Bayer opens world largest carbon nanotube pilot facility

Bayer MaterialScience has opened a new pilot facility for the manufacture of carbon nanotubes at Chempark Leverkusen. The company has invested some 22 million euro in the facility, which is the largest of its kind in the world and has an annual capacity of 200 tons. Current forecasts predict an annual growth rate of 25% for carbon nanotubes and within 10 years the market is expected to be worth 2 billion dollar. Carbon nanotubes are manufactured from ethylene in a reactor at an elevated temperature using a catalytic process. Marketed under the trade name Baytubes, they can be added to polymer matrices as a filler or modifier to improve their mechanical strength and impart electrical properties.