Covestro has worked with partners to develop a high-performance thermoplastic (HPT) that will be used in many industries including aviation, automotive, and medical in the future, dramatically improving product sustainability and performance. However, large-scale continuous production of the new plastic remains a challenge. As a result, Covestro is organizing a research project to address this issue. The research project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
HPT is a high-performance plastic that can be processed by injection molding and has a variety of excellent properties. It has good stability, strong hardness, good heat resistance and solvent resistance. The trial batch of materials has begun production.
The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research named the research project DreamCompoundConti, with the goal of developing a continuous production process to achieve industrial-grade environmentally-friendly economic production. As a joint partner, Covestro is conducting research collaborations with the Aachen University of Technology, the Technical University of Berlin, the Leipzig Plastics Center and the aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research will provide up to 1.5 million euros in funding for the project over the next three years (funding number: 033R199).
Dr. Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro, said: "We continue to pursue the production of ultra-high-performance plastics through environmentally friendly and cost-effective processes, and this joint project is another proof of this effort.
Lean Manufacturing Process
HPT is special in that it can be produced from readily available base chemicals. These chemicals are already used in the production of products such as foams, so there is no need to produce them specifically for this. With the help of a new catalyst system, this is the first time that the production of thermoplastic HPT from these basic chemicals has been achieved. Compared with the conventional production method of high-performance thermoplastics, the process is simplified, and the carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption in the production process are therefore reduced.
Compared with other products already on the market, HPT has more resource saving potential. A preliminary life cycle assessment (LCA) of the Aachen University of Technology for the industrial production process in Germany showed that compared with similar thermoplastics, the greenhouse gas emissions generated during the production of HPT can be reduced by more than 20%. At the same time, this continuous production process being developed by project partners will reduce solvent usage. Therefore, its life cycle assessment results will be significantly better than traditional processes.