Covestro, a polymer company, has installed the first CO2-produced floor in a sports facility. Specifically, it has been installed in the hockey rinks of a sports club in Krefeld (western Germany). This particularly sustainable new material has been produced using materials from Covestro, which has developed an innovative process that makes it possible to use CO2 in production and thus save up to one-fifth of crude oil in the production process. In this way, it makes an important contribution to the protection of resources and recycling management.
For the first time, synthetic flooring for sports venues can be produced with carbon dioxide, which means a reduction in the use of crude oil as a raw material. The use of CO2 as a raw material for plastics has been made possible by the use of a particularly environmentally friendly technology developed by Covestro and its partners. CO2 is used as a supplier of an important element: carbon (instead of oil-based raw materials). Up to 20% of traditional fossil raw materials can be replaced by carbon dioxide. Covestro produces the new CO2-based polyols at its plant in Dormagen near Cologne. The carbon dioxide comes from a neighbouring chemical company that generates carbon dioxide as a by-product.
This CO2-based flooring is already in use at the Crefelder hockey and tennis club, which has one of the best hockey facilities in Germany and is used for international matches and championships. The flooring has been installed on a 99 x 59 metre rink and serves as a cushion for a new, bright blue artificial rink, also installed by Polytan.
