May 2 2005
Solvay Solexis has announced that it has started supplying a new grade of Tecnoflon® perfluoroelastomers created through its ground-breaking polymerization technology called “Branching & Pseudoliving” - which can generate products with properties that cannot be obtained by conventional manufacturing techniques. These high-value added materials with an extensive R&D content belong to the top of the range of polymer products and are designed for sealing solutions in extreme environments. Their outstanding performance places them in the same pricing category as certain pharmaceutical products or precious metals.
Compared with existing materials used to build fluid handling systems in critical processes, the new Tecnoflon® PFR 45HT perfluoroelastomer offers enhanced high temperature sealing, improved steam resistance, and excellent overall chemical resistance. This exceptional reliability is of paramount importance in chemical and processing industry manufacturing systems, which operate under extreme conditions - and where any imperfection in sealing may cause severe damage. Furthermore, manufacturing processes using these new materials can be simplified and still produce high-performance components, consequently allowing processors to improve the environmental reliability of their systems and to reduce shut down times as well as maintenance costs.
The new Tecnoflon® PFR 45HT perfluoroelastomer was developed as a tailor-made solution for specific, demanding applications. The Branching & Pseudoliving technology allows the creation of such complex, controlled macromolecular structures. While regular polymerization consists of the stepwise reproduction of a basic monomer molecule to create a simple linear structure, Branching & Pseudoliving is a molecular construction process that can be compared to the ‘growth’ of cells in living organisms. (see Note to the Editors below)
“Solvay Solexis has achieved a technological breakthrough and turned this innovation in added value for the Group and its stakeholders,” noted Bernard de Laguiche, Chief Executive Officer of Solvay Solexis. “This is a shining example of Solvay’s strategy aiming at ensuring sustainable, profitable growth through innovation and competitiveness,” he said.
“Tecnoflon® perfluoroelastomers are unrivalled in the chemical and processing industry, where we believe they will satisfy a very strong demand,” stressed Vincenzo Morici, General Manager of the Strategic Business Unit Specialty Polymers of the Solvay Group. “Beyond this large potential market, Solvay Solexis is now working on the development of more ground-breaking materials using B&P, for other demanding applications,” he said.
The development and successful implementation of Branching & Pseudoliving technology is a textbook example of Solvay’s innovation policy, whose key ingredients include clear strategic guidance as well as fruitful and challenging interaction with external partners.
Solvay Solexis’ Branching & Pseudoliving technology was distinguished by the Solvay Innovation Trophy (SIT), a contest aiming at rewarding new ideas which generate value for the Group and its stakeholders. 134 projects entered the last SIT contest, demonstrating the dynamism of the Group’s innovation strategy, and were scrutinized by a jury consisting of an equal number of in-house experts and prominent independent personalities.
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