Covestro opens CO2 to plastics plant production in Dormagen

One of the key points with regard to the fight against global warming is the need to reduce emissions of CO₂ gas. Many innovative companies are looking at ways to re-use CO₂ as a resource to make products such as fuels, chemicals and plastics. This is the case of Covestro and the Dream Production project.

Together with partners in industry and research, Covestro tackled the challenge of developing a process to produce high-quality plastics from CO₂ and, finally, it is using this process on an industrial scale. At its site in Dormagen (Germany), Covestro has just inaugurated a production facility to manufacture a polyol containing about 20% of CO₂ with this new method (see the press release). Polyols are precursors of flexible polyurethane foam, found in many everyday items. In terms of quality, the foam achieves at least the same standards as conventional material produced using only petrochemical raw materials.

Figure 1. CO₂ to plastic production plant in Dormagen (extracted from Covestro web page)

The company has invested €15 million in the new plant, which has an annual production capacity of 5 kton. The CO₂ used is a waste product from a neighboring chemical company. If the new CO₂-based products are received as warmly as is hoped, Covestro can envisage significant production expansion. In addition to flexible foam, the company is also working on manufacturing many other plastics with CO₂.

This achievement was made possible by first finding the right catalyst. Otherwise, the process would not have been practical either economically or ecologically. It is a breakthrough innovation that will enable the company to widen is raw materials basis and reduce petroleum consumption. Covestro scientists worked hand-in-hand with experts from the CAT Catalytic Center of RWTH Aachen University to find this right catalyst.

Recently, Covestro presented its technology as a contribution to resource conservation in the park of Schloss Bellevue (the German President's residence) during the ‘Week of the Environment’ in Berlin. A total of 200 exhibitors from the business, science and public sectors had sustainable initiatives on display at the event. Concurrent with this exhibition, the ‘Dream Production’ project was selected by Sustainia (a Danish think tank specialized on sustainability) from over 1,200 candidates as one of the top 100 most sustainable projects of 2016.