Bayer MaterialScience Filed New Patent Application Partnering with Sichuan University in China    

Bayer MaterialScience announces the preliminary examination qualification of its new polycarbonate patent, the result of a research collaboration with China's Sichuan University.
   The significant patent features the innovative process of blending polycarbonate (PC) and polylactic acid (PLA) which improves the properties of PC blends containing bio-based PLA, giving comparable performance but much lower CO2 emissions than conventional non-bio-based materials.
   The new blends, partly based on renewable resources such as corn, have a very similar performance to the conventional blend, and are compatible with existing solutions. The CO2 emissions of PLA during its entire life cycle, from production and compounding to recycling, is only approximately one third that of conventional systems. This material is bio-degradable and can be equipped flame retardant and applied to a wide range of industries such as automotive, IT and electronics, for more specific examples, in the housings of mobile telephones and laptop computers.
   Dr. Li Hongchao, Innovation Manager of New Business-New Technologies at Bayer MaterialScience in China introduced: "With excellent functional performance and much greater environmental friendliness, the new blend could become a viable 'green' alternative in various applications currently made with conventional resins."
   To date, Bayer MaterialScience has committed about Euro 1 million in more than 13 projects and filed 7 patent applications including this new one in China.
   "This new patent is yet another demonstration of Bayer's commitment to climate protection," concluded Dr. Rainer Rettig, Senior Vice President of Polycarbonates, Bayer MaterialScience Asia Pacific. "With people's growing concern in climate change and consumption of limited natural resources, like petroleum, bio-based materials will become an increasingly important part of our business."
   Currently, Bayer is in discussion with some of the world's leading electronic and automotive companies for future applications of this new patent and to commercialize this new development.