Research Project Launched with 14 Partners from Seven Countries

Europeans Unite Efforts on CO2

A consortium of 14 partners from seven countries, led by Covestro, plans to investigate how flue gas from the steel industry can be used in a particularly effective and sustainable manner for plastic production. Carbon dioxide and other waste gases are increasingly becoming a topic of interest at European level as a new raw material source. This would free conventional raw materials from dependence on crude oil. The cross-sectoral project, called Carbon4PUR, is receiving funding from the European Union. Dr. Markus Steilemann, Member of the Management Board responsible for Innovation, Marketing and Sales at Covestro, stated: "Waste gas mixtures in the steel industry can provide carbon for chemical processes and ultimately be used to produce insulation materials and coatings." He added: "This helps us expand our raw material base and reduce the climate footprint of the entire value chain. At the same time, we are pooling our strengths by forming partnerships with industrial and academic partners in Europe."

Cross-Border Cooperation

The new project represents an unprecedented collaboration spanning from the waste gas source to the plastic manufacturer. The European Union supports Carbon4PUR under the auspices of SPIRE, the European Public-Private Partnership, which focuses on innovations in resource and energy efficiency provided by process industries, providing approximately eight million euros over three years. Industry partners will extend this contribution through further investment. The project specifically aims to use mixtures of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide produced during steel production to manufacture key components of polyurethane-based insulation materials and coatings, which are traditionally derived from crude oil.

Significantly Lower Carbon Footprint

The developed process is special because it eliminates a resource-intensive step previously required to separate the different components of waste gas. Instead, the gas mixture will be subjected to a chemocatalytic process and converted directly into building blocks and intermediates for polyurethanes. This can reduce the carbon footprint by 20 to 60 percent. For the industrial pilot project, ideal starting conditions already exist; an ArcelorMittal steel mill and a Covestro production facility in the southern French town of Fos-sur-Mer are in close proximity to each other. The gas recovery project consortium comprises academic and institutional partners including RWTH Aachen University, TU Berlin, Dechema, Imperial College London, Ghent and Leiden universities, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, South Pole Carbon Asset Management, Marseille Port Authority and PNO Innovatieadvies. From its base in southern France, Covestro can supply its innovative intermediates to industrial partners such as Recticel, a Belgium-based polyurethane foam producer, and Megara Resins, a Greek supplier to the coatings industry. Last year, Covestro began using carbon dioxide to produce soft polyurethane foam precursors designed for use in upholstered furniture and mattresses. The company continues to explore additional application areas for CO2-based raw materials.