Leading in Methacrylates
Launching the next generation of MMA technology
Our everyday life is full of plastics that make our lives easier, safer, and more comfortable.
With LiMA – Leading in MethAcrylates – we have developed a technology that represents a major step toward sustainability in the production of the plastic precursor methyl methacrylate (MMA):
- lower energy consumption
- fewer emissions
- and reduced water usage
Showroom
Plastics are versatile materials used wherever lightness, durability, or design freedom is needed. Typical application areas include packaging, automotive, medical technology, and electronics.
Polymer-Chain
Chemically, plastics consist of long chains—so‑called polymers—built from small, repeating building blocks (monomers). Their specific properties arise from how these chains are structured and cross-linked.
Polymethyl methacrylate
One of the highest‑quality plastics is polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), commonly known as acrylic glass. It is produced from the monomer methyl methacrylate (MMA) and is characterized by its transparency, UV resistance, and high dimensional stability. Unlike many plastics, PMMA can also be chemically recycled.
MMA & PMMA – Essential in Everyday Life
While MMA is used as a base material for paints & coatings, construction chemistry, or for modifying plastics, PMMA is much more visible in everyday life. Under the brand name ACRYLITE®, the material has conquered the world since its invention in 1933*. We encounter branded acrylic glass in numerous forms every day—usually without realizing it.
How Does the LiMA Technology Make Production More Sustainable?
As the inventor and manufacturer of ACRYLITE®, sustainability is both an innovation driver and a guiding principle at Röhm. With the LiMA technology, we bring these aspects together and enable significantly more efficient production:
- Over 90% yield in production
- 42% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to standard C4 production and 26% compared to the next-best C3 technology
- 900 million liters of water saved per year
The technology was developed by a team of Röhm experts, tested in a pilot plant in Darmstadt, and put into industrial-scale operation for the first time in 2025 in Bay City, Texas. Construction of the production facility was a project of superlatives: at times more than 1,400 workers were involved, contributing a total of four million working hours to build a completely new plant with four reactors, several storage tanks, auxiliary buildings, and a control room.
In addition to skilled workers from the USA, Röhm sent more than 80 colleagues from Germany to support the project in Texas. With their unique expertise in production, engineering, and process development, they accompanied the construction and, together with the international team, contributed to its success.
* Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polymethyl methacrylimid (PMMI)-products from Röhm are sold on the European, Asian, African and Australian continent under the registered trademarks PLEXIGLAS® and PLEXIMID®, in the Americas under the registered trademarks ACRYLITE® and ACRYMID®.