rises, the long side chains push apart and        tion to the point that exhaust emissions are, on average, below 130
the comb polymer wells up, which results in the desi-         grams of CO2 per kilometer. In 2010, the average CO2 value of
red thickening effect.                                        newly registered cars in Germany was 151 g/km. Car manufacturers
    Comb polymers have proven their outstanding               and importers who do not comply with EU limits in the future will
properties as lubricant additives on a number of en-          have to shoulder millions of euros in fines.
gine test stands. Compared to conventional PAMA ad­                Engineers use an array of methods to reduce fuel consumption:
ditives, they show significantly better values for all key    lower vehicle weight, improved aerodynamics, more efficient en­
parameters. The shear stability of the molecules is           gines and drive trains. Most of these methods are technical in nature.
many times higher, and the flow properties of the oil         But the more sophisticated the component, the more expensive and
are optimized during cold start. The kinematic viscos­        time-consuming it is to increase its efficiency and performance even
ity, measured at 40 degrees Celsius, is about one third       more. In addition to technical optimization, selecting a high-perfor-
lower. This means that the lubricant is easy to pump          mance lubricant can also reduce a vehicle‘s fuel consumption and
at relatively low operating temperatures, and the             emissions. Thanks to their modified chemical structure, the new
movement of the engine parts and gear wheels in the           additives from Evonik each show optimal viscosity over a broad tem-
transmission slows only a little—an effect that has a         perature range, and guarantee highly efficient operation of engines
direct and positive impact on fuel consumption.               and transmissions. Test-stand results have shown that additives based
    Lubricants must be precisely coordinated to oper­         on comb polymers achieve fuel savings of about 1.5 percent. The
ating conditions. Because thermal stress on the poly­         benefit corresponds more or less to that obtained through high-effi­
mers is particularly high in the engine, comb poly-           ciency wheel bearings or an electronic start-and-stop system for
mers for engine oils contain fewer side chains than           the engine. For engine developers and car manu­facturers, then, this
those for gear oils. Shear stability is the most 333          margin is a giant leap.

                                                                                                                  elements35 Issue 2|2011
12     D ESIG NIN G WITH POLYM E R S

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

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

     Fuel consumption reduced once again
     After many years of development work, chemists at
     Evonik have developed four comb-polymer-based
     high-performance additives that meet all the demands
     of today’s engines and transmissions. Most impor-
     tantly, these developments also help reduce fuel con-
     sumption and emissions. In a comparison with a stan-
     dardized reference oil (RL 191), conventional PAMA
     additives have been shown to reduce fuel consump-
     tion by 3.5 percent—comb polymers in the engine oil,
     on the other hand, lower fuel consumption by 4.4
     percent. In combination with gear oils, which also
     contain comb polymers, the savings increases to a
     total of about 1.5 percent.
         At first glance, a 1.5 percent reduction in fuel con-
     sumption does not seem particularly high. Compari-
     son in absolute figures reveals the actual weight of
     this relatively small percentage: the International
     Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that, worldwide, road
     traffic emits about five billion metric tons of carbon
     dioxide per year. Of this figure, 1.5 percent corres-
     ponds to a savings of 75 million metric tons. Accord­
     ing to EU standards, average CO2 emissions per
     vehicle and per kilometer must be reduced by about

elements35 Issue 2|2011
D ESIGNIN G WITH POLYMER S                              13

Influence of the engine oil on gas consumption. The measure-   Influence of the gear oil on gas consumption, measured as torque
ment was taken on the engine test stand in Darmstadt, and a    loss on the drive shaft. Here, too, comb polymers can help reduce
standardized reference oil (RL 191) was used for comparison.   gas consumption by another 0.5 percent compared to PAMA
Compared to PAMA, oils with comb polymers can reduce
gas consumption by another 0.9 percent                         PAMA:         20 °C;       44 °C; efficiency = 95.2%
                                                               Comb:        20 °C;       44 °C; efficiency = 95.7%
      Comb           PAMA

Advantage vs. RL191 [%]                                        Torque loss [Nm]
5.0                                                            5

4.5            4.4
                                                                                                                                                   ●
4.0
                                                               4                                                                                   ●
3.5                          3.5

3.0
                                                                                                                                                   ●
                                                                                                                                                   ●
2.5                                                            3
                                                                   ●

2.0
                                                                   ●
1.5
                                                               2
                                                                   ●
1.0
                                                                   ●

0.5

 0                                                             1
                                                                   0           25             50            75             100             125             150
                                                                                                                                        Applied torque [Nm]

20 grams by the year 2015—and the new comb poly-
mers can eliminate up to 2.5 of those grams.                                                           Boris Eisenberg joined Evonik‘s Oil Additives
                                                                                                       Business Line in 1995, and currently works in product
    This shows how the chemists at the Oil Addi­t ives                                                 development in the Innovation Management unit.
Business Line are translating the ideas and wishes of                                                  Since 2008, he has been responsible for product devel­
engine developers and lubricant manufacturers into                                                     opment with a focus on defined polymer architecture.
                                                                                                       Eisenberg holds a degree in chemical engineering from
a chem­ical structure of the required additives. They                                                  the University of Darmstadt (Germany) and is author
act as mediator between the growing technical chal-                                                    of more than 20 patents and scientific publications.
lenges of engines and drive trains, and the practical                                                  +49 6151 18-3028, boris.eisenberg@evonik.com

experience of lubricant manufacturers. This requires
close cooperation with formulators in setting the very
specific properties of the lubricant and a continuous
exchange with customers and suppliers.                                                                 Dr. Torsten Stöhr studied chemistry with a focus on
                                                                                                       polymer science at Johannes-Gutenberg University
    Every engine in the world is the same in this way:                                                 Mainz (Germany) and the University of Massachusetts
They all have to run, and run as long and as trouble-                                                  at Amherst (United States). He earned his PhD at the
free as possible. But this alone is not enough anymore.                                                Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, at
                                                                                                       IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose (California,
Traffic is increasing dramatically worldwide, and is                                                   USA), and at Stanford University in Palo Alto (Califor­
considered the problem child of climate policy be-                                                     nia). He joined Evonik Industries in 2000, and came to
cause, thus far, it has been unable to noticeably curb                                                 the Oil Additives Business Line in 2002, where he
                                                                                                       worked on defined polymer architectures. Since 2008,
traffic-related greenhouse gas emissions.                                                              he has been in charge of global product devel­opment
    This is why future vehicles will also be assessed                                                  of all viscosity index improvers and pour point depres-
based on whether engineers and suppliers have                                                          sants of the business line.
                                                                                                       +49 6151 18-4743, torsten.stoehr@evonik.com
exhausted all potential for the lowest possible fuel
consumption and low emissions. Against this back-
drop, chemically custom-designed additives can help                                                    Dr. Michael Müller is responsible for strategic mar-
ensure that advanced engines not only function                                                         keting in the Oil Additives Business Line. After study-
                                                                                                       ing chemistry at the University of Freiburg and earning
optimally but also consume as little fuel as possible.                                                 his doctorate there at the Institute for Macro­molecular
Doing so is not only in the interest of the driver but                                                 Chemistry in the working group of Prof. Gerhard
also car manufacturers, engine developers, and the                                                     Wegner, Müller started his career in 1984 at Evonik
                                                                                                       Röhm GmbH. He held different positions in research,
oil industry—all of whom must ensure that, in the                                                      application engineering and technical service in the
future, vehicles offer substantially lower emission                                                    Acrylic Polymers and Oil Additives Busi­ness Lines, in-
levels and greater environmental compatibility. Only                                                   cluding most recently Global Business Man­ager Engine
                                                                                                       Oil and Driveline for Oil Additives, before moving to
then will traditional drive technologies continue to                                                   his current position.
be relevant. 777                                                                                       +49 6151 18-4573, michael.mueller.mm@evonik.com

                                                                                                                                         elements35 Issue 2|2011
14    C ATALYS I S

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

                          [ text Dr. Renat Kadyrov ]

                          Metathesis is a chemical reaction in which four          allows for direct access to renewable resources and
                          atoms receive new bonding affiliates in a single step.   for their efficient use without creating any by-prod­
                          Depending on the sub­strate combination, it is distin-   ucts. For example, metathesis turns triglycerides and
                          guished between ring-closing metathesis (RCM),           unsaturated fatty acid derivatives (from palm, soy,
                          cross-metathesis (CM) and ring-opening metathesis        canola or sunflower oil) into fine chemicals, function­
                          polymerization (ROMP). The development of well           alized monomers, polymers, biodegradable lubricants
                          defined catalytic systems for metathesis reactions       and specialty chemicals such as cosmetics.
                          won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2005.                    Cross metathesis of unsaturated fatty acids and
                              Today, metathesis is a highly significant method     acid esters with functionalized olefins, allow for ac-
                          of the chemical industry, for instance in the develop-   cessing a diversity of double-functionalized olefins.
                          ment and production of modern plastics or of active      These represent interesting raw materials for creat­
                          pharmaceutical ingedients (fig. 1). Ring-closing meta­   ing macrocyclical compounds, polyesters, poly­
                          thesis is an elegant method for construction of macro­   amides, lubricants or surfactants for example. On the
                          cyclic ring systems and therefore is an indispensable    other hand, the non-functional olefins that are gener­
                          reaction step in the synthesis of modern active phar-    ated in the same process can be further converted to
                          maceutical ingredients for the treatment of hepatitis    α-olefins, oil field chemicals, lubricant additives and
                          C or cancer. Ring-opening metathesis polymerization      waxes.
                          is an effective method to produce specialty polymers
                          for large, complex and corrosion-resistant com­
                                                                                   Highly prized robustness and stability
                          ponents for automotive applications or chemical con-
                          tainers. In oleochemistry, metathesis reactions are      at high temperatures
                          used for functionalizing unsaturated fatty acid deriv­   Metathesis catalysts for oleochemistry applications
                          atives.                                                  must have special properties for operating economi-
                              Evonik markets metathesis catalysts under the        cally. catMETium® RF2 and catMETium® RF3 meet
                          name of catMETium® RF (fig. 2). All catalysts are        these requirements. They stand out for high tolerance
                          based on unsaturated N-heterocyclic carbene Ru           for a variety of raw material qualities, fulfill­ing an
                          complexes (Ru-NHC). The catalysts all share the          essential prerequisite for the use of renewable re-
                          characteristics of high temperature stability, high      sources in oleochemistry.
                          turn-over numbers (TON), and high selectivity.              The thermal stability of catMETium® RF catalysts
                              The metathesis of olefins plays a particularly im-   represents another advantage, which is especially im-
                          portant role in oleochemistry, since this technology     portant in equilibrium-limited cross-metathesis 333

elements35 Issue 2|2011
K ATALYSE              15

Figure 1
                                                      Ring-closing metathesis                                                      Cross metathesis
Application areas of
olefin metathesis                                                                                            A                                    A
                                                                                    +                                   +                                       +
                                                                                                                                   Y                        Y
                                                                                          Ring-opening metathesis

                                           Pharma                               n                                                                     Oleochemistry

                                                                                                                               n
                                 Antiviral active ingredients                                                                                   Functionalized oligomers

                                                                       Dosing of active                                      Bulk and
                                                                           ingredients              Polymer                  special polymers

                                                                                          Dental materials        Coatings

Figure 2

Evonik´s catMETium® RF
product family
                                                                                                         Me           Me                                 Ph
                                                                                                                                                                    N

Mes        N        N Mes                         Mes       N        N Mes                         Mes       N        N Mes                           Ph N           N Ph
                            Ph
     Cl                                                Cl                                                                                              Cl
                                                                                                       Cl
               Ru                                               Ru                                               Ru                                             Ru
     Cl                                                Cl                  S                           Cl                                              Cl                   S
                                                                                                                             S
               PCy3                                             PCy3                                             PCy3                                           PCy3

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

                                                                                                                                                        elements35 Issue 2|2011
16        C ATALYSI S

     Figure 3
                                                                                     333 or homo-metathesis. The high thermal stability of
                                                                                      the catalysts allows for combining the catalytic meta­
     Homo metathesis of methyl oleate                                                 thesis step with thermal separation and to return
                                                                                      non-converted starting materials to the process.
                                                                                          The high thermal stability of RF catalysts is evi-
                  O                                                                   dent in the homo metathesis of methyl oleate, in
                                                                                      which octadec-9-ene and dimethyl-9-octadec-9-ene-1,
          O                                                                           18-dioate are obtained in an equilibrium reaction (fig. 3).
                                                                                          While saturated Ru-NHC complexes quickly de-
                  O                                                                   grade at temperatures just above 70 °C and therefore
                                                                                      produce a wide range of by-products, the catalysts of
          O O                                                                         the catMETium® RF technology show unparalleled
                                                    +                                 thermal stability and robustness, even at tempera­
          O                                                                           tures above 100 °C.
                                                                                          As a result, reaction speed and productivity sig-
                                                                                      nificantly increase at high temperature (fig. 4). Even
     Figure 4                                                                         at high reaction temperatures, the catMETium® RF2
                                                                                      catalyst achieves a turnover number of > 200,000
     Comparison of yield in C18 diester and C18 olefin
     in the homo metathesis of methyl oleate                                          with a selectivity of > 98 percent. With an integrated
     (catalyst loading 3 ppm, reaction time 2h)                                       thermal separation of the products, the reaction equi-
                                                                                      librium can be shifted toward higher volumes and
           Theoretical conversion in case of thermodynamic
     equilibrium of homo metathesis                                                   yields without the risk of destroying the catalyst by
                                                                                      thermal stress.
              Yield in by-products/isomers
              Yield in C18 diester and C18 olefin

     Saturated Ru-NHC complex                                                         Simple business model
     Yield [%]
                                                                                      In addition to the excellent activity, selectivity, and
     60                                                                               robustness of the catMETium® RF technology in var­
                                                                                      i­ous application areas, Evonik offers further added
     50                                         ●            ●
                                                                                      value with a clear, independent IP position that is also
                                ●
                                                                                      reflected in the business model. Evonik uses a simple
     40                                                                               proven business model to market the catMETium® RF
                                                                                      catalysts that makes license agreements superfluous
     30                                                      ●                        and allows for transparency. The total kilogram price
                                                                                      for the catalysts includes all license fees for the use
     20                                         ●
                                                                                      of intellectual property; customers have no further
                                                                                      obligations.
     10                                                                                   This business model is also reflected in the name,
                                                                                      since the acronym RF stands for Royalty Free. This
                                                                                ●
      0                         ●
                                                                                ●     allows customers to make use of the new catalysts
              0       10   20       30   40     50      60   70    80   90     100    without any restrictions. 777
                                                                  Temperature [°C]

     catMETium® RF2
     Yield [%]
     60
                                                                                                              Dr. Renat Kadyrov deals with synthe-
     50                                                                                                       sis, up-scaling and production of homo-
                                                ●            ●                 ●                              geneous catalysts at Evonik´s Catalysts
                                                                                                              Business Line. He received his PhD from
     40                                                                                                       Kazan Sate University in 1984 under
                                ●                                                                             direction of Professor Boris A. Arbuzov.
                                                                                                              Over the next ten years he worked at
     30                                                                                                       the University of Kazan. He was as post­
                                                                                                              doctoral fellow at the University Halle/
                                                                                                              Saale (West Germany, 1986/87) and
     20
                                                                                                              in the Max-Planck-Group at Rostock
                                                                                                              University (1993/94). From 1994 he
     10                                                                                                       worked at the University of Greifswald
                                                                                                              and at the Institute of Catalysis at Ros­
                                                                                                              tock University before in 1999 he joined
      0                         ●
                                                ●            ●                 ●                              Aventis R&T. Since 2001 he has been
              0       10   20       30   40     50      60   70    80   90     100                            an employee of Evonik.
                                                                  Temperature [°C]                            +49 6181 59-8710
                                                                                                              renat.kadyrov@evonik.com

elements35 Issue 2|2011
Re sou rc e e ff ici en cy               17

Almost 5,000 km across Australia

Pioneering trip by the Wind Explorer

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

„We’re incredibly proud. A dream has come true,“ com­                 telescopic mast made of bamboo. In addition to wind power, the
ment­ed German extreme sportsmen Dirk Gion and Stefan Sim-            Wind Explorer can be driven by kites. In this way, the lightweight
merer at the end of their two-and-a-half week pioneering trip         vehicle reached speeds of around 80 kph as it crossed the states
across Australia. The two piloted the Wind Explorer, a light-         of Western and South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.
weight electric vehicle, from Albany on the Indian Ocean to Cor­           The pilots started in Perth. Having carried out various tests
por­ation in 17 days and set three new records during their roughly   during the first 500 km, the real trip began in Albany. For the
4,900 km trip: The first time a continent had been crossed by a       first 800 km to Nullarbor Plain the Wind Explorer was driven
vehicle power­ed by wind and lithium-ion batteries, the longest       entirely by electric power. Strong winds then enabled the pilots
overall distance covered by an exclusively wind-powered land          to use the kites. Finally the Wind Explorer achieved its best per-
vehicle, and the longest distance covered in 36 hours. „What‘s        formance within 36 hours at the south coast, covering 493 km.
more it was resource-efficient and had virtually no impact on         „It‘s great to see how lightweight construction and lithium-ion
the climate,“ said Simmerer. The Wind Explorer was powered            technology can provide a response to the problem of global warm­
by lithium-ion batteries, recharged by a portable wind turbine        ing,“ said Simmerer.
whenever wind conditions permitted. The 200 kg vehicle there-              The record trip from Albany to Sydney was not the first feat
fore only notched up electricity costs of around €10 for the al-      by Gion and Simmerer. Gion made headlines in 2004/2005 with
most 5,000 km trip.                                                   the „Earthflyer“ kiteboard project in Australia and in 2006 as a
    Gion and Simmerer came up with the idea for this record-          water-skier towed by the “MS-Deutschland” cruise liner. In 1997
breaking trip last summer. Just weeks later they found the            Simmerer was the first person to cross Chang Tang, the Tibetan
necessary partners in German industry, led by Evonik Industries       high plateau, and climb Zangser Kangri (6,551 meters). He has
AG. Evonik provided the materials for the lightweight bodywork        since led expeditions in South America, Africa and Kamchatka.
and the high-performance lithium-ion batteries. The battery                Pioneering projects like the Wind Explorer are a good op-
pack with power of 8 kWh enabled the Wind Explorer to run             portunity for German industrial companies to test their technol­
for about 400 km in demanding temperatures of 60 °C. Dr. Klaus        ogy under extreme conditions and extend their technical edge.
Engel, Chairman of Evonik‘s Executive Board, congratulated the        Competition is particularly tough in the automotive sector, which
team: „This was a tremendous achievement by Dirk Gion and             is increasingly turning its attention to electric and hybrid vehi­-­
Stefan Simmerer. It shows what pioneering spirit and German           cles. New lightweight materials such as ROHACELL®, which was
high-technology are capable of.“                                      used in the Wind Explorer, and smart tire technologies that re-
    The special feature of the Wind Explorer is that it is an elec-   duce rolling resistance are in great demand. However, the race
tric vehicle with its own mobile power supply. When the battery       for tomorrow‘s technology to power electric vehicles will be
is empty, the pilots can recharge them via a portable wind tur-       won principally by expertise in batteries. „Through our sub­-
bine, if wind conditions allow, or via the conventional power net-    sid­iary Li-Tec we aim to become the European market leader in
work. It takes half an hour to erect the turbine and six-meter high   battery cells,“ said Engel. 777

                                                                                                                            elements35 Issue 2|2011
18     Ne ws

     Prize awarded in the 2011 nano+art competition
     What happens when art and science enter a dialogue, when space is        The competition invited entries from female students, graduates and
     given to the tensions and synergies between both disciplines? This       young scientists working in the field of nanotechnology at universi-
     year’s presentation of the prizes for the nano+art competition pro­      ties, research institutes and other organizations in Germany and
     vided at least a visually impressive answer to these questions. In his   Europe. Entrants were asked to submit images from their research
     speech at the presentation ceremony, Dr. Harald Schmidt, head of         work on the themes of „Woman“ and „Man,“ with the ultimate goal
     the strategic R&D unit Creavis Technologies & Innovation, stressed       of raising awareness of nanotechnology among the broader public
     the importance of nanotechnology for Evonik and highlighted the          and making it more understandable. This is why the Employer
     great potential for development of new products and improved pro-        Branding unit of Evonik Industries has organized the event for the
     cesses.                                                                  last six years.

                                                                              1
                                                                                   With her entry “Opera Ball” (left), Julia Lambrecht
                                                                                   from Kassel was the grand prize winner of this
                                                                                   year’s nano+art competition, and grateful recipient
                                                                              of the €1,000 prize money. The winning image shows a
                                                                              photomicrograph of a crystallized organic semiconduc-
                                                                              tor material. Some of the crystals formed on the surface
                                                                              of the substrate during preparation of an organic tran-
                                                                              sistor. In this process, the development of the visible
                                                                              crystallites is an undesired side effect of the intended
                                                                              generation of organic semiconductor nanowires.

     2
           Second place and a check for €500 went to Aruna Ivaturi
           from the Nanoscience Centre of Cambridge University
           for her „Floral Bouquet“ (top right): „The multi-colored
     ‘dandelions’ in this floral bouquet represent women all over the
     world—various shades of personality, character and identity,“
     explains Ivaturi. Her Floral Bouquet is a scanning electron micro-
     graph of tin oxide nanorods grown by a hydrothermal method.
     The dominance of the homogeneous nucleus formation during
     growth leads to the formation of dandelions. The stunningly
     unusual architecture of these „flowers“ makes them promising
     candidates for electrode material in such products as low-cost
     batteries and solar cells for the energy storage and conversion
     markets.

                             3
                                   Third prize, which carried an award of
                                   €250, went to Claudia Mattheis for
                                   her “Dancer” (bottom right), a digital
                             micrograph of electrospun polymer com­
                             posite nanofibers. The thickened parts, and
                             their interplay with the fibers, were inter-
                             preted as a pas­sionate dancer, whose spirited
                             movements can vibrate the surrounding
                             area. This image addresses the theme of
                             „Woman.“

elements35 Issue 2|2011
N e ws         19

Study verifies effectiveness of conditioning agent against hair breakage
Shampoos and conditioners that contain the                                                                 smoothness. All testing was performed on
new silicone conditioning agent ABIL® T Quat                                                               hair damaged in the standard way, and in­­
60 from Evonik significantly reduce hair fiber                                                             volved repeated combing with a custom-built
breakage. This is the result of a joint study by                                                           automated grooming device, followed by
Evonik‘s Care Specialties Business Line and                                                                counting the number of broken fibers. To en-
TRI/Princeton of Princeton (New Jersey,                                                                    sure statistical relevance, the experts evaluat­
USA), a leading independent research insti-                                                                ed eight tresses per treatment. The results of
tute largely devoted to the study of human                                                                 the experiment show that the shampoo and
                                                           Hair breakage, as revealed by a
hair. ABIL® T Quat 60 also provides outstand­                                                              conditioner formulations containing the new
                                                           scanning electron microscope
ing conditioning features, such as easy comb­                                                              conditioning ingredient ABIL® T Quat 60 pro-
ing and a superior feel in both wet and dry                                                                vide a dramatic anti-breakage benefit by 60%
states. The conditioning agent is universally             Evonik always substantiates its hair prod­uct    for shampoo and 88% for conditioner.
suitable for all shampoos and conditioners.               solutions through many hair performance               The extreme effectiveness of ABIL® T
    Broken hair fibers are brittle, fray, and             tests. As the experts from Evonik and TRI/       Quat 60 against hair breakage is a result of
lead to the formation of unsightly split ends.            Princeton have proven, ABIL® T Quat 60           its excellent substantivity to hair keratin. This
As a result, they reduce the perception of hair           reduces hair breakage in both shampoos and       silicone conditioning agent also provides
smoothness, lower shine, and hinder a fluid,              conditioners. Their joint study examined the     impressive heat protection properties, long-
flowing motion. Because consumers rely on                 breakage of hair that was treated with a         lasting color protection, and a clean, silky skin
hair care products to solve this problem, im-             shampoo and a conditioner containing ABIL®       feel. It is highly suitable for use in condition­
proving the anti-hair breakage functionality              T Quat 60. The treated hair underwent de­        ing shampoos, dandruff shampoos and con-
of shampoos and conditioners is an important              fined tests that are often used to make claims   ditioners, and even leave-in formulations and
issue for the manufacturers of these products.            regarding anti-breakage, strengthening, or       body washes.

Nitrogen oxide reduction: Lines made from
VESTAMID® compounds satisfy requirements
                                                                                                           AdBlue® places heavy demands on lines in
                                                                                                           SCR systems. They must be resistant to urea
                                                                                                           and ammonia as well as any gas mixture flow-
                                                                                                           ing back from the catalyst. Because the urea
                                                                                                           solution is heated to up to 60 °C, but freezes
                                                                                                           with expansion at –11 °C, good hydrolytic
                                                                                                           resistance and bursting strength at higher
                                                                                                           temperatures are essential, along with high
                                                                                                           impact resistance and elasticity at low tem­
                                                                                                           per­atures.
                                                                                                               Various VESTAMID® polyamide 12 com-
                                                                                                           pounds satisfy all these requirements. Evonik
                                                                                                           helps car makers develop their individual sys-
                                                                                                           tems by offering them a variety of products.
                                                                                                           All VESTAMID® compounds have been sub-
                                                                                                           jected to a recirculation test with AdBlue® at
 Illustration of catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides
                                                                                                           60 °C and 80 °C (with external air temper­
                                                                                                           atures of 40 °C and 50 °C respectively) over
Evonik offers a variety of VESTAMID® poly-                from diesel engines. The VDA (German             a period of 5,000 hours, to check for any
amide 12 compounds that help automobile                   Association of the Automotive Industry) has      changes in their mechanical properties. All of
manufacturers develop systems for reducing                registered this solution under the brand         the grades tested have excellent values for
nitrogen oxide in diesel vehicles. All the gra-           AdBlue®.                                         strain at break, bursting strength, and, in par-
des offered by Evonik have performed excel-                   At temperatures above 60 °C, water de-       ticular, low-temperature impact strength at
lently in tests, and some are already in use.             composes AdBlue®, yielding carbon diox­ide       –40 °C.
    A 32.5-percent aqueous solution of urea               and ammonia; the latter in turn reacts with          Of all the grades tested, VESTAMID®
serves as the reducing agent in systems de-               nitrogen oxides, forming water and nitro­gen     LX9008 best satisfied all the requirements;
veloped today by car makers for the selective             and thus reducing the emission of nitrogen       VESTAMID® L2140 and X7293 are already
catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitrogen oxides              oxides by about 90 percent.                      being used in SCR systems.

                                                                                                                                         elements35 Issue 2|2011
You can also read