Mumbai: Bayer MaterialScience AG in cooperation with Bayer Technology Services GmbH has developed an innovative technology for the manufacture of polymer-filled polyether polyols that delivers significantly better products than the conventional process.

The new technology has already been successfully tested on a commercial-scale service laboratory. It is to be used on a world scale for the first time in a PMPO production facility with an annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes.

The plant is due to be commissioned at the end of 2008 and is likely to be constructed either in Dormagen, Germany, or in Antwerp, Belgium. At both sites, Bayer MaterialScience already manufactures polyether polyols, one of the basic components required to produce polymer polyols.

This new production process keeps the amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the end product at very low levels that were impossible to achieve with the technologies used to date. The much lower operating temperature at the processing stage of the continuous operation means that the PMPOs are only very slightly discolored.

In addition to the improved product properties, Bayer MaterialScience expects a 25 per cent reduction of investment costs for construction work and a decrease in energy consumption when operating production facilities by a similar percentage rate.

PMPOs are used primarily for the production of flexible polyurethane foam, which is used in large quantities in upholstered furniture, mattresses, and car seats. The reduced VOC content of the PMPOs is particularly important for applications in vehicle interiors.

With sales of 10.2 billion euros in 2006 (continuing operations), Bayer MaterialScience is one of the world's largest polymer manufacturers. Its main fields of activity are the production of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of everyday life. The main consumer sectors are the automotive, construction,  electrical/electronics, sports and leisure industries. Bayer MaterialScience has 30 production facilities in place already.