Factbook

BASF developed and implemented a large-scale production process for a new acrylic monomer with castor oil as bio-based feedstock. This new 2-octyl acrylate is used in coatings applications or adhesives formulations. With its Verbund structure, BASF provides this bio-based monomer in an inexpensive and sustainable way and supports its customers in achieving their sustainability goals.

BASF supplies biomass-balanced tetrahydrofuran (THF BMB) to the ROICA Division of Asahi Kasei Corporation, a multinational Japanese company. Asahi Kasei uses BASF’s THF BMB to produce its sustainable stretch fiber under the ROICA™ brand. The BMB product variant has a carbon footprint significantly lower than BASF’s standard THF products. According to Asahi Kasei, utilizing the BMB variant can lead to a reduction in CO₂ emissions of about 25% compared to its existing products.

Powered by unique and ultra-fast simulation methods, extensive material data, and easy-to-access web services, BASF’s computer-aided engineering (CAE) competence Ultrasim^® creates an unparalleled offering. As a pioneer in the field, BASF introduced its first integrative simulation capability in 1999, laying the foundation for what is today a strong global network. In 2024, Ultrasim^® celebrates 25 years of helping customers use BASF plastics and foams to develop sustainable innovations in industries ranging from automotive to appliances, footwear, furniture and more.

With loopamid^®, BASF has developed an innovative solution to improve circularity in the fashion industry by recycling polyamide 6 textile waste. Because it tolerates all fabric mixtures like PA6 and elastane, the cutting-edge technology behind loopamid^® allows textile-to-textile recycling of post-industrial and post-consumer textile waste, thereby closing the loop for nylon apparel. The fibers and materials can be recycled over multiple cycles. At the same time, the material characteristics are identical to those of conventional virgin polyamide.

BASF is offering a newly reformulated range of 16 high-performance colorants – aqueous pigment dispersions used for tinting DIY architectural paints at the point of sale. The new colorants considerably reduce surfactant leaching and surface tackiness of tinted paints, without reducing paint viscosity. Moreover, they have significantly lower VOC emissions and a reduced carbon footprint, making them a great addition to BASF’s portfolio of Sustainable-Future Solutions.

BASF’s additive Tinuvin^® NOR^® 356 protects agricultural plastics from light and thermal damage. It can extend greenhouse film durability by up to 60%, resulting in significant material and cost savings for farmers. Because of the finished product’s high resistance to crop treatments specific to organic farming in combination with excellent optical properties, farmers can increase their crop yield by over 7%, depending on the conditions.

The novel X3D™ technology enables the production of catalysts with optimal shape to achieve best performance and efficiency while reducing energy consumption. Catalysts produced with this technology feature an open structure, resulting in a reduction of the pressure drop across the reactor and a high surface area, significantly improving the catalysts’ performance. The technology offers a greater freedom of catalyst design compared to conventional production technologies. It brings catalysts’ performance to the next level and helps to customize catalysts to customers’ specific conditions and needs by designing infill patterns, fiber diameter and orientation. Customers can benefit from an increased reactor output, higher product quality and lower energy consumption, enabling significantly higher sustainability. The technology can be applied to a wide variety of existing catalytic materials, including base or precious metal catalysts as well as carrier materials. The novel catalysts are mechanically robust and proven in several commercial plant operations.

VIANT is a new coating technology that combines conversion coating and a primer paint in one single layer. It is easy to operate and enables reliable corrosion protection on edges and inner surfaces. Compared to conventional coatings, VIANT results in a shorter process chain, resource savings and reduced running costs. It reduces the carbon footprint and comes with lower electricity, water and chemical consumption.

 

BASF’s latest anti-redeposition polymer, BVERDE^® GP 790 L, addresses the increasing demand from customers for cleaning products that prioritize sustainability without sacrificing performance. It is a grafted polysaccharide polymer that is 79% bio-based and readily biodegradable. This new polymer is highly compatible with standard laundry liquid detergent formulations, resulting in a clear and uniform product. In contrast to the current market incumbent ingredient, polyacrylic acid (PAA), which is not biodegradable, BVERDE^® offers performance parity while maintaining sustainability credentials.

Our BASF Pharma Solutions team has introduced Kollitab™ DC 87 L, a co-processed excipient optimized for direct compression processes. The excipient is designed to maximize flowability and tablet strength, with a formulation that has high stability and low sensitivity to overblending. Its round particle shape ensures excellent flowability from feeder hoppers and during tableting, for high process robustness and low tablet weight variability. Kollitab™ DC 87 L can produce strong tablets across a broad range of compression forces, reducing both stress and punch damage on the tablet press, for better machine durability and less tablet defects. This product ensures fast tablet disintegration to quickly deliver the intended benefits of active pharmaceutical ingredients. This is especially valuable for high-strength tablets that tend to take longer to disintegrate.

BASF is investing in a new fermentation plant for biological and biotechnology-based crop protection products at its Ludwigshafen site. The plant will use microorganisms to convert renewable raw materials such as glucose into the desired products – a process known as fermentation. This development is another step in the transition to innovative manufacturing processes with lower energy intensity based on renewable raw materials.