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elements29 

S c i e n c e N e w s l e t t e r 

| 2 6 | 2 7 | 2 8 | | 2 0 0 9 

I N T E R F A C I A L T E C H N O L O G I E S 

Chemical Umbrella for Buildings 

C O A T I N G S 

Green Art for a Kick: 

New Coating Transforms Used Tires 

into Long-Lasting Artificial Turf

E D I T O R I A L 

Encouraging Signs 

Patrik Wohlhauser 

Chairman of the Board 

of Management of 

Evonik Degussa GmbH 

Would you hang wallpaper in the bathroom Paper that could curl up on you and become waterlogged 

when you take a shower, not to mention make an ideal spawning ground for mildew These 

problems are a thing of the past, as Evonik has proven with its new ccflex® ceramic wall covering. 

ccflex® can be handled as easy as wallpaper, is as water-repellent and durable as a tile, and com pared 

to tiles, takes one-tenth the energy to produce. The Initiativkreis Ruhr, an association for promoting 

commerce in the Ruhr Valley, billed ccflex® “an outstanding innovation,” and has now honored it 

with the Ruhr2030Award, which carries prize money of €50,000. 

And now for a different topic, but from the jury‘s perspective, one just as innovative: our co oper - 

ation with Daimler AG in the research, development, and production of lithium-ion batteries in 

Germany. The two companies are now distinguished winners of the ÖkoGlobe, the first internation al 

environmental award for the automobile industry and its suppliers. This award, which we have 

received in the Innovative Energy Source category, also has its roots in our research—in the separ a tor 

Evonik developed that makes batteries exceptionally efficient and safe. 

Our researchers and engineers can chalk up yet another success for themselves. They have devel - 

oped a process to be used in a new plant we just commissioned to produce 2-PH (2-propyl heptanol), 

a starting material for the manufacture of PVC plasticizers. With this new plant, we are fostering 

the trend toward high-molecular-weight plasticizers, which pose no risk to human health, according 

to a rigorous EU risk assessment. This has been well-received on the market: The plant is completely 

booked from the start. 

These three encouraging signs convince us that we can’t afford to shortchange research and 

development, even in times of crisis. The economy also looks less gloomy these days. The situation 

is beginning to stabilize, if at a low level, and we are now standing on solid ground at the bottom of 

the valley. Next begins the long, slow ascent back up. And we have our first signals of confidence 

for the climb—the number of our employees in short-time work has dropped from its high of 3,700 

to less than half that number. Another encouraging sign! 

elements29 | 2009 n e w s 

4 Supply partnership for novel battery materials 

4 Polyphthalamide is used for the first time to 

manufacture filaments 

5 International environmental award for Evonik and Daimler 

contents 

The cover photo shows 

artificial turf—because 

it not only entertains 

soccer fans but keeps 

researchers in Evonik’s 

Functional Films & 

Surfaces Project House 

on their toes 

I N N O V A T I O N M A N A G E M E N T 

6 Technology foresight: 

in search of the needle in the haystack 

I N T E R FAC I A L T E C H N O LO G I E S 

10 Chemical umbrella for buildings 

E vo n i k F o u n dat i o n 

15 A radar screen for good people 

C ATA LY S I S 

18 CENTOPRIME®: highly selective hydrogenation 

of nitriles to primary amines 


22 Green art for a kick: new coating transforms used 

tires into long-lasting artificial turf 

n e w s 

27 “Area of Competence Days” point to perspectives 

in biotechnology 

27 CyPlus® commissions Cold Caro’s Acid systems in Brazil 

28 New license agreement for vanadium-doped precious 

metal powder catalysts 

28 High-pressure for VESTAMID® PA 12 

D E S I G N I N G W I T H P O LY M E R S 

30 PLEXIGLAS®: innovative light management with 

high-precision microstructures 

n e w s 

35 Ruhr2030Award for ccflex® 

36 e v e n t s a n d c r e d i t s 

2 elements29 evonik science newsletter

news 

+++ New Chief Human Resources Officer of Evonik Degussa GmbH 

The Supervisory Board of Evonik Degussa GmbH 

has appointed Thomas Wessel (46), Chairman of 

the Board of Management of RAG Bildung 

GmbH, to the Board of Management of Evonik 

Degussa GmbH as Chief Human Resources Officer 

effective November 1, 2009. He succeeded Ralf 

Blauth (58) who held this position at Evonik 

Degussa GmbH in addition to his role as a member 

of the Executive Board and Chief Human 

Resources Of ficer of Evonik Industries AG. As 

planned, Ralf Blauth relinquished his post on the 

Board of Management of Degussa Evonik GmbH 

on October 31, 2009, before the end of his origi- 

nal term of office. He was appointed to the 

Executive Board of Evonik Industries AG as Chief 

Human Resources Officer with effect from July 1, 

2009. 

Thomas Wessel, who became Chairman of 

the Board of Management of RAG Bildung GmbH 

in September 2006, will hold his current position, 

in addition to his new post, until the end of 2009. 

Under his leadership, this company has been 

reorganized to make it more competitive. Wessel 

previously held a number of posts at the former 

RAG Aktiengesellschaft, including latterly Head 

of the Human Resources Division. 

+++ Plant for production of the plasticizer alcohol 2-PH commissioned 

Evonik Industries has expanded its product range 

for high-molecular-weight plasticizer alcohols 

and commissioned a plant for the production of 

the plasticizer alcohol 2-propyl heptanol (2-PH) 

at the Marl Chemical Park. The company’s investment 

in the plant, which is in the high double-digit 

million Euro range, makes it the largest producer 

of C9/C10 alcohols in Europe. The plant has 

an annual capacity of 60,000 metric tons, and has 

brought twelve new jobs to Marl. “With this new 

product, we are actively promoting the market 

trend toward high-molecular-weight plasticizers 

and offering our customers attractive and competitive 

solutions for plastics production,“ said 

Dr. Thomas Haeberle, member of the Management Board of 

Evonik Degussa GmbH at the opening ceremony. 

2-PH is used as a raw material for the production of a PVC 

plasticizer, which transforms PVC, a naturally brittle plastic, into a 

flexible material. Plasticized PVC based on 2-PH is used for applications 

such as cable insulation, tarpaulin fabrics, elastic floor coverings, 

and in various automobile parts. 

The market for plasticized PVC has a volume of approximately 

twelve million metric tons per year. The demand for plasticizers 

amounts to several million metric tons per year. In the past, both 

have grown roughly 4 percent annually, with the highest demand 

coming from Asia. The economic crisis has been hard on the market 

for plasticized PVC, but “like our customers, we are expecting future 

growth of worldwide 3 to 4 percent per year, because PVC 

is one of the most versatile and, at the same time, cost efficient 

plastics,” explained Haeberle. “Another indicator is the fact that 

our new plant is completely booked from the start.” 

Following increasing technical and environmental requirements 

for plasticized PVC applications, the “high-molecularweight” 

plasticizers, which are based on C9 or C10 alcohols such as 

2-PH with its ten carbon atoms, are in particularly high demand. 

These plasticizers are remarkable for their excellent low-temperature 

properties and low volatility, and are extremely versatile. 

Two hundred fifty 

metric tons of steel, 

260 instruments 

and machines, and 

1,500 pipelines with 

a total length of twelve 

kilometers: Evonik‘s 

new 2-PH plant 

High-molecular-weight plasticizers are also among the most studied 

chemical substances and have been declared risk-free in tests 

conducted by the European Union. This is why more and more 

PVC processors prefer to use high-molecular-weight plasticizers, 

which show above-average growth. 

Evonik currently produces annually 340,000 metric tons of 

the C9 plasticizer alcohol isononanol (INA) at its Marl plant, 

which is the largest INA plant in the world. INA and 2-PH complement 

each other very well, as the plasticizers made from them 

can be used to vary the properties of plasticized PVC over a wider 

range. 

With the new plant, Evonik is also optimizing its production 

network for C4 chemistry, an area in which the company has 

many years of experience. The Marl production network, which 

is unique in the world, converts Crude C4, a by-product of the 

Naphtha cracking process, to high-quality products such as butadiene, 

MTBE, isobutene, butene-1 and isononanol. Nearly all processes 

were developed by the C4 Chemistry Business Line and 

make best possible use of raw materials and energy within an 

integrated network. Evonik processes a total of approximately 

1.5 million metric tons of Crude C4 per year in its C4 Chemistry 

Business Line, and is therefore the most important processor in 

this field in Europe. 

elements29 evonik science newsletter 

3

+++ Supply partnership for novel battery materials 

Süd-Chemie AG, Munich (Germay) and Evonik Industries have 

agreed to enter into a supply partnership aimed at using novel 

mat erials in the next generation of lithium-ion batteries for automobiles 

and other industrial applications. By entering into this 

agreement, both enterprises have laid the foundation for the preferred 

delivery by Süd-Chemie to Evonik of the high performance 

Electrodes production at Evonik 

Litarion GmbH in Kamenz (Germany) 

energy storage material lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, also 

referred to as LFP), to be used in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. 

The use of lithium iron phosphate in lithium-ion batteries will 

significantly improve the conditions for a swift and wide-scale 

introduction of more powerful electric drives for the next generation 

of hybrid and electric-drive vehicles. 

Süd-Chemie will be responsible for manufacturing the highgrade 

lithium iron phosphate in line with the required specifications, 

and for technical customer service. With the aid of the 

cathode material lithium iron phosphate, Evonik intends to develop 

to market maturity high-powered cell components for both mobile 

and stationary applications via its subsidiary Evonik Litarion GmbH, 

focusing initially on the European market. 

The main features of lithium iron phosphate which make it 

espe cially suitable for use in lithium-ion batteries are its high 

energy density, its high cycle stability, long life and above all, the 

intrinsic safety of the material. 

Under the LITARION® brand, Evonik Litarion GmbH produces 

electrodes that make a significant contribution to enhancing the 

performance of lithium-ion batteries. Evonik has also developed a 

novel ceramic separator named SEPARION® to significantly boost 

both the efficiency and safety of large-scale lithium-ion cells. Li- 

Tec – a joint venture operated by Evonik Industries (50.1%) and 

Daimler AG (49.9%) – makes use of the key chemical cell components 

supplied by Evonik Litarion to produce large-scale lithium-ion 

battery cells for automotive and industrial applications at 

the partners´ joint production site in Kamenz, Saxony (Germany). 

+++ Polyphthalamide is used for the first time to manufacture filaments 

Polyphthalamide (PPA) is always used whenever metal has to be 

substituted with a different material, or when other plastics such 

as PA 6 and PA 66 can no longer do the job. Evonik Industries has 

found a new application for the high-performance polymer: 

Evonik’s VESTAMID® HTplus F1001 is the first polyphthalamide 

that can be drawn into filaments. The material can be easily processed 

into different varieties of filaments, and modifications in 

geometry and color are possible, too. 

Users like polyphthalamide because of its outstanding 

performance at high temperatures and its excellent 

mechanical properties. Parts made of VESTAMID® 

HTplus F1001 are highly dimensionally stable and 

wear-resistant. Because of its crystallinity, the material 

is incredibly resistant to chemicals, so it can be used 

in aggressive media and demanding environments. 

Until recently, polyphthalamide was not used to 

make filaments. Evonik, however, has now filled in 

this gap. With its VESTAMID® HTplus F1001, the 

company succeeded in extruding PPA into monofilaments, 

which were then made into special brushes. 

Customers have found preliminary tests for heat 

resistance and mechanical properties to be very 

prom ising. 

For the first time, 

Evonik has extruded 

PPA into 

monofilaments 

Since the melting point of VESTAMID® HTplus F1001 is above 

320°C, the filaments are suitable for use at elevated temperatures. 

The monofilaments show a stress at break of over 300 MPa 

and a strain at break of over 150 percent, so they are almost predestined 

for manufacture into special bristles for tough applications. 

Other applications are mono- and multifilaments for filters, 

as reinforcements, or as fabrics. 


news 

+++ International environmental award for Evonik and Daimler 

Evonik and Daimler’s strategic partnership in electric power trains 

has chalked up yet another success: The companies are co-recipients 

of the ÖkoGlobe, the first international environmental award 

for the automobile industry and its suppliers, for their collaboration 

on lithium-ion battery technology. The partnership between 

Evonik Industries and Daimler, which was established about ten 

months ago, made it to first place in the category Innovative 

Power Systems. Their alliance has allowed both of these German 

companies to promote e-mobility along the entire value-added 

chain in Germany. 

Advanced, safe, and affordable lithium-ion batteries are considered 

a key technology for making environmentally friendly 

electronic cars suitable for everyday use. Combined since December 

2008, the competencies of Evonik and Daimler in this field 

impressed ÖkoGlobe’s jury. The jury comprises Prof. Fer dinand 

Dudenhöffer, who is the chairman and an automotive industry 

expert, and HA Schult, who is an environmental artist, as well as 

Matthias Machnig, State Secretary of the Federal Environment 

Ministry; Prof. Claudia Kemfert, an energy 

and sustainability scientist; Prof. Bruno O. Braun, presi 

dent of the As so ciation of German Engineers (VDI); 

and Engelbert Fassbender, member of the DEVK insurance 

company’s management board. The name 

“ÖkoGlobe” comes from the institute of the same 

name, which is headed by Prof. Dudenhöffer at the 

University of Duisburg-Essen. 

Ralf Blauth, member of Evonik Industries 

Executive Board, regards the receipt of the international 

environmental award as an incentive to further 

consolidate the expertise of Evonik and Daimler in the 

companies Li-Tec Battery GmbH and Deutsche Ac cumotive 

GmbH. “Advanced batteries are the key to the 

success of e-vehicles. Everyone is trying his hand at 

this right now,“ said Blauth. “We don’t consider the 

ÖkoGlobe a laurel to rest on. The award shows us that 

we and our Made-in-Germany exper tise are top performers 

on the international stage. That makes us 

proud and hugely pleased. But the ÖkoGlobe also encourages 

us not to let up in the race for top solutions 

for the car of the future. As a location for industry, 

Ger many has scored—with team-oriented, highly 

trained, and motivated employees.” 

Evonik and Daimler forged their strategic alliance 

to develop and manufacture lithium-ion batteries in 

December 2008. A key player in the partnership is 

bat tery specialist Li-Tec Battery GmbH in Kamenz, 

near the city of Dresden. Evonik holds a 50.1 percent 

stake in Li-Tec Battery, Daimler 49.9 percent. Based on 

Evonik’s lithium-ion technology, and with Daimler’s 

know-how, the two global giants advance the research, 

development, and manufacture of battery 

cells and systems in Germany. 

The worldwide leading lithium-ion battery flat-cell 

from Li-Tec has a lot to offer. With its ceramic sepa - 

r ator, the battery boasts outstanding safety and high energy density 

in a compact size. According to predictions, the market volume 

for high-performance lithium-ion batteries will cross the €10 billion 

mark in the next decade, with that of battery materials exceeding 

€4 billion. The German federal government plans to fill city 

streets with at least one million e-cars by 2020. 

In July 2009, Evonik and Daimler announced the next stage in 

their strategic partnership for the electrification of the passenger 

car. In the future, Deutsche Accumotive GmbH & Co. KG, likewise 

jointly owned by Daimler (90%) and Evonik (10%), will 

produce battery systems based on lithium-ion technology in Kamenz. 

Construction of the new production facilities is scheduled 

to begin this year. The first lithium-ion battery systems will then 

be installed in vehicles produced by Mercedes-Benz Cars as early 

as 2012. With the manufacture of lithium-ion battery systems in 

Kamenz, Deutsche Accumotive will begin industrializing the key 

technology for the electrification of the automobile. 

At the ÖkoGlobe award 

ceremony: 

Ralf Blauth, member of 

the Executive Board of 

Evonik Industries AG 

(left), and Prof. Herbert 

Kohler, head of E-Drive 

& Future Mobility at 

Daimler AG 

The heart of the largeformat 

lithium-ion 

battery cells produced by 

Li-Tec is SEPARION®: 

a new type of ceramic 

separator from Evonik 

that separates the anode 

and cathode 


5

T e c h n o l o g y F o r e s i g h t 

In Search of the Needle in the 

Dr. Friedrich Georg Schmidt 

To survive in the markets of the “day after 

tomorrow,” a company must spot real innovation 

potential—and search for it in particular off the 

beaten path. To this end, Evonik’s Technology 

Foresight Team is deploying a network of 

experts to identify ideas and research 

findings of long-term importance to 

the company. 

T 

The future is when you regret not doing 

what you could have done.” This saying 

reflects the conflict that technologybased 

companies face. While they must 

get the maximum potential out of available technologies 

and processes to satisfy the current needs 

of their customers, they often risk being too late 

to identify newly emerging trends that are important 

for their future market position. 

The history of innovation proves that start-up 

companies or niche players, more than any others, 

develop „disruptive” technologies whose potential 

is either recognized not at all or only late by the 

large, established companies. Sometimes too late. 

Low-cost airlines such as Ryanair, for example, 

have shaken the price structure of short-haul 

flights to its foundation and have instilled fear in 

the established carriers. Here’s a second example. 

In the early 1980s, IT giant IBM completely underestimated 

the importance of the PC and suffered 

one of the most financially difficult phases in its 

corporate history. A third example: The big steel 

producers failed to recognize the potential of small 

steel mills—“mini-mills“—which initially pro duced 

only simple construction steels from iron and steel 

scrap, but then increasingly manufactured highquality 

steel for other applications and markedly 

re duced the market share of established companies. 


I N N O V a T I O N M A N a G E M E N T 

Haystack 

Timing is everything 

This is why it’s important—indeed, a matter of survival 

over the long term—to recognize the potential 

of new markets and technologies as early as 

possible. In the 21st century, this task will prove 

all the more difficult, because you have to do more 

than identify highly promising developments. You 

also have to select and advance them at the right 

time. 

In 1995, Jackie Fenn, consultant with U.S. technology 

consulting firm Gartner, developed the idea 

of the „hype cycle,” which illustrates this prob lem 

well. The hype cycle describes the phases of public 

attention that a new technology goes through 

when it’s launched. The first phase is the “technology 

trigger,” which generates significant interest 

only among specialists. In the next phase, improved 

and faster global sources of information 

jostle with one another to spread word of the new 

technology, often generating unrealistic expectations. 

Media reporting on the technology then begins 

to wane as it fails to fulfill the initial inflated 

expectations. This is followed, however, by a 

deeper understanding of the practical application 

of the technology, as well as its limitations. Only 

when its benefits are widely demonstrated and accepted 

does the technology then reach its “plateau 

of productivity.” The height of this plateau largely 

depends on whether the technology plays a role 

in mass or niche markets. 

If a technology company doesn’t enter this kind 

of market before the plateau phase, it could spell 

extremely high costs or loss of market share. On 

the other hand, if the company invests in a technology 

prematurely, as it is first emerging, the company 

had better have a lot of stamina and factor 

the risk of failure. No one can say for sure what 

will ultimately succeed on the market—and when. 

Even so, studies show that long before a technology 

has reached market maturity, the number 

of scientific publications and patents peaks slightly. 

This is identified, however, only in retrospect. 

To put it another way, only in hindsight can we 

judge which of the many pre-peaks in the “background 

noise” of new developments actually pointed 

to a successful technology. This is why spotting 

disruptive technologies is like searching for 

the proverbial needle in the haystack. 

>>> 

The art to the innovation process lies in identifying the potential for 

new markets and technologies as early as possible and selectively advancing 

highly promising developments at the right time 

Signal intensity 

Discussions 

Crazy literature 

Scientific papers 

Years before first sales 

Patent applications 

Number 

400 

350 

300 

250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 

R&D alliances 

Patents 

Process development 

Product announcement 

Sales 

Market entry 

Long before a technology has reached market maturity, the number of 

scientific publications and patents peaks slightly. This can be identified and 

interpreted, however, only in retrospect 

Scientific literature 

Time (years) 


7

The Next Big Thing is still not 

a practical strategy 

But a company with technology foresight should 

not move at the level of the so-called Next Big 

Thing. It’s an open secret that globalization, climate 

change, and demographic developments will 

have an impact on a number of markets, but this 

realization alone cannot point to any specific strategies. 

To be sure, extrapolating and retropolating 

existing scenarios, on the other hand, is important 

for short-term technology developments, but it 

provides little help in developing a long-term approach. 

The best opportunities for increasing a company‘s 

ability to innovate are at the very beginning 

of a new development. Indeed, scientific studies 

have shown that investment in advance development 

through shorter development times pays off 

and that the way in which an advance development 

is pursued is a decisive factor in its success. 

On average, companies have spent twice as much 

on advance development in successful projects 

than in unsuccessful projects. So when it comes to 

innovation management, only he who sows will 

reap. But he who sows earlier can reap more. 

One phase of the innovation process is the 

“fuzzy front end,“ which is generally the stage in 

which future technologies are identified. Evonik 

has been working this fuzzy front end since late 

2008 with its Technology Foresight Team, an internal 

network of experts from all the business 

units, main service units, and Innovation Ma nagement 

Chemicals & Creavis. The network is the 

log ical continuation of earlier foresight activities 

of the Group and its predecessor companies. The 

main focus of this col laboration is the realization 

that while normal management processes identify 

and implement technological developments that 

lead to new businesses vital to the company’s 

future, the signs pointing to completely new innovation 

potential are rather difficult to read. 

Evonik’s Technology Foresight Team 

Dr. Masayuki Arai, Innovation Management Chemicals Japan 

Dr. Wolfgang Benesch, Evonik Energy Services 

Dr. Klaus Dorn, Performance Polymers Business Unit 

Dr. Jing Feng, Innovation Management Chemicals China 

Dr. Stefan Buchholz, Industrial Chemicals Business Unit 

Dr. Doris Holland, IPM Innovationsagentur 

Dr. Norbert Kern, Creavis Technologies & Innovation 

Dr. Friedrich Georg Schmidt, Coatings & Additives Business Unit 

Dr. Peter Schwab, Consumer Specialties Business Unit 

Dr. Manfred Stickler, Innovation Management Chemicals & Creavis 

Dr. Christoph Tontrup, Inorganic Materials Business Unit 

Dr. Christoph Weckbecker, Health & Nutrition Business Unit 

and associated partners. 

The Technology Foresight Team views itself as a network within the 

Group and began its work in September 2008. 

The value of genuine innovations compared to incremental 

improvements can be seen most clearly in the income-to-expenses 

ratio—but more often in the medium term than the short term! 

Creating new offerings/markets/industries 

Incremental innovations to existing offerings 

14 

86 

38 

62 

R&D-effort Revenue Margine 

Open innovation: To have the best possible chance of success, 

companies must experiment and react flexibly to changed conditions. 

Expanding the business model and integrating sources of external 

know-how, for example, creates an opportunity for successful 

innovation in new business fields 

61 

39 

Source: Harvard Business Review, October 2004 

Technology 

licensing 

Other firm’s market 

Firm 

boundary 

Spin-off 

New market 

Internal 

innovation 

projects 

Current 

market 

External 

innovation project 

Venture 

investment 

Technology 

in-licensing 

Technology 

acquisition 

TechScout 

Search Field 

Front end of innovation 

Idea realization and development 

Commercialization 

Source: Herzog (2008) 


I N N O V A T I O N M A N a G E M E N T 

Communication is pivotal 

in the matter 

As an everyday affair, technology foresight is a 

communication task—both within the Group and 

with organizations outside the Group. Only when 

information flows freely among participants can 

the foundation be laid for future developments. In 

this regard, openness to new ideas and technologies 

outside one’s own core business is vital. The 

paths of innovation are not linear, as we know 

this from the example of the security checkpoints 

for people at airports. The metal detectors used 

there are based on a sawing machine development 

in the lumber industry. 

As part of the innovation process, individual, 

perhaps abstruse-seeming ideas must be measured 

against market realities time and again with the 

help of experts inside and outside the network, 

and increasingly, highly specialized colleagues. 

Ultimately, then, technology foresight is broken 

down into short-term processes without losing its 

long-term perspective. 

On the other hand, it’s not enough to focus 

only on what the customer wants or to shelve an 

idea only because it lies outside current business 

activities. On the contrary, markets, needs, and society 

change, and no one now can say with certainty 

what opportunities will open up in five, ten 

or twenty years. The Internet is a vivid example 

of this. Until well into the 1990s, it was a technology 

for a select few specialists. Today, it plays a 

vital role in the commercial success of several 

com panies. 

In the process of selecting highly promising innovations, 

network participants will also inevitably 

produce “false negatives,” or misjudge the 

potential of ideas. This is why the Technology 

Fore sight Team also sees the need to continue 

monitoring the ideas and research findings gleaned 

from the innovation process, so it can present 

them to experts from the business units again at a 

later date, if needed. Viewing a new technology 

with a long-term perspective is essential to innovative 

capability. And as experience shows, the 

disruptive technologies tend to be found among 

the false negatives. 

Open innovation is the 

key to success 

For this long-term innovation strategy to succeed, 

Evonik must also be more open to third parties in 

its innovation process. Collaboration with academic 

partners, which is already happening in 

many areas of interest, is just the first step. External 

innovation projects, in-licensing or sale of 

technol ogies (for example, through start-ups) can 

be fur ther steps. For this reason, technology 

scouts from the individual units concerned with 

innovation should have these wide-ranging options 

on their radar screens if they are genuinely 

on the lookout for attractive new methods and 

ideas. 

Technology foresight calls for a long-term 

perspective. It’s not about technologies that can 

be developed rapidly. Moreover, real innovation 

doesn’t travel familiar roads but often occurs as a 

disruptive development—with proportionately 

greater consequences for the companies in that 

market. And although this is about long-term 

strategies, the individual steps of the innovation 

process must be designed for the short-term, because 

in the end, as the saying goes, „the future 

will be here before we know it.“ l 

DR. FRIEDRICH GEORG SCHMIDT 

Born in 1956 

Schmidt has been head of Innovation Management, 

New Technologies, in Evonik’s Coatings & Additives 

Business Unit since 2008. He studied chemistry at 

the Universities of Göttingen and Freiburg. After 

obtaining his doctorate and an assistantship at the 

University of Karlsruhe, he began his career in 1985 

in the central research department of the former 

Hüls AG in Marl. He moved to the Engineering 

Plastics Business Unit in 1986, where he was in 

charge of such products as VESTORAN® and 

VESTOBLEND®, and also directed the pilot plant for polymer blends. In 1996 he 

was a member of the Screening Committee at Hüls, which evaluated research 

topics for new business options. Beginning in 1997, he was a member of the 

management team at the then newly established Creavis unit, where he headed 

a variety of projects until 2002, when he took charge of product development 

in the former Coatings & Colorants Business Unit. 

+49 2365 49-4272, friedrich-georg.schmidt@evonik.com 


9

Chemical Umbrella for Buildings 

Frank König, Dr. Ralph Scheuermann 

Each year, moisture in buildings 

is responsible for billions of euros 

in commercial losses. Much of 

this damage can be avoided, however, 

because interfacial chemistry 

has a recipe to protect buildings 

from penetrating moisture. 

Experts from Evonik’s Consumer 

Specialties Business Unit have 

developed additives for drymix 

materials that make buildings 

water-repellent from day one. 



H 

Hydrophobizing building materials is not a 

recent invention. The ancient Egyptians 

treated their papyrus boats with salt solutions, 

and Alexander the Great had 

wooden bridge piers dipped in olive oil before 

they were erected. Then and now, the objective 

was the same: protect the material proactively 

against the incursion of moisture. The purpose of 

this „chemical umbrella“ is to prevent or at least 

greatly delay moisture damage to the building. 

Today, moisture in facades, masonry, bridges, 

and other architecture is considered as one of the 

most important factors contributing to building 

damage. Virtually no material is immune to the destructive 

power of moisture penetration. Wheth er 

masonry or cement, concrete, thermal insula tions 

or natural stone, whether brick or compo site 

structures—water destroys the inner cohesion of 

the material. As a result, precious monuments 

crumble, bridges lose their bearing capacity, and 

masonry becomes unstable. Each year, moisture 

in buildings is responsible for billions of euros in Moisture on buildings can result in 

commercial losses. 

microcracks through frost-thaw 

cycles (above), the efflorescence of 

The effects of water in the material vary. Moisture 

settles into the pores, freezes in the colder reduced thermal insulation, or 

mineral salts (middle), as well as 

months, and blows open microcracks in the stone. growth of microorganisms (below) 

Water promotes the growth of certain fungi and 

other microorganisms that cover facades with 

fouling and attack the stability of the structures 

with their mycelium. Moisture washes out certain 

salts that then effloresce on the surface. Water Prevention instead of repair 

also carries contaminants such as sulfur dioxide 

and nitrogen oxides from the outside air into the 

masonry and promotes the formation of corrosive 

acids. Not least, moisture reduces the insulating 

effect of walls, thereby increasing the energy 

consumption of buildings. 

Integrating water-repellence in the 

construction of new buildings can save 

billions of euros, thus preventing 

damage from moisture. This way, the 

time for the first renovation measures 

can be moved up significantly 

Ways in which buildings 

can take up water 

Rising damp 

In general, protecting existing buildings at a later 

stage is complicated and expensive. Cologne Cathedral 

and the well-known Church of the Holy 

Family in Barcelona are two outstanding examples 

of how long and difficult the fight against the 

destructive power of water is. Here, experts are 

try ing to impregnate the natural stone with waterrepellent 

and sorption-inhibiting coatings based 

on silicon. 

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of 

cure, so goes the saying, but the same is true for 

buildings and facades, too. In the past ten years, 

preventive measures against moisture have become 

increasingly relevant. Modern buildings are 

often planned with moisture protection in mind, 

since the selection of building materials can keep 

moisture damage to a minimum. 

>>> 

Driving rain 

Condensation in capillary 

Condensation 

above dew-point 

Hygroscopic 

water retention 

Osmosis 

Technical faults 

Infiltration of leak water 


11

Higher quality through finished products 

Thanks to the growing importance of drymix technology, 

this trend is gaining significant momentum. 

The selection of dry ready-mixed products 

has grown enormously in the past few years, because 

of the many key advantages of these formulations. 

They are easy to process and have long 

storage times. The properties of the finished building 

material are consistent and reliable, and easy 

processing at the construction site saves time and, 

therefore, costs. 

Above all, drymix products can meet the sharp 

increase in quality standards. Today’s materials 

must be “formula-proof,” so that expectations for 

the longevity of objects and warranty protection 

can be fulfilled. Ready-made formulations pay off 

over the long haul: They reduce renovation costs, 

because the integrated water repellence works 

far longer than surface coatings. 

Today’s mortars are complex products. Manufacturers 

mix anhydrous formulations that contain 

15 to 20 individual components. In addition to 

fillers and pigments, these mainly include additives 

that simplify workability, improve mechanical 

strength, shorten drying time, or control the air 

pore content as the prevention of tiny air holes. 

High standards for water-proofing agents 

Waterproofing agents play an increasingly important 

role in these complex formulations. The 

advantages are clear: If these water-repelling additives 

are added to the dry mortar during for mulation, 

the material and, later, the structural element 

receive a kind of “inner” compact and homogeneous 

protection. High demands are placed 

on the waterproofing agent, however. Capillary 

water uptake must be ruled out or at least greatly 

reduced—and permanently. If this is not the case, 

the first rehabilitation measures for a building can 

become necessary after only a few years. 

Drymix mixtures with water-repellent properties 

have been fixtures on the market for several 

years. But products that contain the impregnating 

additives based on stearates or oleates 

show limit ed water repellency and work only temporarily. 

A key advantage of drymix 

products: After they are mixed 

with water, they can be 

worked easily as flowing 

screed or with the trowel 



Siloxanes: sustainable protection 

through covalent binding 

Experts from Evonik’s Consumer Specialties Business 

Unit, on the other hand, have developed 

powdered impregnating materials based on organo 

modified siloxanes that can give the structural 

component optimal water-repellence over the 

long term. Organomodified siloxanes are chemical 

com pounds that also contain, in addition to dimethylsiloxy 

units [Me 2 SiO-], different organic 

endgroups. On the one hand, the silicon-oxygen 

back bone of these compounds gives them a high 

affin ity for the mineral construction material, and 

on the other hand, their organic endgroups impart 

a strong water repellency. As compounds, 

they are relatively inert chemically, and there - 

fore offer ideal protection for the building over 

de cades. 

Because the siloxane-based materials themselves 

are liquid, they are mixed into drymix formulations 

and applied to porous, primarily inorganic 

substrates. The end result is a fine, white 

powder that is easy to dispense and work. Behind 

their modest appearance lie true specialties optimally 

tailored to your area of application. 

Marketed under the brandname SITREN® this 

product family has proven its outstanding properties 

in countless studies. They preserve the natural 

water vapor permeability of the structural component, 

because it does not change the open pore 

structure of the material. They also leave the 

structure and color of the material unaffected—an 

extremely important factor for today‘s architecture. 

They allow surface treatment, such as painting 

with conventional dispersion paints. They 

show an excellent beading effect and the desired 

high stability, even in a strongly alkaline medium, 

because cementitious systems often have a high 

pH value. 

But above all, they provide structural components 

with long-term protection against moisture 

and the damage it can cause. The reason is that, 

unlike conventional metal soaps, SITREN® additives 

form permanent bonds with basic components 

of the mortar. This means they cannot be 

washed out later on. 

Test blocks containing a 0.25 percent dose of 

SITREN® additive were poured to verify longterm 

protection. For comparison purposes, the 

exact same blocks were produced from drymix 

mortar with conventional water-repellent metal 

soaps. The samples were pre-conditioned for several 

days in a humid environment, and then dried 

in an oven. For the actual test, the blocks were set 

on a water-saturated PU sponge, and the quantity 

of absorbed water was measured at defined time 

intervals (10 minutes to 72 hours). A sample without 

water repellency was used as the control. 

The water-absorption tests were repeated in four 

cy cles. Between cycles, each of the mortar blocks 

was dried in an oven at 80°C. 

In the tests, the samples impregnated with 

metal soaps showed an acceptable water-repellent 

effect. After the fourth cycle, however, the 

impregnation had more or less disappeared, because 

it had been washed out with the water. On 

the other hand, the samples hydrophobized with 

SITREN® not only showed more effective impregnation 

at the very beginning but remained 

water-repellent throughout all cycles. SITREN® 

ad ditives, therefore, ensure reliable and 

>>> 

Comparison between a brick 

water-proofed with SITREN® 

(background) and an untreated 

brick (foreground). In the 

untreated brick, moisture has 

caused mineral salts to float 

and effloresce on the surface 

The powdered impregnating 

materials of Evonik are 

based on organomodified 

siloxanes (left) 


13

With SITREN®, hydrophobized 

construction 

materials show very 

good beading effect 

without impairing the 

natural water vapor 

permeability 

Drymix products containing 

organomodified 

siloxanes-based additive 

developed by 

Evonik offer very good 

long-term protection 

against moisture. Even 

conventional dispersion 

paints can be easily 

applied. Now nothing 

stands in the way 

of a colorful cityscape 

long-term protection against damage caused by 

moisture penetration. 

The development of innovative hydrophobizing 

agents serves current developments in the 

construction market: drymix products based on 

formulas that allow long-term and high-quality 

construction are quite common today, and will be 

used even more widely in the future. Worldwide, 

about 85 million metric tons of drymix construction 

materials were sold in 2006. Experts predict 

that the market will more than double to 180 million 

metric tons by 2011. Particularly strong 

growth is expected in Asia, Eastern Europe, and 

South America. 

Growth is driven by the constantly rising demands 

for materials. The primary catalysts are 

grow ing productivity along the entire value-added 

chain in the construction industry, and the increasing 

importance of design and aesthetic aspects. 

Moreover, the demand for sustainable construction 

requires high longevity for buildings, innovative 

materials, and optimal energy efficiency. 

These, in turn, prevent costly rehabilitation or 

com promises in quality from the outset. l 

Comparison of the water uptake of drymix blocks that have been hydrophobized with 

SITREN® and with metal soaps. While water uptake significantly increases after the fourth cycle 

with metal soaps, it remains at the same low level throughout all cycles with SITREN® 

Control Metal soaps 1st cycle 4th cycle Sitren® P 750 1st cycle 4th cycle 

Water up-take (mg/cm 2 ) 

350 

300 

250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 

10 min 20 min 30 min 60 min 4 h 6 h 24 h 48 h 72 h 

FRANK KÖNIG 

Born in 1965 

Frank König heads the Innovation 

Management Industrial Formu la tors 

unit in Evonik’s Industrial Specialties 

Business Line. He started his career 

at Evonik Goldschmidt GmbH in 

Essen in 1981, holding several positions 

in various R&D units, Tech - 

ni cal Services, and in Sales & Marketing 

before assuming his current 

responsibilities. 

+49 201 173-2988, frank.koenig@evonik.com 

DR. RALPH SCHEUERMANN 

Born in 1972 

Ralph Scheuermann has been 

respon sible for development in 

the Industrial Formulators and 

Functional Materials segments 

since 2008. He studied chemis try 

at the Technical University of 

Clausthal. After graduation, he 

began his career in 2003 as an 

R&D employee in the Consumer 

Specialties Business Unit. 

+49 201 173-2195, ralph.scheuermann@evonik.com 


E v o n i k F o u n d a t i o n 

The foundation’s team: 

Susanne Peitzmann 

(advisor, left), Prof. 

Wolfgang Leuchtenberger 

(scientific consultant) 

and Managing Director 

Erika Sticht 

A Radar Screen for Good People 

New name, new logo, new program: the Evonik Foundation promotes select 

young talent and awards annual scholarships, especially for scientific research. 

M 

Melanie Thoß is a true child of the 

Ruhr Valley. Born into a mining family 

in Bochum, raised in Wattenscheid, 

she initially attended middle 

school (Realschule), then passed her qualifying 

exam for university entrance (Abitur) with the 

goal of studying medicine. The numerus clausus 

pre vented a direct path to her goal, so she chose 

biology instead, which meant she had to take 

chem istry. “I really liked it. It‘s so logical and, at 

the same time, aesthetic.“ She was certain now: 

she would stay in biology but write her thesis on 

a chemistry topic. 

That was three years ago. And because she 

fin ished her thesis with the perfect grade of 1.0, it 

is no surprise that she is now working on her doctorate, 

and should be finished in July 2010. The 

subject of her dissertation is “Synthesis of Fol damers 

from Chiral Binaphthyl Amino Acids.” 

Foldamers are folded molecules that imitate the 

tertiary structure of proteins in their size and 

structural complexity but are made up exclusively 

of synthetic components. The basic idea is to potentially 

recreate enzymes that carry out certain 

reactions faster than natural enzymes. “But we’re 

talking about basic research. Specific applications 

are not the main focus.” 

Her work is scheduled for three years. To concentrate 

on it completely—aside from some work 

for the institute, such as advising Diplom candidates—she 

looked around for scholarships and applied 

to Evonik Foundation (at that time Degussa 

Foundation). The jury found everything—her abilities, 

achievements, study plan—to its liking. And 

so Thoß received the Werner Schwarze Schol arship, 

which is fitting, since the long-time Degussa 

researcher Werner Schwarze (1913-2007) is the 

father of methionine, an essential amino acid vital 

to modern animal nutrition. Now Thoß can concentrate 

entirely on her degree, thanks to the stipend 

of €1,050 a month, which she thinks is “very 

good” and absolutely sufficient. 

Thoß is one of a total of 24 scholarship recipients 

who have been supported by Evonik Foundation. 

The foundation has been active under this 

name and with its new logo since the beginning of 

the year. Its goal is to promote young talent who 

are unable to finance their intended scien- 

>>> 


15

Scholarship recipient 

Oliver Busse works 

with vegetable oils as 

substitutes for gasoline 

in his laboratory in 

Dresden. “Regenerative 

chemistry,” he says, 

“fits Evonik.” (left) 

Fascinated by the 

beauty and logic of 

chemistry: Melanie 

Thoß researches 

synthetic amino acids 

at the University of 

Bochum—and without 

financial worries, 

thanks to a scholarship 

from Evonik Foundation 

(middle) 

tific education from their own funds, parental 

subsidies or donations from third-parties, and 

who are ineligible or no longer eligible for public 

funding options such as BAföG (Federal Training 

Assistance Act). 

Active sponsor 

“Even though I was a 

clear standout as a business 

student among all 

those natural scientists, 

I really enjoyed the foundation 

meetings, and my 

horizons are continually 

expanding thanks to my 

fellow scholarship recipients, 

who are really nice. 

Thank you for the wonderful 

time!” Henrik 

Matthies, former scholarship 

recipient (right) 

Erika Sticht is the managing director of the foundation. 

Together with Susanne Peitzmann, the advisor, 

and Prof. Wolfgang Leuchtenberger, the 

scientific consultant, she has created a new model 

for the foundation: “We want to transform ourselves 

from a passive into an active sponsor,” says 

Sticht. “We not only want to distribute money but 

to offer our scholarship recipients all-round support, 

as it were.“ The Executive Board agreed. In 

June, Executive Board Chairman Dr. Klaus Engel, 

Chief Human Resources Officer Ralf Blauth, and 

Dr. Peter Nagler, head of Innovation Management 

Chemicals & Creavis, approved the realignment 

of the endowment. 

This meant some very concrete changes. 

“Instead of supporting 24 scholarship recipients 

for one year, with the option of extending the 

scholarship one or two more years,“ says Peitzmann, 

„we’ll have ten recipients in the future 

who’ll receive a solid two years of funding, with 

the option of a one-time extension. This will offer 

our doctoral candidates greater planning security.” 

In the future, the foundation will also limit 

itself to fields that fit Evonik Industries. Cultural 

scholarships will be discontinued. 

But the changes don’t stop there. In the future, 

each scholarship recipient will be given a mentor. 

Dr. Stefan Buchholz, head of Innovation Management 

in the Industrial Chemicals Business Unit, 

will become the first mentor and offer scholarship 

recipients the opportunity to get an inside look at 

the company. They will also receive assistance in 

procuring technical literature and attending scientific 

meetings. In addition, scholarship recipients 

will be able to participate in the Evonik Perspectives 

program, which helps young talent stay 

in contact with Evonik and strengthens their loyalty 

to the company. 

“But everything is voluntary. There are no 

strings attached to the award of the scholarship,“ 

says Sticht. What kind of applicants are considered 

“We’re assisting really excellent people,” 

raves Leuchtenberger. The task of finding the right 

ones from the mountain of applications falls to him. 

“It‘s not enough to write a letter that says‚ I need 

your help.‘ The applicant must show what he has 

already accomplished, describe his topic clearly, 

and present a detailed working plan,” explains 


E v o n i k S t i f t u n g 

Evonik Foundation is continuing the activities of Degussa Foundation, 

which was originally endowed with €2.5 million. In two additional 

steps, the Degussa-Hermann-Schlosser Foundation and the Degussa- 

Konrad-Henkel Foundation were integrated into the foundation in 

September and October 2003. Evonik Foundation currently controls assets 

totaling over €7.2 million. Compared with the large foundations 

such as Bosch or VW, Evonik Foundation is a pretty small flower in the 

garden of German foundations. The Association of German Foundations 

estimates the total number of foundations in Germany to be about 

16,500. Like almost all other foundations, Evonik Foundation also has 

to accept losses. In 2009, the endowment awarded scholarships exclusively 

for master’s theses and dissertations for the following chemistry 

majors: organic chemistry, physical chemistry, chemical technology, 

macro-molecular chemistry, material sciences, and process engineering. 

For further informationen: www.evonik-stiftung.de 

Leuchtenberger, who is in close touch with the 

scientific community and, in addition to evaluating 

the application materials, also makes verbal 

inquiries. This is how applicants are screened 

before the Executive Board makes its decision. 

A wel come side effect: the foundation functions, 

according to Sticht, as a „radar screen for good 

people.“ 

People like Alexander Lygin. Alexander is 25. 

Born near Lake Baikal and raised in Moscow 

(Rus sia) he attended Lomonossov University and, 

at the tender age of 21, received his master’s degree 

in chemistry, graduating with a “red diploma,” 

the Russian equivalent of high honors or 

Summa Cum Laude. Unable to speak a word of 

German, he decided in consultation with his wife, 

who is also a chemist, to go to Germany to work on 

his doctorate. He has worked in Göttingen (“The 

City of Science”) now since 2006, has long since 

spoken fluent German, and feels very at home. 

The thing that impressed him the most when he 

saw Germany for the first time from the air was 

“the orderliness.” “All the fields were neat ly arranged. 

Everything in this country is quadratic, 

practical, good.” 

A collaborator on six patents 

Despite his young age, Lygin already has a substantial 

list of publications under his belt. He has 

collaborated on six patents. He came to Evonik 

Foundation through his doctoral advisor. His dissertation—on 

synthesis of heterocyclical compounds 

with potential biological activity—benefits 

basic research „but is not purely theoretical research.“ 

Despite his scientific ambitions, applied 

research is important to Lygin, who can see himself 

in corporate research in the future, rather than 

at the university. 

This is also the goal of Oliver Busse, who 

works with vegetable oils at the Dresdner Institute 

for Technical Chemistry, and studies how they 

react on porous, bi-functional catalyst systems. 

The goal is to use them in place of fossil fuels. His 

chemistry teacher (“I’m still in close contact with 

him”) kindled his love for these molecules. Busse, 

too, earned his master’s degree with a grade of 1.3 

and began his doctoral research in October 2008. 

“Regenerative chemistry,” he says, “fits Evonik.” 

His dissertation also lends itself to applied research, 

and like Lygin, he can see himself working 

in research and development. 

He has also spent some time getting to know 

Evonik. The scholarship recipients meet once a 

year. This year Busse and the others met in Hanau-Wolfgang; 

last year they met in Berlin. These 

meetings afford not only a glimpse inside the company 

but an introduction to some of the dissertation 

projects in roundtable discussions. 

And so here are three of a total of 24 scholarship 

recipients, who showed up on the radar screen 

of the Evonik Foundation by word of mouth, Internet 

research or the recommendation of their 

pro fessors, and all with the greatest chances of 

fulfilling their goals—hopefully, with Evonik in the 

near future. l 


17

C E N T O P R I M E ® 

Highly Selective Hydrogenation 

Dr. Jürgen Krauter, Dr. Daniel Ostgard 

The new CENTOPRIME® technology from Evonik allows the direct and 

highly selective conversion of nitriles to primary amines with a new type of 

catalyst developed by the Catalysts Business Line. Already used successfully 

in such processes as the synthesis of vitamin B1, this is a technology that 

lives up to its claims. 

T 

The catalytic hydrogenation of nitriles to 

their corresponding primary amines plays 

an important role in the commercial sector. 

The chemical industry, for example, 

uses nitriles to produce nylon (from adiponitrile), 

high-performance plastics (from diaminobutane), 

surfactants, emulsifiers, and numerous medicines 

such as the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor and 

the anti-convulsive Gabapentin for treatment of 

epilepsy. Based on a Murray Raney (patent 1927) 

development, the activated metal catalysts used in 

the reaction are powdered full-contact catalysts 

made of a transitional metal aluminum alloy from 

which the aluminum has been leached with caustic 

soda to a content of about seven percent by 

weight. Nickel is used most often as the transitional 

metal, but copper and cobalt are also used, 

albeit far less frequently. The catalysts obtained in 

this process are comparable to highly porous 

sponges saturated with hydrogen on the surface. 

If commercial-quality activated nickel catalysts 

are used in the hydrogenation of nitriles, secondary 

and tertiary amines also form as undesired byproducts. 

Figure 1 illustrates this for the example 

of benzonitrile hydrogenation. 

In the past, this problem was solved by adding 

amonia or alkali to the reaction mixture, which 

would promote formation of the primary amine by 

interfering with the chemical equilibrium. A drawback 

of this method, especially with more complex 

molecules, is that undesired reactions with 

the other functional groups can occur in these 

molecules. Furthermore, the use of ammonia is 

critical, particularly in terms of the technical reaction 

conditions, but also from the standpoint of 

safety, and the use of alkali shortens the lifespan 

of the catalyst. But even if these drawbacks are accepted, 

sel ectivity for conversion to the primary 

amine can be increased to more than 95 percent 

only in exceptional cases. >>> 

Figure 1 

Hydrogenation of benzonitrile 

to the primary amine using a 

commercial-quality activated 

nickel catalyst. The secondary 

reaction to the undesired 

secondary amine can be partially 

suppressed by adding ammonia 

or alkali 

Desired primary amine 

Undesired secondary amine 


C A T A L Y S I S 

of Nitriles to Primary Amines 


19

Up to 99 percent selectivity with 

new catalyst technology 

To remove this weakness, Evonik’s Catalysts Business 

Line has developed a completely new generation 

of catalysts. Even without the addition of 

ammonia, it offers selectivities of more than 80 

percent in the hydrogenation of nitriles to primary 

amines. Small amounts of ammonia allow these 

values to climb to as high as 99 percent. Previous 

catalysts could achieve a selectivity of between 

only 50 and 60 percent without ammonia. Evonik 

markets the patented technology under the trademark 

CENTOPRIME® (Patent WO 2006050749 of 

Evonik). 

The key to the success of this technology is in 

the systematic surface treatment of the catalyst, 

which creates defined nickel ensembles with a 

precise geometry. These are created through targeted 

application of carbonaceous precursors that 

ensure that parts of the surface are artificially 

“carbonized” at the end of catalyst production. 

This makes the catalytically active centers on the 

surface smaller than they are on the untreated catalyst. 

The result is steric effects that ensure the 

ca talysts are far more selective than the nontreat 

ed catalysts. Both nickel and cobalt can be 

used in this method of surface modification. 

Figure 3 

Vitamin B1 synthesis: the selectivity of various catalysts in the hydrogenation 

of pynitrile to the primary amine, as compared to CENTOPRIME® technology 

Primary amine Secondary amine Other products 

% Selectivity from pynitrile hydrogenation 

100 

1.7 

1.0 

1.3 0.2 

99.7 

99 

98 

97 

96 

1.9 

96.4 

2.2 

96.8 

Activiated Ni Activiated Co Ni/SiO 2 Centoprime® 

catalyst 

technology 

1.9 

96.8 

0.1 

Evonik´s Catalyis 

Competence Center in 

Hanau (Germany) 

Figure 2 

In vitamin B1 synthesis, pynitrile 

is hydrogenated to the corresponding 

primary amine, the 

“Grewe diamine.” About four 

percent byproduct is produced 

with conventional catalysts 

Desired Grewe diamine 

Undesired secondary amine 

s29 

20 element 

evonik science newsletter

C A T A L Y S I S 

Yields increased in 

the synthesis of vitamin B1 

In the synthetic production of vitamin B1, pynitrile 

is hydrogenated to the corresponding primary 

amine, the “Grewe diamine.” The mechanism 

shown in Figure 2 forms the undesired secondary 

amine. Typically, about four percent byproduct is 

produced in the presence of ammonia. This loss in 

yield is not an insignificant cost factor for the 

commercial scale. 

When CENTOPRIME® technology is used, 

Grewe amine yields increase to more than 99 percent 

(Fig. 3). This selectivity advantage has resulted 

in use of the new technology in the commercial 

manufacture of vitamin B1. Another advantage 

is the flexibility: because CENTOPRIME® 

technology can be transferred easily to other substrates, 

there are now numerous applications in 

fine chemicals. 

A new route to high-quality fatty amines 

A host of surfactants, such as those used as softeners, 

dyeing aids, disinfectants, bactericides and 

detergents, are based on fatty amines, which are 

obtained through the selective hydrogenation of 

fatty nitriles in the presence of ammonia (see 

Figure 4). The selectivity of the reaction can be 

judged with the naked eye: the clarity and fluid ity 

of the fatty amines that form depend on how many 

secondary, tertiary and saturated fatty amines 

were produced as byproducts. The more double 

bonds are retained, and the higher the selectivity 

to the primary fatty amines is, the clearer and 

more fluid the product is, and the better suited 

the surfactants produced from them are for the 

above-named applications. 

Typically, up to six percent secondary and tertiary 

fatty amines are produced during the hydrogenation; 

40 to 80 percent of the double bonds 

are retained. CENTOPRIME® technology also scores 

in this regard: It reduces the share of secondary 

and tertiary fatty amines to below three percent, 

while alkene retention increases to over 90 percent. 

This ensures that the fatty amines are colorless, 

clear and display good fluid properties, 

which not only allow the production of high-quality 

products but also open up other new applications 

for fatty amines. With the conventional 

technology, this was not possible. 

Also in this case the special structure of the 

nickel ensembles that determine the surface of 

the catalyst is the reason for the high selectivity of 

this technology. Steric effects prevent the formation 

of secondary and tertiary amines through the 

same mechanism as in the hydrogenation of the 

pynitrile in vitamin B1 production. Likewise, the 

high retention of the double bonds can be traced 

back to steric effects and the preference they 

create for absorption of the nitrile over the double 

bonds. 

Both examples show that continuous innovations 

are possible, even in the field of apparently 

mature nickel-catalyst technology. New technologies 

such as CENTOPRIME® help meet the constant 

challenges faced by industrial chemistry 

with regard to more efficient processes and improved 

products, and thereby provide the user a 

higher added value. l 

Contact 

DR. JÜRGEN KRAUTER 

Head of Marketing & 

Business Development 

Catalysts Business Line 

Evonik Industries 

+49 6181 59-8714 

juergen.krauter@evonik.com 

DR. DANIEL OSTGARD 

Senior Business 

Development Manager 

Catalysts Business Line 


+49 6181 59-4138 

dan.ostgard@evonik.com 

Figure 4 

Production of fatty amines 

A solid fatty amine with 

a low melting point 


21

The construction of new playing fields reveals a trend away from 

natural grass in favor of artificial turf. The German national soccer 

team had its debut on artificial turf in a match against Russia in 

Luschniki Stadium, Moscow, in October 2009. Germany won 1:0, 

securing early qualification for the World Cup 2010 

Green Art for a Kick 

New Coating Transforms Used Tires into Long-Lasting Artificial Turf 

Dr. Rainer Fuchs, Dr. Andreas Berlineanu 

Sports fields with artificial turf are growing in number and have definite 

advantages over fields with natural grass and hard courts: They are easy to 

maintain, usable year round, and elastic—easy on the bones and ligaments 

of the athletes. So it is no surprise that the International Federation of 

Association Football (FIFA) is now actively considering artificial turf as the 

ideal playing surface for big tournaments. A vital element of an artificial 

grass field is the infill, a centimeter-thick layer of rubber granulate between 

the grass fibers, whose properties have now been drastically improved by 

Evonik with a newly developed two-component coating. 



T 

The Salzburg Stadium has it, so does the 

Swiss Stadium in Bern, as well as the 

Luschniki Stadium in Moscow, where the 

German National Soccer Team held its 

World Cup qualification match against Russia: artificial 

turf. Once decried as inferior and cursed 

by players and trainers alike, artificial turf has 

now advanced so far that FIFA is actively promoting 

it globally. As a big advantage it creates 

play ing fields of uniform quality standards worldwide, 

in a great variety of climate zones—something 

natural grass cannot do, or can do only at 

great expense. 

In the countries of northern and southern 

Europe, the construction of artificial grass fields is 

driven more by climate than it is in Central Europe. 

Cold weather and too much rain in north ern 

Europe, or too little precipitation in southern Eu- 

A number of German soccer clubs, including 

from the upper leagues, now have training fields 

made of artificial turf because they are playable 

no matter what the weather is like. According to 

FIFA, there are currently 184 FIFA 1-star fields and 

141 FIFA 2-star fields made of artificial turf, worldwide. 

Two-star fields are approved for the 

Champions League. 

Man-made beats nature, even 

when it comes to costs 

Costs are another strong argument in favor of artificial 

turf. The landscape architecture company 

G. & L. Hoppe from Bremerhaven conducted a 

comparison study and determined that one hour 

of use on a natural grass field costs €100, on a 

“hard court“ almost €29, and on an artificial turf 

Infill: 

1–1.5cm; 

5kg/m 2 

Sand: 

1cm; 

15kg/m 2 

Short-piled turf with 

bound elastic base 

Blade 

height: 

1.5–2cm 

High-piled turf with 

high infill layer 

Infill: 

3–4cm; 

12–15kg/m 2 

The third, most recent 

generation of artificial 

turf systems: the shortpiled 

variety needs a 

bound elastic base 

course made of rubber 

granulate, and contains 

comparatively little 

infill. With the highpiled 

variety, on the 

other hand, only the 

infill provides the 

required elasticity. 

This is why it contains 

significantly more 

rubber granulate as 

infill 

Bound 

elastic base 

5–35mm 

(GTR 

Ø 2–7mm) 

Soil, asphalt, or concrete 

Sand: 

1cm; 

15kg/m 2 

rope make it difficult—and expensive—to maintain 

the same level of quality of a natural grass field. 

But the general trend towards expensive hightech 

stadiums, which are increasingly be coming 

multiple-event venues, makes an artificial turf 

surface more attractive and economical. Today a 

soccer field, next week a rock concert—with a natural 

grass field, the only option is complete replacement. 

With artificial turf, however, the field 

can even be covered and overlaid with an ice rink. 

Only a few days after the ice rink is melted off and 

the covering is removed, the artificial grass is playable 

again—as was the case recently at the Salzburg 

Stadium. 

field only €20. The study took into consideration 

both the construction and maintenance costs, as 

well as the potential utilization of the surface over 

the course of the year. 

The fibers of artificial grass are made of polypropylene, 

polyethylene, or polyamide. A layer of 

sand is scattered between the fibers to weigh 

down the artificial grass carpet, and then a layer 

of rubber granulate, the „infill,“ is applied to impart 

the required elasticity. The quantities are 

considerable: depending on the type of artificial 

turf, 5 to 15 kg of rubber granulate is required per 

square meter. The entire structure is permeable to 

water, so even large amounts of rainwater >>> 


23

The UV test developed 

by the Project House 

Functional Films & 

Surfaces and the Technology 

Service Center 

of the Wolfgang 

Industrial Park provides 

reliable data on the 

long-term stability of 

the infill. From left to 

right: Frank-Dieter 

Kuhn, Rainer Fuchs, 

Doris Schneider, 

Marisa Cruz 

do not form puddles but instead flow out through 

the drainage system located under the turf. 

Artificial turf infill is made predominantly from 

recycled scrap tires, which accrue worldwide at 

the rate of twelve million metric tons per year—or 

about 1.6 billion used tires. Ground tire rubber 

(GTR) has several drawbacks that make it unpopular 

among many artificial turf owners and players: 

it heats up strongly in the sun, makes both the 

ball and the goal posts black over time, and smells 

strongly. Little by little, rainwater also washes 

zinc ions out of the GTR infill. Zinc ions originate 

from the zinc oxide in the rubber granulate, 

which acts as crosslinking catalyst during tire production. 

This is why GTR infills are prohibited in 

Italy, for example. 

Other suppliers have reacted to these weaknesses 

of GTR infill by marketing products made of 

ethylene-propylene-diene monomers (EPDM) or 

thermoplastic elastomers (TPE). They have three 

to five times the cost of GTR infill, and from an 

environmental standpoint, are not a sustainable 

product because they are not made from recycled 

materials. 

Moreover, once they are used in artificial turf 

fields, EPDM infills have shown little aging resistance, 

and as observed in many cases in the recent 

past, are not abrasion-resistant. TPE infills also display 

weaknesses in this regard, and are extremely 

expensive. One alternative on the market is polyurethane-coated 

GTR infills. But because of their 

UV sensitivity, they darken severely over time 

and therefore are not weather-resistant. 

The solution: POLYVEST® 

A manufacturer of artificial turf infills approached 

Evonik and asked for a creative solution to the 

problems with GTR. A coating was desired that 

not only retains substances such as zinc ions or 

odors in the granules, but protects the ground tire 

rubber against UV light, water and reactive envi- 

The coating developed by Evonik 

for ground tire rubber reliably 

protects against external influences 

and dependably retains odors and 

zinc ions. It is also non-toxic, has 

the proper elasticity, does not discolor 

or darken, has a low heat 

up in sunlight, and lasts for five to 

ten years—at acceptable costs 

Ozone 

Water 

Sunlight (UV) 

Oils 

Odor 

Zn ++ Color 

Abrasion 

24 element30 evonik science newsletter


ronmental gases such as ozone or oxygen. It also 

had to be non-toxic, have the right elasticity, and 

adhere well to the rubber granulate. Moreover, it 

should not darken or discolor, and should have a 

lifetime of five to ten years. And absolutely essential: 

the costs for this coating should remain reasonable. 

This is why the Functional Films & Surfaces 

Project House first scouted the Group to find 

high ly promising products. In the end, the key to 

their success was a special product based on 

POLYVEST®, a functionalized polybutadiene. Because 

of its similarity to rubber, it can adhere well 

to the surface of GTR granules through chemical 

reactions. Following application and curing, the 

highly cross-linkable coating developed with these 

components is very flexible yet sufficiently hard, 

thus ensuring that GTR granules and coating form 

an elastic overall system that fully meets the highest 

demands. 

The coating was developed by the Coatings & 

Additives Business Unit. As part of the process, 

the Project House used a newly developed practice-oriented 

test system to study the coated rubber 

granulates. The obtained test results strongly 

influenced the further optimization of the coating 

formulation at the Coatings & Additives Business 

Unit. After more than 50 different, continuously 

optimized coating formulations, a coating has now 

been developed that optimally meets all the requirements 

for use on rubber granulates. 

The coating consists of a hardener and a binder 

component. The hardener component is a 

special product based on a functionalized polybutadiene. 

The binder component contains a binder, 

filler, pigments, and other products from Evonik. 

These are coating additives that stabilize the degree 

of dispersion of the pigments necessary for 

coloration, ensure abrasion-resistance and antisettling 

behavior. 

On the way to the market 

In 2008, Evonik set up its first artificial turf field— 

in the “Stadion am Badeweiher” belonging to the 

Marl Chemical Park. The artificial turf is used 

year round, particularly for soccer training, and 

ex perience has been completely positive: The artificial 

turf has the familiar advantages—highly 

elastic, easy to maintain, durable and playable in 

wind and weather. Encouraged by the positive results 

with the field, Evonik has greatly stepped up 

the development work for a new artificial turf infill 

material based on a new coating. The alternative 

developed by Evonik is abrasion-resistant, 

UV-resistant, non-toxic and reliably retains odors 

and zinc ions. It has proven to be superior >>> 

”Very close to natural grass“ 

As of 2008, the athletic field of the Marl Chemical Park has featured a 

state-of-the-art artificial turf that meets the highest standards of quality. 

The turf is the result of close cooperation between Infracor GmbH, 

a wholly owned subsidiary of Evonik that operates the Marl Chemical 

Park, and the Functional Films & Surfaces Project House, which had 

worked intensively with infill materials for artificial turf in the preliminary 

stages. 

Today, well over 1,000 active members of works-related sports clubs 

train and play on the artificial turf. The popularity of the athletic ground 

extends well beyond the bounds of Marl. In September 2009, the U18 

of the German national soccer team held an international match against 

Burkina Faso. Even the German Soccer Federation praised the athletic 

ground in front of the gates of the Marl Chemical Park. 

Jürgen Krakau of 

Infracor is responsible 

for the athletic 

ground and gives his 

assessment of the 

artificial turf 

What’s so special about artificial turf 

Krakau: Despite the mechanical demands of play and the stress of the 

sun, rain and frost, a field like that can be used 24 hours a day, 365 days 

a year. You can’t do that with natural turf or with a conventional hard 

court (clay court). 

How hard is it to maintain 

Krakau: The infill material is uniformly redistributed on the field 

through weekly removal with a Kleinschlepper and the proper cultivation 

equipment. The field also gets a thorough cleaning once a year. 

Natural turf or hard courts have to be regularly chalked and damage to 

the playing field repaired, not to mention the watering, mowing and 

fertilizing required by natural grass. 

What do trainers and players have to say about artificial turf 

Krakau: In Marl, we have the latest generation of artificial turf. It has 

a reputation well beyond our city for high quality, and optimal and 

consistent playing conditions. Players like it because the force dissipation 

and the damping of the playing field is nearly 70 percent. These 

values exceed the requirements of FIFA 2-star quality by a wide 

margin. A natural motion sequence, perfect grip, and protection of 

musculature, joints, tendons, and ligaments are also highly praised by 

both players and trainers. 


25

GTR 

production 

Used tires 

The path from used tire 

to artificial turf. Beginning 

in 2010, Evonik will 

supply the two-com - 

ponent coating for rub - 

ber granulates, obtained 

from scrap tires (GTR, 

ground tire rubber), to 

manufacturers of 

artificial turf infill 


Coating 

GTR 

Used tire recyclers 

Coated GTR 

GTR 

coating 

Installed artificial turf 

Artificial turf system suppliers 

Infill 

in virtually all properties to the traditional GTR infills 

or other coatings or uncoated infill products — 

and the base material, the ground rubber, is a recycled 

product. 

In line with Evonik’s philosophy of supplying 

not only components but a well-thought-out system, 

Creavis Technologies & Innovation, the strategic 

research unit of Evonik for its chemical activities, 

will begin supplying the ready-made twocomponent 

coating to artificial turf manufacturers 

beginning in 2010. Several playing fields are scheduled 

to be equipped with this coated GTR infill as 

early as next year. 

Crucial to this successful new development 

was a new test system that allowed a variety of 

import ant requirements for the product to be 

tested rea listically, fast, and precisely. The DIN 

for artificial turf provided no clues to these requirements, 

since its standards for the infill material 

are often quite low. The abrasion test and the UV 

test were important components of the self-developed 

test system, because both methods allow 

reliable conclusions to be drawn about the longterm 

stability of the infill. In addition to the Functional 

Films & Surfaces Project House, the Technology 

Service Center of the Wolfgang In dus trial 

Park contributed significantly to the development 

of the UV test. 

Like the coating formulations, the test methods 

are patented worldwide. Deliberations are already 

underway to recommend one or more of 

the tests developed at Evonik as the future standard 

for infills, so that more realistic and meaningful 

specifications can be integrated into the 

current norm. 

Good market prospects 

The market prospects for coated GTR are good, 

as the trend away from natural turf and towards 

artificial turf in the construction of new athletic 

fields continues. In Europe, GTR is still the most 

popular choice for artificial turf. An infill made 

from coated used tire granulate is also currently 

used, but it has little UV resistance. There are also 

EPDM and TPE infills in the market. 

Depending on the type of artificial turf used, 

between 35 and 100 metric tons of infill is required 

per field—a practical and, above all, sustainable 

application for at least some of the used tires 

that accrue each year. Evonik’s use of the coating 

offers a “green future” for these used tires. l 

DR. ANDREAS BERLINEANU 

Born in 1958 

Andreas Berlineanu (left) has worked for 

various companies in the coatings industry for 

several years. He has been responsible for the 

multi-faceted applications engineer ing for liquid 

polybutadienes in the Coatings & Additives 

Business Unit since September 2001. In the 

Coatings & Additives Business Unit, Andreas 

Berlineanu, Kirsten Luce, Siegfried Jittenmeier, 

Nicole Dudek and Margit Bukohl (from l to r) 

are responsible for development of the coating 

system for rubber granulate infill. 

+49 2365 49-5497 

andreas.berlineanu@evonik.com 

DR. RAINER FUCHS 

Born in 1958 

Rainer Fuchs has been an employee of 

Evonik since 1990, and worked on 

various active oxygen products and 

environmental projects in R&D and 

applications engineering. He has 

worked at Creavis Technologies & 

Innovation since late 2004, and has 

been project manager of the Coated 

GTR project in the Functional Films 

& Surfaces Project House in Hanau- 

Wolfgang since July 2006. 

+49 6181 59-6468 

rainer.fuchs@evonik.com 


news 

+++ “Area of Competence Days” point to perspectives in Biotechnology 

White biotechnology is becoming a major driver of growth and 

innovation in the chemical industry of the 21st century. This was 

the assessment recently made by one of Evonik Industries’ largest 

professional conferences on white biotechnology in Marl. The 

event, Bio Business Perspectives, brought together some 150 company 

employees, business leaders, and politicians in September 

2009. The discussion centered on new biotech processes and 

prod ucts to meet the needs of tomorrow. Thanks to its low energy 

and resource intensity, white biotechnology is already scoring 

many points as an alternative to conventional contemporary 

chem ical processes. The two Area of Com petence Days held at 

Evonik underscored, however, that the economic and ecological 

potential of this technology is far from exhausted. 

“White biotechnology means new methods, new possibilities, 

and new markets based on nature,” said Patrik Wohlhauser, chairman 

of the Management Board at Evonik Degussa GmbH. “Fewer 

CO 2 emissions, lower energy consumption, and higher efficiency 

– these advantages of white biotechnology are particularly welcome 

news in difficult times. The health, nutrition, and cosmetics 

markets continue to open up new growth opportunities for biobased 

products,” Wohlhauser continued. “As one example Evonik 

has already established several products in the cosmetics market 

that were made using biotech processes. This includes ceramides, 

which regulate the various cellular processes of the skin,“ added 

Dr. Peter Nagler, head of Innovation Management Chemicals & 

Creavis at Evonik. 

In their business unit presentations, Evonik’s experts discussed 

today’s biotechnology business, with all its opportunities and 

risks, and highlighted potential growth areas. Speakers from other 

companies and from the industry peer group analyzed the business 

perspectives of biotechnology from their views along the 

supply chain. Thus, Christophe Rupp-Dahlem, director of the vegetal-based 

chemistry program of the French company Roquette, 

introduced the fermentative production of succinic acid from glucose. 

The acid can be used in the manufacture of new materials, 

and a demo plant is scheduled to become operational this year, 

with a first production plant to follow two years later. “Industrial 

biotechnology will be a cornerstone of our future bio-product 

technologies,” Rupp-Dahlem emphasized. 

Patrik Wohlhauser (left), chairman of the 

Management Board at Evonik Degussa GmbH, 

and Dr. Peter Nagler, head of Innovation 

Management Chemicals & Creavis at Evonik 

+++ CyPlus® commissions Cold Caro’s Acid systems in Brazil 

CyPlus GmbH, an Evonik subsidiary, has succeeded in commissioning 

two Cold Caro’s Acid systems for Concord, New Hampshire, 

USA-based Jaguar Mining Inc. at their Turmalina and Paciencia 

gold-mining operations in Brazil. The systems treat cyanide-containing 

effluent. Cold Caro’s Acid is a powerful oxidant that is 

produced in situ by adding hydrogen peroxide to concentrated 

sulfuric acid. It is used in gold extraction to convert cyanide into 

cyanate. “The CyPlus® system is a proven process that achieves a 

yield of more than 80 percent of Cold Caro’s Acid,” says Stephen 

Gos, manager of Technology Solutions at CyPlus GmbH in Hanau- 

Wolfgang. The advantage of the CyPlus® system is that the heat 

from the reaction can be controlled and kept at low levels, thus 

ensuring safe operation. 

A feasibility study conducted by CyPlus® in its laboratories in 

Germany shows that the Cold Caro’s Acid process outperforms 

other effluent-treatment systems. Basing its decision on the feasibility 

study and the basic engineering package, Jaguar choose to 

install the CyPlus® system for generating Cold Caro’s Acid. Besides 

keeping cyanide levels in check, the system is highly efficient 

as regards hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid consumption. 

“We require low cyanide discharge levels for our operations 

and it is essential to perform this economically. With the CyPlus® 

Cold Caro’s Acid systems, we expect to reduce reagent consumption 

by more than 30 percent, achieving the same low cyanide 

levels of 10 ppm or better. The results from the commissioning 

phase indicate that we made the right choice,” says Mauro Salim, 

project manager for both of the Jaguar Mining operations. 

This CyPlus® process is especially 

suitable for treating 

cy anide-containing effluents 

from ore processing operations 

in order to comply with 

stringent limits such as those 

set by the International Cyanide 

Management Code, the 

World Bank, and local authorities. 

CyPlus® Cold Caro’s Acid system at 

the Turmalina gold mine (Brazil) 


27

+++ New license agreement for vanadium-doped precious metal powder catalysts 

The Catalysts Business Line of Evonik Industries and 

the Swiss-based company Solvias AG have renewed 

their license agreement for vanadium-doped precious 

metal powder catalysts for the hydrogenation of nitro 

compounds. Evonik will continue to market these catalysts, 

which were developed by Solvias, on an exclusive 

basis but the underlying business model has been 

greatly simplified effective October 1, 2009. “Anyone 

purchasing these catalysts from Evonik now automatically 

acquires the right to utilize the technology,” 

explains Dr. Jürgen Krauter, head of Marketing at 

Evonik’s Catalysts Business Line. “Additional license agreements and fees will 

no longer be necessary. What remains is a high-performing technology that 

converts even complicated nitro compounds into amines reliably and with 

high yields.” 

The vanadium-doped precious metal powder catalysts can be used for selective 

hydrogenation of nitro aromatics. Their advantage compared with 

other catalysts is that they do not target the halogen substituents in the target 

molecule. That makes handling nitro compounds safer and generates fewer 

by-products. 

For highly complex nitro aromatics Evonik offers a second form of this 

cat alyst which is additionally modified with hypophosphoric acid. This is used 

where other catalysts reach their limits: When the target molecule contains 

reactive components such as double and triple bonds, carbonyl groups or 

highly reactive oxime groups as well as halogens. Here too, the catalyst ensures 

selective hydrogenation of the nitro group only and thus obviates the 

need for time-consuming use of protective groups 

Solvias uses technology for customized process optimization 

Solvias will continue to use this technology for customized process development 

and optimization. “This technology complements Solvias’ broadly based 

expertise in heterogeneous catalysis, which ranges from the development of 

heterogeneous catalysis technologies and high-pressure hydrogenation 

through the implementation of manufacturing processes to process development 

and scale-up in our GMP laboratories,” comments Dr. Stephan Haitz, 

head of Marketing & Sales at Solvias. This Swiss company thus retains access 

to the entire platform of technologies for hydrogenation of nitro groups with 

vanadium-based catalysts. Alongside the ready-to-use vanadium-doped catalysts 

marketed by Evonik, this includes in-situ variants comprising platinum 

catalysts to which a vanadium salt is added during the reaction. 

Potential applications for vanadium-doped 

precious metal powder catalysts 

+++ High-pressure for VESTAMID® PA 12 

A new high performance thermoplastic polyamide (PA) pipe that 

is less expensive to install and easier to maintain than traditional 

steel pipe has been introduced for the first time in North America. 

Evonik´s VESTAMID® LX9030 offers exceptional performance 

for high-pressure applications which helps gas companies effectively 

design their underground infrastructure without sacrificing 

flow capacity. Researchers estimate that PA 12 pipe has significant 

labor and installation savings over steel. 

„PA 12 is an excellent alternative to steel pipe in high-pressure 

applications up to 18 bars for gas distribution lines,“ said Dennis 

Jarnecke, program manager at Gas Technology Institute (GTI), a 

research, development and training organization in USA serving 

energy and environmental markets. „It has been used as fuel lines 

in cars and for air brake tubing in trucks. Now we see great potential 

for its use in gas delivery systems.“ 

Officials at Energy West, a Montana-based (USA) gas utility 

and energy supplier that is laying three miles (about 4.8 km) of 

VESTAMID® PA 12 pipe for a natural gas distribution system along 

Interstate 15 frontage roads outside Great Falls, agree. They are 

home to the first installation of VESTAMID® PA 12 gas pipe in an 

established public right of way in the United States. 

Less expensive to install 

„There are numerous benefits to utilizing PA 12 pipe,“ said Ed 

Kacer, general manager of Energy West. „The material is lightweight 

and allows for faster construction than steel, while maintaining 

higher volumes associated with higher pressures. Instal lation 

can be accomplished using a smaller construction crew, saving 

time and money.“ 

In addition, Kacer said, very little initial investment is required 

for construction teams because the same equipment and processes 

are used when installing VESTAMID® PA 12 pipe as other plastic 

pipe. „Today, it’s getting harder to find qualified welders and 

many utilities contract their welding,“ he explains. „We used our 

existing plastic fusion equipment and the fusions looked as good 

as a weld. Working with PA 12 was a very positive experience.“ 


news 

To meet the needs of Energy West, Evonik—working jointly 

with GTI—coordinated a system of VESTAMID® PA 12 straight 

and coiled pipes and fittings. Extruded in diameters ranging from 

32 to 160 mm, VESTAMID® PA 12 pipes can be manufactured as 

straight pipe and on coils, depending on the diameter and wall 

thickness. This flexibility in length—particularly for long stretches 

of installation—saves money by reducing time spent fusing pipe 

ends together. 

Equipment used in the installation of both straight and coil 

pipe did not require any modification. The heat fusion process for 

joining two ends of VESTAMID® PA 12 is easier and faster than 

connecting steel pipes benefiting the bottom line. 

Compliance with pipeline integrity regulations is also more 

cost-effective. „Traditional steel pipe must adhere to corrosion 

control and cathode protection requirements which add to a company’s 

expense,“ says Jarnecke. „PA 12 is corrosion resistant and 

has labor and installation savings over steel.“ 

Federal and State pipeline safety officials, including representatives 

from the U.S. Department of Transportation, were in 

attendance in Great Falls to observe the installation, which went 

according to plans. 

Easier to maintain 

More importantly, said Andreas Dowe, Evonik’s Market 

Development Manager for oil and gas applications, VESTAMID® 

PA 12 provides users with a comparable alternative to steel pipe 

for distribution of natural gas. „We believe this innovative material 

will revolutionize the gas transportation industry in the United 

States“, he says. „It’s less expensive to install, easier to handle, and 

maintenance over the long term is less than traditional steel pipe.“ 

And he completes: „We are sure that the benefits will prevail also 

in other regions worldwide.“ 

In research performed by GTI and sponsored by Operations 

Technology Development, NFP (OTD), PA 12 has been evaluated 

for use as gas-distribution piping in North America, and technical 

support necessary to obtain regulatory approval for its use in the 

U.S. was developed. Extensive testing of materials resulted in a 

comprehensive database of the physical properties of PA 12 pipe 

and demonstrated conformity to ASTM standards. 

VESTAMID® PA 12 pipe 

ends are joined using 

a heat fusion process that 

is easier and faster than 

connecting steel pipes, 

benefiting the bottom 

line (above) 

VESTAMID® PA 12 pipe 

coils reduce labor and 

installation costs (below) 


29

P L E X I G L A S ® 

Innovative Light Management with 

Dr. Sandra Reemers, Dr. Heiko Rochholz, Grant Lafontaine, Pete Marks 

Uniform room lighting with high light yield or solar concentrators that costeffectively 

concentrate the sunlight onto smaller solar cells: The microstructuring 

of plastic surfaces offers a wide range of potential applications. Thanks to the 

joint efforts of the Functional Films & Surfaces Project House and the Performance 

Polymers Business Unit, this pathbreaking technology is now available 

to Evonik Industries, and gives PLEXIGLAS®, the market leader among hightransparency, 

weather-resistant engineering plastics, new value-adding 

properties. PLEXIGLAS® covers with high-precision prismatic structures allow 

uniform room lighting without glare. 

P 

PLEXIGLAS®, a transparent plastic made from 

polymethyl methacrylate, boasts not only 

high stress cracking resistance and heat 

deflection temperature but also outstanding 

optical properties. Accordingly, PLEXIGLAS® 

covers for lighting fixtures meet the highest standards 

of functionality. But it does so without compromising 

aesthetics: sophisticated designs for 

trans parent diffusers can be realized for both the 

standard lighting and premium lighting sectors by 

forming PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds in the 

injection-molding or profile extrusion process, or 

cutting them from extruded sheets. 

Because of its outstanding optical properties, 

such as transparency and clarity, a major portion 

of the acrylic produced each year is used in technical 

lighting applications, often for customers 

from the lighting industry. About 8 percent of the 

acrylic glass in Western Europe is processed in 

the lighting market. The market for lighting, lamps 

and lighting control systems as a whole is about 

€10 billion (2008) in Western Europe. 

Surfaces that are changing the world 

The functionality of a plastic like PLEXIGLAS® depends, 

on the one hand, on the properties of the 

polymer itself, which define the mechanical and 

thermal characteristics of the material, as well as 

its color and transparency. On the other hand, it 

offers the opportunity to use the structure of the 

surface to direct the light that falls on it, thereby 

selectively influencing the optical properties. 

Here, the size, geometry, and distance of the 

surface structures control the optical properties 

of the plastic. If the structure size lies within the 

size of the visible light—a wavelength of 600 nm 

corresponds to a structure size of 0.0006 mm— 

diffractive effects occur. These optical effects are 

used, for example, to manufacture safety holograms 

and anti-reflective display cover films for 

mobile phones and laptops. 

Refractive effects occur with structures that 

are larger than the optical wavelength—the size of 

a human hair, for example, but also much 

>>> 

Influence of the structure size on optical properties, such as the 

transmission and reflection behavior of a transparent plastic (λ = wavelength) 

Structure size >> λ Structure size = λ Structure size

D E S I G N I N G W I T H P O L Y M E R S 

High-Precision Microstructures 

Precisely structured 

PLEXIGLAS® covers provide 

uniform illumination of 

rooms without glare 


31

larger structures. The light is refracted on the 

sur face—very much like light on the surface of 

water. 

To take this idea a step further, light can be 

directed in such a way that it spreads in a defined 

direction after it penetrates the surface. The action 

is created through surface structures that function 

like small prisms. Evenly arranged over the entire 

surface, their individual light-deflecting actions 

combine to create an overall effect observable on 

the macroscopic scale. And this effect becomes 

even stronger the more precisely the microstructures 

are formed and compatible with each other. 

Lighting designers, architects, and engineers in 

building and solar technology are particularly interested 

in using these opportunities of selectively 

distributing and directing light. 

Selectively and precisely structuring the surface 

gives developers the opportunity to direct, 

bundle or scatter light evenly. How polymer surfaces 

can be technologically functionalized through 

microstructuring is a research focus of the Functional 

Films & Surfaces Project House, which 

Evonik started in Hanau in January 2007. An innovative 

technology platform for high-precision 

microstructuring of PLEXIGLAS® films and sheets 

was also developed as part of the project. 

Light management meets design 

Ceiling lighting in offices should light the workplace 

evenly without causing reflections on PC 

monitors. This kind of glare is caused by lateral, 

downwardly inclined rays from ceiling lights. This 

is why conventional grid lighting is equipped with 

special aluminum grids that direct light rays that 

radiate above an angle of 60° downward. 

To selectively direct, bundle and distribute 

light, as well as minimize scatter losses, the surface 

structures must be precisely formed. This exceptionally 

high precision is a hallmark of quality 

of the surface structures that Evonik produces 

with the help of its new technology platform. 

Accordingly, the areas of the structures here have 

very minimal edge roughness. Because the quality 

of the pyramid edges determines the path the 

light rays take when they hit them, rough surfaces 

scatter light rays in all directions, causing scatter 

effects and losses. The smoother the edge surfaces 

are, however, the more selectively they direct the 

light rays in a particular direction, no matter which 

angle the light falls, and the better the effect and 

light yield. 

Precision saves energy 

For defined light direction, it is also important that 

the points of the pyramid are rounded as little as 

possible, since rounded edges direct light im precisely 

and generate scatter losses. The pattern 

ma nu factured by Evonik scores in this regard too. 

The radii at the points of the internal edges are so 

small that no demonstrable scatter losses occur. 

The highly precise light redirection also ensures 

that less energy has to be used for lighting the 

room—while simultaneously creating more comfortable 

lighting conditions—than with conventional 

grid lighting, which simply blocks the light. 

>>> 

Based on the standard for lighting 

workplaces, lights must be antiglare 

for the sake of ergonomics. 

To this end, light rays that radiate 

above an angle of 60° must be 

directed downward 

New Plexiglas® 

covering 

No glare 

Glare 

Glare 


D E S I G N I N G W I T H P O L Y M E R S 

High-precision: a structured 

PLEXIGLAS® surface produced by 

Evonik. In lighting fixture covers, 

the material ensures that light 

that would otherwise shine in all 

directions (below left) is guided 

at a defined angle and thus 

causes no glare (below right) 

100% defined light distribution 

PLEXIGLAS® hight-precision structures 

High-precision structures are 

required for efficient light 

management. Roughness or 

curves in the structure lead to 

scatter effects—they also glare 

and lower light yields (below) 

40% undefined 

Poorly formed structures 

60% defined 


33

A more efficient inline process 

Comparison with products already on the market 

reveals that the microstructures produced by 

Evonik display a precision heretofore unrealized. 

This is possible thanks to a special process that 

also lends itself to inline extrusion. The option of 

inline processing is a key competitive advantage, 

as is the fact that all chemicals, materials and processes 

used at Evonik are available in-house. 

Evonik has proven in an array of tests that the 

technology delivers on its promises. With this 

tech nology, the kinds of large formats that can no 

longer be achieved in the injection-molding process, 

for example, can be realized quite cost-effectively. 

This offers lighting manufacturers greater 

design freedom because it allows them to cut flexible 

formats, for example. 

In addition to pyramids, other prismatic structures 

can be custom-engraved into the PLEXIGLAS® 

surface. The Performance Polymers Business Unit 

offers its customers assistance in the complete development 

of lighting—from conception of the technical 

lighting design, through optical simulations, 

all the way to production of PLEXGLAS® sheet 

prod ucts for light covers. With these special structures 

from Evonik, customers can equip their 

lighting series with individual structures and special 

effects, thereby creating a unique selling 

point in this increasingly competitive market. Film 

and sheet strengths of fractions of a millimeter up 

to 20 milli meters are possible. 

But the technology can serve more than just 

the lighting market. There is also an array of possible 

applications that can be used to tap other 

mar ket segments. One highly attractive field of 

ap plication is solar concentrator systems, which 

use PLEXIGLAS® sheets with a microstructure 

that forms a linear or radial Fresnel lens to direct 

incident light to a small, highly efficient photovoltaic 

element. With the development of the technology 

platform for surface structuring, the project 

house and the Performance Polymers Business 

Unit have worked hand-in-hand to create the 

framework necessary for this technology. l 

DR. SANDRA REEMERS 

Born in 1977 

As senior project manager in the Functional Films & 

Surfaces Project House, Sandra Reemers is responsible 

for the Structuring of Polymer Surfaces project. 

In addition to building a technology platform, the 

aim of the project is production of demonstrators for 

optical applications. Reemers studied chemistry at 

RWTH Aachen and earned her doctorate there at the 

Institute for Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, 

working with Prof. Martin Möller in the area of 

surface modification. She completed part of the work 

on her degree in the Printable Electronics unit of the Nanotronics Science-to- 

Business Center of Evonik Industries. In mid 2007 she began her career at Evonik 

as an employee of the project house in the field of surface functionalization, 

before accepting her current position in early 2008. 

+49 6181 59-2439, sandra.reemers@evonik.com 

DR. HEIKO ROCHHOLZ 

Born in 1977 

Heiko Rochholz works in the Business Development 

unit of Evonik’s Performance Polymers Business Unit. 

Since early 2008, he has also taught optics and image 

processing at Darmstadt University. Rochholz studied 

physics at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, 

and in 2005, earned his doctorate at the Max Planck 

Institute for Polymer Research while simultaneously 

studying basic business administration at the University 

of Mainz. He began his career in 2005, working in 

material testing in the Analytical Services unit at 

Evonik’s site in Darmstadt before moving to his current position in mid 2007. 

+49 6151 18-3754, heiko.rochholz@evonik.com 

Grant Lafontaine 

Born in 1960 

Grant LaFontaine is responsible for Business 

Develop ment and R&D in North America for the 

acrylic sheet business of Evonik’s Performance 

Polymers Business Unit. LaFontaine studied chemical 

engineering and applied chemistry at the University 

of Toronto (Canada), and in 1985, earned his masters 

degree. He began his career with Evonik’s affiliate 

Evonik Cyro LLC, in 1985 as a production superintendent 

and progressed through a number of 

positions in production, technical service, and R&D 

within Evonik’s acrylic polymers business before moving to his current position. 

+1 207 490-4328, grant.lafontaine@evonik.com 

PETE MARKS 

In his role as New Business Development Manager 

for Sheet Products in the Performance Polymers 

Business Unit NAFTA, Marks focuses primarily on 

solar, architectural lighting, and energy-efficient 

glazing markets. Marks earned his Bachelor of 

Science degree in Chemical Engineering from 

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 

and started at Cyro Industries’ Wallingford, 

Connecticut site as a Process Engineer in 1992. 

Marks worked in Technical Services and Product 

Development for five years before moving to 

Cyro’s Osceola, Arkansas site. During his eleven years at the Osceola site, 

Marks held various production positions in sheet and molding compounds, and 

also served as Plant Manager prior to moving to the Sanford, Maine site in 

2008 to fill his current role. Marks earned his Masters degree in Business 

Administration at the University of Memphis in 2002. 

+1 207 490-4371, peter.a.marks@evonik.com 


news 

+++ Ruhr2030Award for ccflex® 

A team from Evonik has received the Ruhr2030Award 

for a new and revolutionary ceramic wall covering. 

The Initiativkreis Ruhr (Ruhr Area Initiative), which 

offers the award, praised ccflex® as an outstanding innovation 

in the meta-competence field of Energy, 

Materials, and Logistics. Project manager Dr. Frank 

Weinelt accepted the €50,000 award at the Zeche 

Zollverein on behalf of his entire team. Dr. Klaus 

Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik 

Industries AG, was the first to offer congratulations: 

“We are delighted by this award. With our new technologies 

we solve the problems of today and can already 

provide answers for the pressing problems of 

tomorrow.” 

The jury was particularly impressed by the functional 

versatility of the ccflex® ceramic wall covering. 

“ccflex® combines the best properties of classic wallpaper 

and conventional wall tiles,” explained Weinelt. 

Commercially available wallpaper is popular mainly 

because it is easy to apply and store. For sanitary application, 

on the other hand, wall tiles are preferred; 

al though they are very robust and waterproof, their 

application is much more laborious. ccflex®, on the 

other hand, is applied like wallpaper, and thanks to its 

cer amic properties is as robust and waterproof as tile. 

It can be applied without joins on virtually any shape 

of wall, and even in the shower stall. The ceramic 

structure also creates a pleasant ambience. 

The wall covering has also won plaudits for its 

visual appeal. An international jury of 28 designers 

vot ed ccflex® as the winner of the iF product design 

award for 2009, and Messe Frankfurt, in conjunction 

with the German Design Council, chose the wall covering 

for its Design Plus Award 2009. In addition, the 

Stardust design of ccflex®, created by interior designer 

Sylvia Leydecker, won the bronze medal of the German 

Designer Club for 2008. 

ccflex® can be applied like wallpaper, 

but its ceramic properties make 

it as robust and waterproof as tile 

Production plant for ccflex®. 

The product will now be widely 

launched by Marburger Tapetenfabrik, 

to which Evonik has 

awarded an exclu sive license 

Exclusive license to Marburger Tapetenfabrik 

Following its successful development, the product is 

now being launched widely on the market. To this end 

Evonik has awarded an exclusive license for production 

and marketing of ccflex® to Marburger Tapetenfabrik 

J.B. Schaefer GmbH & Co. KG. This is the leading 

producer of technical wall coverings and, as Germany‘s 

third largest manufacturer of wallpaper, also 

active throughout Europe. Marburger Tapetenfabrik will 

present ccflex® in its first appearance at the Heimtextil 

trade show in January 2010. 

ccflex® was developed in Marl, where Evonik has 

pooled its strategic research in Creavis. From its annual 

R&D budget of more than €300 million, Evonik allocates 

about 15 percent to research and development 

for cross-disciplinary research projects. The concept, 

although simple, is highly effective. In the science-tobusiness 

centers and project houses, researchers from 

various disciplines work in the closest possible collaboration, 

jointly developing innovative solutions for the 

future. This collaboration is highly productive as well 

as time-efficient. The aim is to develop an idea into a 

market-ready product within three to five years. 

“Already today, we generate 20 percent of our sales 

revenues from products less than five years old,” said 

Engel. “And we plan to increase this proportion 

further with new products from our research.” 


35

events 

N o v e m b e r 0 9 D e c e m b e r 0 9 

11/09–11/10/2009 

Synthetic Bio(techno)logy 

frankfurt/main (germany) 

www.dechema.de/synbio 

16.12.–21.12.2007 

11/26–11/27/2009 

International 3rd Aachen-Dresden Symposium International 

Catalysis Textile Conference & Fine Chemicals 

singapur aachen (germany) 

www.cfc2007.org/index.html 

www.aachen-dresden-itc.de 

12/08/2009 

New Carbon Sources for 

Biotechnology 


http://events.dechema.de/ 

feedstock.html 

j a n u a ry 1 0 F e b r u a ry 1 0 

01/20–01/21/2010 

ProcessNet Symposium: Industrial 

Utilization of Renewable Resources 


www.processnet.org/bioraff2010.html 

02/23–02/24/2010 

10th Colloquium: Joint Research 

on Adhesive Technology 


events.dechema.de 

m a rc h 1 0 A p r i l 1 0 

03/08–03/10/2010 

11th International Conference on 

Microreaction Technology (IMRET 11) 

kyoto (japan) 

www.cheme.kyoto-u.ac.jp/8koza/ 

imret11 

03/10–03/12/2010 

43rd Annual Conference of 

the German Catalysis Society 

weimar (germany) 

www.processnet.org/ 

katalytiker2010.html 

03/14–03/19/2010 

EUCHEM Conference on 

Molten Salts and Ionic Liquids 2010 

bamberg (germany) 

http://events.dechema.de/ 

euchem2010.html 

04/07–04/10/2010 

POLYCHAR 18 - World Forum for 

Advanced Materials 

siegen (germany) 

http://polychar18.uni-siegen.de 

M ay 1 0 

J u n e 1 0 A u g u s t 1 0 

05/02–05/07/2010 

EUCHEM Conference on 

Stereochemistry 

brunnen (switzerland) 

www.stereochemistrybuergenstock.ch 

06/07–06/11/2010 

Formula VI – Formulations 

for the future 

stockholm (sweden) 

www.chemsoc.se/sidor/KK/ 

formulaVI/index.htm 

08/29–09/02/2010 

3rd EUCheMS Chemistry Congress 

nuremberg (germany) 

www.euchems-congress2010.org 

Evonik Industries AG 

Rellinghauser Straße 1–11 

45128 Essen 

Germany 

www.evonik.com 

Credits 

Publisher 


Innovation Management 

Chemicals & Creavis 

Rellinghauser Straße 1–11 

45128 Essen 

Germany 

Scientific Advisory Board 

Dr. Norbert Finke 


Innovation Management 

Chemicals & Creavis 

norbert.finke@evonik.com 

Editors 

Dr. Karin Assmann 

(responsable) 

Evonik Services GmbH 

Editorial Department 

karin.assmann@evonik.com 

Contributing Editors 

Dr. Angelika Fallert-Müller 

Christa Friedl 

Christoph Peck 

Michael Vogel 

Design 

Michael Stahl, Munich (Germany) 

Photos 


Dirk Bannert 

Karsten Bootmann 

Dieter Debo 

Nico Hoffmann 

Stefan Wildhirt 

M. Kästner/Digitalstock (p.14) 

Raul Touzon/Getty Images (p. 6) 

Printed by 

Laupenmühlen Druck 

GmbH & Co.KG 

Bochum (Germany) 

Reproduction only with permission 

of the editorial office 

Evonik Industries is a worldwide 

manufacturer of PMMA products sold 

under the PLEXIGLAS® trademark 

on the European, Asian, African, and 

Australian continents and under the 

ACRYLITE® trademark in the Americas

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