Lanxess aims to develop new rubber production process

ERJ staff report (DS)

Leverkusen, Germany -- Lanxess AG has officially launched a new multilateral collaboration to develop technology for the production of synthetic rubber. The new technology will use fewer resources and is therefore more energy-efficient and less environmentally-damaging than conventional processes. The company said the technology is applicable to different families of synthetic rubber, including butyl rubber (IIR), polybutadiene rubber (BR) and technical rubber materials.

Lanxess has joined forces with Bayer Technology Services, Technical University of Dortmund, University of Bonn and the special technology equipment manufacturer Buss-SMS-Canzler GmbH to develop the technology. The project is designed to last three years and has a total volume of approximately EUR 10 million, of which about EUR 5 million will be subsidised by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Lanxess is also investing a EUR double-digit million amount to equip some of its facilities with the new technology.

It is likely that the first unit to use the new approach will be the company's butyl rubber facility on Jurong Island in Singapore, which will start producing in 2014. The start-up of the 100,000 tons per annum facility has been postponed by two years due to the continuing global economic crisis.

The project will involves installing the system at a mini-plant at Dormagen, in Germany.

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Press release from Lanxess