OREANDA-NEWS. June 18, 2012. As a member of the World Green Building Council (WGBC) BASF will sponsor World Green Building Night on June 18, in Stuttgart. The event will be the festive launch of the World Green Building Congress and Consense 2012, the international trade fair for sustainable building, investment, operations and maintenance. BASF representatives will exchange ideas with decision-makers and industry experts – architects, planners, investors, engineers and manufacturers – on how chemistry addresses construction trends and challenges.

“In 2050, nine billion people will live on this planet and three- quarters of the population will live in cities. The increasing urbanization to occur will require new concepts for housing and construction, ” said Dr. Tilman Krauch, President of BASF ’ s Construction Chemicals division and Head of BASF ’s Global Construction Steering Committee. “Sustainability is therefore a crucial issue for our future. Chemistry plays an important role in designing innovations for sustainable construction. And through good chemistry, BASF is better connected with industry stakeholders to transform the construction industry towards sustainability. ”

Housing and construction account for about 40 percent of global energy consumption and 30 percent of global CO2 emissions . This burden can be significantly reduced by increasing the energy efficiency of buildings. BASF is working to improve the energy performance of homes and buildings. In 2011, around 280 million tons of CO2 emissions from buildings could have been avoided through the use of BASF ’ s construction solutions.

Among the BASF solutions to be presented at Consense 2012 is the “Life Cycle Analyzer.” This life cycle assessment tool developed for Europe is designed to measure and improve the sustainability performance of concrete solutions. Using the software, concrete producers can optimize the environmental fingerprint of concrete versus costs, while contractors can deliver ready-to-use input data for green building rating schemes.

BASF will also showcase the latent heat storage Micronal® PCM. The phase change material consists of microscopically small capsules which are embedded in building materials such as gypsum structural panels or plaster. They allow for temperature management in the building and a stable indoor climate, thus resulting in saving energy and reducing operating costs.

BASF solutions for sustainable construction

As a leading provider of raw materials, formulations and systems to the construction industry, BASF provides economically and ecologically sound solutions that contribute to modern comfortable and sustainable housing and construction. These include products for thermal insulation, such as Neopor® Plus expandable polystyrene (EPS). Its silver-gray plastic granules provide up to 20 percent more insulation performance compared to standard EPS. When used in external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS), Neopor Plus enables thinner panels to be used, providing greater flexibility for architects.

In addition, BASF is developing admixtures that make concrete more durable and reduces its environmental impact. These admixtures facilitate processing, for example through improved fluidity, setting and hardening properties. And they increase the strength and durability of finished concrete structures. For example, BASF ’ s concrete hardening accelerator X-Seed® significantly improves the energy efficiency of the production of precast concrete elements. Thus, the use of heat in the hydration process can be avoided or significantly reduced.