Opportunities / Threats Analysis

account. For the investigation of the incident aspects, it is essential that manufacture as well as sale and addition of X-SEED during the manufacture of concrete are exclusively done in the form of an aqueous suspension. Neutralisation, that is to say evaporation or drying of the X-SEED suspension, results in the formation of crystalline silica which comprises all nano-scale particles of calcium silicate hydrate. After the curing process of the concrete, X-SEED, in chemical terms, is firmly embedded into the structure of the concrete. Altogether, the indi-cator “Incident aspects” has to be assigned to the category of strengths. Concerning the parameter “Precautionary need for workers”, the result of 4.5 remains well below the defined threshold of 20, above which a need for action has to be assumed. With a value of 0.23, the same applies to the precautionary need for the population.

Symbolic Benefits

As regards the symbolic benefits, concrete with X-SEED addition offers slight advantages compared to the reference product. In terms of design it is noteworthy that X-SEED provides the possibility to produce concrete surfaces of more attractive appearance. The more homo-geneous acceleration of the hardening process furthermore results in a finer, more homoge-neous, crevice-free and non-porous concrete surface. As a consequence, the final product does not so much resemble concrete, thus providing more design freedom. Moreover, BASF has indicated that the use of X-SEED reflects the application of an advanced state-of-the-art technology, accordingly bestowing a prestigious image to the manufacturer.

will materialise externally, i.e. outside the BASF group. According to the energy scenario, the heating of the concrete elements is no longer necessary, thus permitting workflows to be-come more flexible. It can therefore be assumed that the vacant manufacturing capacity will either be attended to by the same number of workers or that more workers will be employed to exhaustively operate the newly created capacities.

For those companies, which use the precast concrete components for building purposes, the employment effect of the nanoproduct is considered to be unchanged as compared to the reference product. The nanoproduct used on the building site thus replaces the correspon-ding reference product in the identical application.

Societal Benefits

Similar to the two other aspects of utility (see above), the nanoproduct in comparison to the reference product provides a small advantage in terms of societal benefits. As regards the aspect “Sustainable use of scarce resources”, the self-evaluation revealed that the use of X-SEED in a prefabricated concrete part helps to conserve abiotic resources such as limestone and clay, the reason therefore being that, in the case of the material scenario, the nanoproduct allows the use of CEM II as a cement type with a lower proportion of clinker (70% instead of 95% for the reference product). Consequently, the consumption of the resources of limestone and clay that are required for the production of clinker can be reduced to the same extent. In the energy scenario, too, the use of X-SEED positively affects the conservation of resources, as 22 litres of heating oil can be saved per cubic metre of concrete by doing without the heat application in the manufacture of precast concrete products. In addition, the enhanced functional characteristics relating to continued use of concrete (weathering resistance) that are provided by X-SEED, result in a virtual immobilisation of the chemicals in the concrete.

The contribution to the promotion of economic stability provides another slight advantage.

The reason for this contribution can be considered to be the possibility for small and medium enterprises using X-SEED to flexibly adapt their production volume without the need to seek loans in order to provide the capital required to finance additional investments (for production facilities, for example).

Legal Framework and Research Funding

The key indicator “Legal framework and research funding" is to be considered as indifferent, the analysis of the three individual areas of investigation relating to this indicator exhibiting both problematic and favourable assessments. As regards the area of “Research promotion within the company”, the assessment is likely to be favourable, as sustainability and techno-logical progress are key elements of BASF’s company policy, and BASF is making targeted investments in nanotechnology – one of BASF’s five growth clusters. “Research funding by state governments” is another field which, overall, may be categorised as favourable.

Al-though BASF has not taken advantage of public funds to promote X-SEED, the nanoproduct that is considered here, it benefits from the methods and the results on security assessment that, in cooperation with other companies and scientific institutions, have often been devel-oped within publicly funded research networks. The legal framework conditions, however, has been found somewhat problematic. This is mainly due to the uncertainties prevailing with regard to the existing and anticipated future regulation of nanomaterials at the EU level and concerning the manufacturers’ and the environmental liability.

Recyclability

The key indicator of "Recyclability" is classified as indifferent. A significant reason for this is that, when it comes to the disposal, the precast concrete products containing X-SEED, in physical and chemical terms, do not differ from components produced without X-SEED. As suggested in section 8.1, the nanoparticles within X-SEED, after the curing process of the concrete, in chemical terms, are tightly embedded in the concrete. After the hardening, X-SEED particles and concrete particles can no longer be distinguished from one another regarding their chemical and physical properties. Hence, it is not possible that nanoscaled substances are present in a concrete manufactured using X-SEED, the separation of which would be required in the course of recycling, since these components should not be incorporated in the new product, inter alia for reasons of health protection or environmental conservation or because they might adversely affect the quality of the new product.

Moreover, the use phase of the nanoproduct does not produce any extra waste as compared to the reference product.

Resource Availability

On the basis of the self-evaluation, the key indicator “Resource availability” can neither be assigned to the category of opportunities nor to that of threats. The resources which were examined with respect to the manufacture of both the nanoproduct and the reference pro-duct, include: cement, fillers, water and recycled aggregate. The availability of those re-sources is classified as not very critical and is deemed to be similar for both products. As regards the nanoproduct, sodium metasilicate and calcium nitrate are additionally needed for the production of X-SEED. The availability of those resources, too, is to be rated as rather non-critical. If, accordingly, the same overall classification, i.e. “rather non-critical”, applies to both the nanoproduct and the reference product, the key indicator must be regarded as indifferent. It can therefore be assumed that a secure physical, temporal (timely), financial and technological access to the resources will be ensured with a view to manufacturing a precast concrete product with X-SEED addition.

Risk Perception

All in all, X-SEED can be classified as an opportunity as regards the aspects of risk per-ception. This assessment results from the examination of the following four areas: “Com-pany-internal assessment of the nanoproduct’s potential risks”, “Analysis of the product envi-ronment”, “Risk management” and “Risk communication”. According to BASF, there are no or only very low nano-specific risks for human beings and the environment due to the use of the nanoproduct. This is due to the fact that X-SEED is produced, used and sold in the form of a solution. After the hardening process, the added nanomaterials, in chemical terms, are tightly embedded in the concrete. Based on this company-internal assessment, BASF, thanks to its position in the product environment and due to the risk management and risk communication measures that have already been taken, is able to adequately respond to the perception of risks by society. With respect to the subject of nanotechnologies, BASF SE, as a matter of principle, pursues a proactive communication policy vis-à-vis stakeholders, wor-kers, customers and downstream stages in the value chain. The specific communication with customers in the value chain, relating to X-SEED itself, is mainly effected via the technical information sheet and the safety data sheet. The general debate about nanoproducts as well as the uncertainty about the consequences this will have for legislation and markets, at least in the medium term, is seen as a problem by BASF.