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Description:
Interest in carbon nanotubes is increasing worldwide, but only a handful of leading producers can offer consistent quality in commercially relevant production volumes on a sustained basis. To be able to tap the potential of the international market, it is vital to provide cost-effective, reproducible quality. Bayer MaterialScience recently set up a pilot production plant with an annual capacity of 30 tons. There are plans to expand capacity to 60 tons soon, which will make Bayer MaterialScience one of the top 3 carbon nanotube producers. An industrial-scale production plant with an annual capacity of 3,000 tons is also planned. According to market research estimates, the market potential of CNTs in the next few years will be several thousand tons a year.
Carbon nanotubes are regarded as one of the prime examples of nanotechnology. Scientists are really excited by their properties and potential applications. Carbon nanotubes are extremely resilient. They might only have a quarter of the mass of steel, but they are 5 times stronger when subjected to mechanical loads. They also conduct electric current as effectively as copper. The tiny tubes can be used to produce extremely robust plastics that are constructed in the same way as reinforced concrete – an advantage that can be exploited in sports equipment and provides lots of scope for innovative concepts in other application areas. Ice hockey sticks consisting of Baytubes® (Carbon Nanotubes, CNT) from Bayer MaterialScience can withstand more than a hundred “slap shots”. Baytubes® can be used to make rotor blades for wind turbine plants lighter, longer and thus more efficient. And in the automotive industry, the use of Baytubes® in plastics can avoid the need for expensive production steps. Quite simply, the tiny all-rounders offer huge potential in practical application.
Nanotechnology is a science with high growth and employment potential. Last year, more than 50,000 people in approx. 550 companies in Germany alone were involved in this 21st century technology. As a research-oriented company, Bayer was quick to explore the possibilities of this inter-disciplinary technology. The company has used the technology to enhance the performance of numerous products and methods in its high-tech materials, health and crop science sectors. Bayer MaterialScience and Bayer Technology Services in particular have initiated a series of projects as part of the group-wide “Bayer Nanotechnology Working Group”. This has led among other things to the development of a new method for synthesizing carbon nanotubes, which paves the way for these high-potential nanomaterials to be used in large-scale industrial applications. In addition to cost-effective production, it ensures constant material purities of more than 95 percent. This constitutes a small revolution in the field of nanotechnology.
Two tough dudes kitted out for action: Batter Dennis Timmermann (left) and Catcher Christopher König of the Düsseldorf Bandits with the “Goldhammer”. This baseball bat incorporates Baytubes® carbon nanotubes that impart outstanding impact strength.
Bayer use their polymer know- how in integrating Baytubes® into various plastics, for example in sports equipment. To increase impact stability, carbon nanotubes were added to plastic ice hockey sticks and baseball bats. The Finnish manufacturers Berner Sports and Exel have been using nanotechnology for some time. Refined with Baytubes®, the “Goldhammer” baseball bats from Berner Sports possess outstanding impact resistance, which as their name suggests is crucial. Baytubes® also help athletes achieve top performances in winter sports. Thanks to nanotubes, the “NTech” ski poles from Exel are 30 percent stiffer und six percent lighter than conventional poles.
Exel is now planning to use nanotechnology in a sport that is not so widely known. “Floorball” is the latest and thrilling version of bandy, a game which has been played for centuries. It was introduced to the United States in the 1950s under the name “floorhockey” as a summer alternative to ice hockey. The thick protective gear was discarded, and the hard rubber puck and ice hockey sticks were replaced by a plastic ball with holes in it and extremely lightweight carbon sticks. Floorball is one of the fastest games in the world – full of energy, excitement and high tempo action. The Swedes were the first Europeans to catch the floorball bug. Small children learn the game when they start school. The best go on to earn their money playing the sport in Sweden’s professional league. And of course, Sweden's national team are the reigning floorball world champions. Floorball is the fastest-growing sport in Europe, and this unique sport is now set to conquer Germany too. Because this high-speed game requires strong, lightweight equipment and effortlessness, Exel plans to launch a completely new generation of sticks onto the market in fall of this year. In these, Baytubes® could ensure even better floorball performance.
With sales of EUR 10.7 billion in 2005, Bayer MaterialScience AG is one of the world’s largest polymer manufacturers. Its main fields of activity are the production of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of everyday life. The main consumer sectors are the automotive, electrical/electronics, construction, sports and leisure industries. Bayer MaterialScience has production facilities at 40 sites around the world and a workforce of approx. 18,800. Bayer MaterialScience is part of the Bayer Group. |
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Baytubes® from Bayer MaterialScience are used in these wind turbine rotor blades.
Goldhammer”. This baseball bat incorporates Baytubes® carbon nanotubes that impart outstanding impact strength.
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