Acquisitions, Dispositions, Ventures and Plant Closures (Ventures Narrative) (Details)			1 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011	Apr. 30, 2010 Previous [Member]	Apr. 30, 2010 Subsequent [Member]	Apr. 30, 2010 Advanced Engineered Materials [Member] Ibn Sina, Saudi Arabia [Member]
Celanese ownership interest, percentage	25.00%
Ownership percentage by other equity holders	25.00%
POM production capacity per year				50,000
Indirect economic interest, percentage		25.00%	32.50%

The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 159

-Paragraph 18

-Subparagraph f

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher AICPA

-Name Accounting Principles Board Opinion (APB)

-Number 18

-Paragraph 20

-Subparagraph a (1)

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 323

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 3

-Subparagraph (a)(1)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6382943&loc=d3e33918-111571

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant