In recognition of the development of ethylene styrene interpolymers, soon to be known commercially as INDEX* Interpolymers, Dow was named as a winner of R&D Magazine’s 38 th annual R&D 100 Awards.
INDEX Interpolymers will be a new and novel family of then-noplastic polymers based on copolymerizing ethylene and styrene, and potentially other monomers, produced via INSITE* Technology, Dow’s proprietary, single-site, constrained geometry catalyst technology. Dow’s product development plant for INDEX Interpolymers is located in Sarnia, Ontario.
11 polymer scientists have been trying to successfully copolymerize ethylene and styrene, in reactor, for a long time. Finally, with INSITE Technology, Dow has found the catalyst to make this happen,” says Jill Allemang, global business director for ethylene styrene interpolymers. “The R&D 100 Award is a great honor and we hope, that through successfully bringing the technology to our customers, Dow can demonstrate how new milestones can be achieved in the evolution of plastics.”
Regarded by The Chicago Tribune as “the Oscars of Invention,” the R&D 100 Awards are presented to the 100 most significant technological inventions of the year.
INDEX Interpolymers will exhibit unique properties not observed in either polyethylene or polystyrene homopolymers. The material offers the toughness and solvent resistance of polyethylene, along with the stiffness, formability, and appearance of polystyrene resins, which are recognized for their high gloss and processability.
Dow started up the 50 million-pound-per-year (22,700 metric tons) product development plant for ethylene styrene interpolymers in Sarnia in the fall of 1999. The plant will provide the capacity needed to seed the many markets in which INDEX Interpolymers will find uses including: coated fabrics, foams, footwear, toys, flooring, asphalt modification and wire and cable.
A full-scale, 250 million-pound-per-year (113,500 metric tons) commercial plant is being engineered to be located in Sarnia to come on stream during the next couple of years, pending approval from Dow’s Board of Directors.
For more information about ethylene styrene interpolymers, please visit www.indexinterpolymers.com or call (800) 441-4369 in North America.
The Dow Chemical Company is a leading global science and technology company that provides innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $19 billion, Dow serves customers in 162 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress, including food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its 41,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities.
Dow Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company employing about 2,000 people. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Dow Canada has manufacturing locations in Sarnia and Weston, Ontario; Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta and Varennes, Quebec. For more news and information about Dow, please visit our web site at ‘www.dow.com’.
*Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company
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