Porto Feliz: Sugar cane – a concept for the future
In March 2010, LANXESS put into operation an innovative, highly efficient cogeneration plant at its site in Porto Feliz, Brazil, for the generation of electricity and steam. The energy source used at the plant is bagasse, a renewable raw material that can be sourced directly from the area around Porto Feliz. This fibrous component of sugar cane is a waste product from the sugar production process. The key advantage of using sugar cane is that the material releases only as much carbon dioxide as the plants absorb while they grow. The ash produced during burning can also be used as fertilizer.

The new plant will reduce climate gas emissions at the Porto Feliz site by around 44,000 metric tons of  CO₂ per year compared to 2002 levels. The cogeneration plant therefore has a particularly high energy efficiency of up to 90 percent. It ensures that the site can benefit from reliable supplies of cost-efficient energy – and therefore secures its ability to compete on the market.

Nagda: Innovative climate protection with soybean plants
LANXESS also opened an innovative cogeneration plant in Nagda, India, during 2010. This plant also uses biomass as a fuel – in this case the husks of renewable soybean plants from the region. This technology enables the Nagda site to generate power and steam on a  CO₂-neutral basis. The facility supplies around 70 percent of the site’s steam requirements and almost 100 percent of its electricity needs, meaning that LANXESS now has to draw virtually no power from the local grid. As a result, LANXESS saves on approximately 70,000 metric tons of coal per year at the Nagda site and is lowering its annual  CO₂ emissions by some 95,000 metric tons.

Zwijndrecht: cutting-edge plant runs with natural gas
At its rubber facility in Zwijndrecht, Belgium, LANXESS has built a block-type thermal power plant in cooperation with the utilities company Electrabel. This cutting-edge plant runs on natural gas and operates as well on the cogeneration principle. It allows highly efficient use of the primary energy. This in turn reduces  CO₂ emissions by around 80,000 tons per year. Together with Electrabel LANXESS invested EUR 60 Million in the new block-type power plant.