Chemists and engineers research new plastics in Schkopau

A house full of registrars – a great way of describing the Fraunhofer Pilot Plant Centre for Polymer Synthesis and Polymer Processing (Fraunhofer Pilotanlagenzentrum für Polymersynthese und Polymerverarbeitung, PAZ). Since they know how to bond molecules which previously went separate ways. Or, as Dr. Ulrich Wendler says, "We marry them."

Wendler is Departmental Manager in the area of polymer synthesis, the 'registry office' is located in Value Park Schkopau near Halle (Saxony-Anhalt). This is where chemists, technicians, engineers and physicists research the question of how to bond plastics with the ingredients so they gain the kind of specialist attributes that industrial customers want. In addition to the synthesis of polymers, or plastics, PAZ also focuses on the technology required in order to be able manufacture blends of plastic.

To this end, 1,000 square meters are available in a technical centre at PAZ, in which six production lines can synthesise plastics and mould them into components. The so-called pilot systems only occupy a fraction of the space of a normal machine outfit. With this facility, PAZ is the interface between laboratory research and industrial production: "If a polymer manufacturer develops a new product in their laboratory, the quantities total a couple of hundred grams," explains Wendler. "This is far too little for a user who wants to build a car door for example. That's where we come in. “

In other words: The PAZ looks at the exact composition of the new polymer and the method in which it has been manufactured. The Schkopau firm then produces up to several hundred kilograms of the plastic. Quantities with which tyres or auto components can be manufactured and tested in full detail. The special feature: "As we have six different lines we are able to assemble new systems quickly and on an extremely flexible basis," explains Engineer Marcus Vater. Only two of the lines originally constructed have ever been used in their original construction. "We have reassembled all the other ones depending on which system we have used for our customers." Of course, many manufacturers have their own technical facility, "but the individual pilot systems are mostly scattered all over the world. For a new polymerisation line, we are in a position of being able to pull a cable over the channel - literally" enthuses the process engineer.

Vater is responsible for the procedural development: The customer gives him the laboratory formula, he then plays with the question of what the corresponding pilot system might look like. "Sometimes we simply construct the laboratory system specified by the customer. Then we think about how the new plastic can be manufactured in bigger quantities through technical adjustments to our pilot equipment."

Since it is important to bear in mind that with polymer processing, as with polymer synthesis, it can make a big difference as to what additive – meaning, for instance, carbon or glass fibres, wood chippings or certain gases – are added to the production process and when.

The scientific experts always maintain an overview of the cost factor. It isn't only the investments in the new systems; it is also necessary for the operating costs to be kept under control, the biggest cost factor being energy.

Together with List AG from Switzerland, the Schkopau company have been able to pull off a genuine coup: On manufacturing synthetic rubber they are able to make a 50% energy saving: To this end the scientists no longer separate the solvent which helps to bond mono-to-polymer with vapour from the target product. Ulrich Wendler: "We convince the solvent to leave the polymer under mild conditions without damaging our sensitive end product: the future rubber." Considerably less vapour means considerably lower energy costs for its production. Wendler doesn't want to give away any more information on this process.

However, he is pleased to talk about another success story: the production of plastic from carbon dioxide. This sounds like the solution to two problems: less poor air, more cheap plastic. "It isn't all that easy," says Wendler with amusement, explaining how the CO2 is supplied by a company from the neighbouring industrial estate. The plastic that results is only of limited use because it becomes soft at body temperature. "Which means that it can't be used for making components. But you can use plastics with these attributes for mouldings, for instance, such as those at the dentist." BASF, who developed the procedure together with PAZ, wants to manufacture films from the new plastic which can be used to cover especially sensitive goods.

The 16 employees – 12 in the synthesis and 6 in the processing of polymers are looking to the future with optimism. Above all, it is the technological development and optimisation of the rubber production that is to be pushed ahead. "We have the ideal conditions for this at the Schkopau location. We have a long tradition in this area," explains Wendler. "The first large scale technical synthesis system for rubber went into operation here in 1937. With our work we are not only able to support the regional economy, we can also score global points with the concentrated know-how that we have."


Author: Kathrin Wöhler

Contacts:
Manager of the Fraunhofer Pilot Plant Centre for Polymer Synthesis and Polymer Processing (PAZ)
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Bartke
ph: +49 3461 2598-120
E-Mail: michael.bartke@iap.fraunhofer.de

Manager, Polymer Synthesis
Dr. Ulrich Wendler
ph: +49 3461 2598-210
E-Mail: ulrich.wendler@iap.fraunhofer.de

Manager, Polymer Processing
Ivonne Jahn
ph: +49 345 5589-474
E-Mail: Ivonne.jahn@iwmh.fraunhofer.de