Bayer Searches for Source of Benzene

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The region's cheap supply of shale gas could solve another problem if government and industry collaborate on new ways to convert it to benzene, a local Bayer Corp. executive said at a Downtown conference on Thursday.

The company's MaterialScience division in Robinson is pushing for a research consortium, possibly with the help of National Energy Technology Laboratory, said Don S. Wardius, head of renewable and alternative feedstocks.

Chemical companies use benzene to make foam car seats, sporting goods and paints, but it's expensive and will probably need to be imported to replace declining supplies, Wardius said.

"This is a vision," he told about 130 researchers, …