Insurance Recoveries (Schedule of Business Insurance Recoveries) (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2008	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010		Dec. 31, 2009
Insurance recoveries, net		$ 0	$ 18	[1]	$ 6
Property Damage [Member]
Insurance recoveries, net			8
Business Interruption [Member]
Insurance recoveries, net			10
Industrial Specialties [Member] | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada [Member]
Events declared as force majeure	2
Insurance recoveries		0	25		10
Other Activities [Member] | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada [Member]
Captive charges		0	(7)		(10)
Acetyl Intermediates [Member] | Clear Lake, Texas [Member]
Insurance recoveries		$ 0	$ 0		$ 6

[1] Total net recoveries for the year ended December 31, 2010 consists of $8 million related to property damage and $10 million related to business interruption.