October 17, 2013. The constant growth of metropolitan areas throughout the world offers attractive economic perspectives, especially for key industries. However, at the same time, increasing urbanization demands enormous efforts in terms of sustainability. At this year's K, Evonik Industries shows at its booth (Hall 06, B28) how companies can meet these challenges with the help of specialty chemicals.

As well as innovative specialty plastics, Evonik also offers a wide range of special monomers and additives that are produced in close collaboration (with customers) to meet the needs of large industries such as the automotive, construction, and electronics industries.

Marked growth in the plastics market

In 2012, Evonik generated about €3 billion with its products in the plastics market, continuing to grow at above-average rate. Roughly two thirds of this are generated in the construction segment and general industries, including additives.

Growth strategies for specialty plastics

Green mobility, efficient energy supply, the creation of healthy workplaces and environments—managing these challenges will become all the more difficult as the number of people living in metropolitan areas increases.

"Green mobility." Regardless of the drive concept, the entire automotive industry benefits from system solutions that make lightweight components economical for the mass production of vehicles. With PLEXIGLAS®—or ACRYLITE® in the US—Evonik offers a lightweight alternative to traditional glazing. The Rinspeed microMAX, a concept car exhibited at Evonik's tradeshow stand, demonstrates this application. ROHACELL®, an excellent temperature and pressure-resistant structural foam, is another lightweight material that has been used for many years in aeronautics. The recently established joint venture, LiteCon, aims to make composite components with ROHACELL® as a core material suitable for mass production in the automotive industry. In this joint venture, Evonik's material experience is combined with Austrian company SECAR's effective production technology expertise.

"Energy supply." In the fields of automotive, lighting, oil production, and photovoltaics, Evonik produces a wide range of high-performance polymers under the brand name VESTAMID®— continuing to expand the polyamide evolution story into new areas of application. One very promising application is the gas pipeline made from VESTAMID® NRG. This PA 12 material can be installed in a very environmentally friendly manner and can even be used in urban areas.

Another growth market for Evonik Industries are various membrane materials that are used to purify biogas, but are also used for the environmentally friendly separation of organic solvents. For example, SEPURAN® Green membrane modules were recently deployed successfully in the construction of an EnviThan biogas processing plant in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany.

"Healthy environments." High-performance materials are the basis for sustainable architecture in the megacities of the future. Here, too, many products from Evonik's portfolio are ideally suited for reducing the ecological footprint. For instance, TEGOSTAB® additives in PU thermal insulation for building facades help ensure a healthy living climate inside the home. Evonik markets a new generation of PVC plasticizers under the ELATUR® brand. Production began in June 2013. The portfolio expansion with phthalate-free and bio-based products is an ideal addition to the established, successful VESTINOL® product family.

Source: Evonik