elements33 Quarterly Science Newsletter Issue 4 | 2010 Health & Nutrition Greater efficiency in the trough Professional protection for aging skin Coating & Bonding Technologies The smart adhesive 02ONTENTS C NEWS 08 4 0 Dr. Klaus Engel appointed new president of VCI 04 Evonik is planning a new methionine plant in Singapore 05 Collaborating with the most ambitious university in the world 06 Debuting PLEXIGLAS® car windshields from Evonik 07 Decision to divest the global carbon blacks business 07 Fascinating effects with PLEXIGLAS® Textured Sheet RADIANT L HEA TH & NUTRITION 8 0 Amino acids diet makes pig feed more favorable for the environment and climate: Greater efficiency in the trough 14 Professional protection for aging skin 22 NEWS 20 Bachelor work at Evonik awarded by Max Buchner Research Foundation 21 Evonik Meets Science China 2010 21 Evonik to expand TAA production capacities in China M NO INATED FOR THE EVONIK INNOVATION AWARD 2010 NEW PRODUCTS/NEW SYSTEM SOLUTIONS CATEGORY 22 Bringing the power of meat back into feed: CreAMINO® for animal nutrition 23 SAVOSILTM brings light to new markets 24 New viscosity improvers reduce fuel consumption 36 NO EW R IMPROVED PROCESSES CATEGORY 25 Siridion® HCDS 500 E: a new raw material for the semiconductor industry 26 A new pathway to ultrapure isobutene 27 New biotechnology platform makes LOLA a winner PR OCESS TECHNOLOGY 28 Self-learning programs: The EU INFER Project develops adaptive soft sensors 30 Professor conference: concentrated process and technology expertise NEWS 34 Coating materials with VESTOSINT® gleam at Durban’s airport 34 Significant capacity expansion for precipitated silicas 35 LEDs shine brightly for longer 35 PLEXIGLAS® façade for meteorological tower COG ATIN & BONDING TECHNOLOGIES 36 Release coating made from UV-cured silicone: the smart adhesive NEWS 43 Geothermal energy used even more efficiently 43 Credits elements33 Issue 4|2010 OEDIT RIAL 03 And the winner is ... Second place, as in “they came in only second,” is an often neglected honor. Indeed, it is easy to overlook the tremendous achievement that second and third place re- present. To remedy this, we are now modeling our Innovation Award, which we have traditionally presented in December, on the Oscars: For the first time, we have nominated three teams each for the New Products and New Processes categories, and will not decide the first-prize winners in each category until the day we present the award. And it looks like the decision will be as difficult for us as ever this year, since our researchers have submitted so many innovative projects. Page 22 ff. of this issue will give you an idea of their work. The new nomination process is our way of drawing greater attention to the teams finishing second and third, because a win for them is a win for Evonik. We are also clear winners when it comes to DL-Methionine, an amino acid that Patrik Wohlhauser is particularly vital as an additive in poultry feed. Already the world‘s largest pro- Chairman of the Board of Management of ducer, we are planning to expand our position by building a new plant in Singapore. Evonik Degussa GmbH When the committees concerned have given their approval to the construction of the plant, we will have, as early as 2014, a total capacity of 580,000 metric tons of DL-Methionine, on an investment in the mid triple-digit million euro range. This is money well spent, given that the market for methionine has been growing for years. First, consumer behavior is changing worldwide, and meat is appearing more and more on the tables of developing countries. In the prosperous regions, the growing trend toward healthy foods is driving greater consumption of low-fat poul- try instead of pork or beef. Second, the growing world population must be supplied with high-quality and safe food—and this is possible only with highly productive agricultural processes that take account of the scarcity of fertile soil and water. Innovative feed concepts that include our amino acids as additives, instead of protein-rich soy or rapeseed meal, are making a key contribution in this regard—as we have scientifically proven in our life cycle assessment. As a rule of thumb, if the vegetable protein in the feed is reduced by 1 percent, then the nitrogen content in the manure drops by ten percent, the am- monia emissions to the air fall by ten percent, and water consumption is reduced by three percent. And the 580,000 metric tons of methionine that we will be supplying the market beginning in 2014 will save 11.6 million hectares of arable land that can be put to such uses as growing food. A win-win situation for everyone. elements33 Issue 4|2010 04N EWS Dr. Klaus Engel appointed new president of VCI The general meeting of Germany’s vision for a growing world population chemical industry association, VCI, in and the provision of health care for an Dresden on September 24 elected Dr. aging population. It must be our shared Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive concern to have the innovations needed Board of Evonik Industries AG, as its pres- to meet these challenges developed and i dent. Engel has been a member of the produced here in Germany. And for that association’s presidential council since we require an internationally competitive 2008. environment for our enterprises. I will Upon his election to the post, Engel seek to enter dialog with the political said: „As VCI President, I will act to en- community, the trade unions and society sure good prospects for chemicals com- at large on how we can create the ideal panies in Germany and for industry em- framework conditions conducive to that ployees. The coming years will see the aim.“ chemical industry’s products and inno- VCI stands for more than 90 percent vations more in demand than ever before. of the German chemical industry. In There will be challenges surrounding 2009, the German chemical industry re- energy and resource efficiency in build- alized sales of about €145 billion and em- ing construction and mobility, food pro- ployed more than 416,000 people. Evonik is planning a new methionine plant in Singapore uct to 580,000 metric tons p.a. Evonik’s currently produces this amino acid at four Executive Board has now approved the plants in Wesseling (Germany), Mobile conceptual and basic engineering for (USA) and Antwerp (Belgium). In re- Singapore’s petrochemicals site Jurong Is- sponse to the robust development of land. The approval of the Supervisory demand, the present facilities are being Board is still pending. expanded successively to raise total capac- “Methionine is an Evonik core busi- ity to 430,000 metric tons p.a. by 2013. ness. The market is growing steadily and Backward integration to include cri t- has proven very robust, even in the eco- ical intermediates is a major advantage: nomic crisis. The planned new facility in “It means we can maximize delivery re- Asia, which will be the most important liability and competitiveness for our cus- market in the future, is designed to tomers. That is shown by the experience strengthen our market leadership,” ex- at our other sites, which also have a high plained Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Exe- degree of backward integration.” More- cutive Board of Evonik Industries AG, over, the facility in Singapore will be the commenting on the approval of the engi- most advanced of its kind. “Our success as neering budget. The final investment sum market leader is built to a large extent on will be in the mid triple-digit millions our technological edge,” said Beste. “The Evonik Industries intends to build a new range and still has to be approved by the new complex in Singapore will be further production complex for the amino acid Supervisory Board. proof of that.” DL-Methionine for animal feeds in Singa- “The facility in Singapore is the next Preparations for the new complex are pore. This backward integrated complex step in the creation of Evonik’s global pro- already advanced. “That is attributable to will produce DL-Methionine and all stra- duction network for methionine,” com- the excellent support we have received tegically important intermediates. The in- mented Dr. Reiner Beste, who heads the from the authorities and our partners in tegrated production complex with a capac- Health & Nutrition Business Unit. “We Singapore,” stressed Beste. That, together ity of 150,000 metric tons p. a. is expected will then have a presence in all major re- with the excellent access to petrochemical to come on stream in 2014. Evonik is al- gions—Europe, the USA, Latin America raw materials in Singapore, was the main ready today the global market leader in and Asia—and will be able to supply our reason for the choice of site. methionine and the new facility will raise customers in the feed industry directly DL-Methionine is an essential amino its total production capacity for this prod- from local production facilities.” Evonik acid for healthy and environmentally-sus- elements33 Issue 4|2010 NEWS 05 tainable nutrition of farm animals, espe- tion of meat will rise from 37.4 kg per per- of animal nutrition. New feeding concepts cially pigs and poultry. Demand for methio- son per year at present to 52 kg by 2050. that ensure more balanced animal nutri- nine has risen continuously in recent At the same time, growing health aware- tion while optimizing the use of resources years. This is partly because increasing ness in the more affluent countries is lead- and environmental impact are gaining prosperity in populous emerging markets ing to an above-average rise in consump- ground.