Bayer MaterialScience AG Signs Supply And Cooperation Contract With Hirtenberger PROSAFE Safety Technology

Baytubes carbon nanotubes to be used in innovative safety technology to prevent explosions in fuel tanks

Pittsburgh, PA - Baytubes multi-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) from Bayer MaterialScience AG are to be used in an innovative safety technology that significantly reduces the risk of explosions in fuel tanks. Bayer MaterialScience AG and Hirtenberger PROSAFE Safety Technology GmbH (HPST), Hirtenberg, Austria, have completed an exclusive worldwide cooperation and supply contract for Baytubes CNTs. HPST is to use the Bayer MaterialScience AG product in the manufacture of newly developed spheres designed to prevent the formation of explosive gas mixtures in fuel tanks. The spheres are soon to be introduced onto the global market under the name SAFEBALL. They offer considerable advantages over the extruded metal mesh or plastic foams previously used for this purpose.

SAFEBALLS take the form of hollow spheres that are introduced into a tank and completely fill it. Despite this, the available volume of the tank is only reduced by approximately 8.5 percent. Two of the advantages of SAFEBALLS are that they not only prevent an explosive mixture of gas and air in a tank from exploding, but also allow the tank to "breathe," so that significantly smaller quantities of hydrocarbons are released into the environment. In this way, the spheres can also make a significant contribution to environmental protection in the future.

Their special shape allows fuel to flow freely but prevents any dangerous surging. Surging occurs when large volumes of liquid are displaced, for example while a road tanker is in operation, thus affecting the vehicle's stability. When a tank is to be cleaned, the SAFEBALL spheres can easily be removed and then replaced once the operation is complete. They are also treated with anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agents.

All these benefits are due to the exceptional properties of Baytubes CNTs from Bayer MaterialScience AG. Nanotubes exhibit a high level of electrical conductivity and mechanical strength and are extremely light in weight. "Without CNTs from Bayer MaterialScience AG, it would have been impossible to develop our technology so quickly," said HPST CEO Thomas Stelzl, the inventor of the SAFEBALL concept, at the signing of the agreement. "Bayer MaterialScience AG was our first choice supplier right from the start, because we knew we could rely absolutely on the specified purity and quality of the CNTs and, even more importantly, on Bayer MaterialScience AG's ability to deliver the raw materials we need to meet increasing order volumes."

Thanks to the development of an innovative, in-house production process, Bayer MaterialScience AG is one of the few companies in the world capable of producing CNTs of the required high purity on an industrial scale. As early as 2007, the company started operations at a pilot plant in Laufenburg, Germany, that can produce 60 metric tons per year. Another pilot facility with an annual capacity of 200 metric tons is currently under construction at CHEMPARK Leverkusen.

SAFEBALLS can be produced with a range of additional functions for special applications. These include fire-extinguishing – for which a special gel is incorporated into the spheres – and the integration of active and passive transponders that enable vehicle data to be electronically stored to prevent theft or provide information on maintenance.

SOURCE: Bayer MaterialScience LLC