MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro has
recently introduced a new polycarbonate (PC) film with more than half of its
carbon content sourced from plant-based raw materials, reported Chemweek.
The partially biobased film,
in which a portion of oil-based primary products are replaced by biomass
material, will be the first in the company’s product portfolio and will reduce
the film’s carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint by approximately 20%, it says.
Increased use of alternative resources for in-house production is part of the
company’s long-term strategic program as it “fully commits” to a circular
economy, it adds.
The new film can be used in applications in the
electrical, consumer, and automotive industries, as is typical for conventional
PC films, Covestro says.
As MRC informed earlier,
Covestro has closed the sale of its European polycarbonates (PC) sheets business
to the Munich-based Serafin Group effective January 2, 2020. This includes key
management and sales functions throughout Europe as well as production sites in
Belgium and Italy.
According to MRC's ScanPlast
report, Russia's estimated PC consumption (excluding imports and
exports to/from Belarus) rose in January-May 2020 by 19% year on year to 38,900
tonnes (32,700 tonnes a year earlier).
Covestro (formerly Bayer
MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part
of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers,
with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro
manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants,
polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for
refrigerating appliances) etc. With 2018 sales of EUR 14.6 billion, Covestro has
30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,800 people
(calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2018. |