DuPont Introduces Fluoropolymers Made with Supercritical CO2 Technology
March 22, 2002 — DuPont Fluoroproducts has introduced the first commercial DuPont™ Teflon® fluoropolymer resins made using proprietary and fundamentally new manufacturing technology that replaces traditional water-based polymerization with a process based on supercritical carbon dioxide (C02).
According to DuPont, the new technology produces Teflon® with enhanced performance and processing capabilities, while generating less waste. The new products are being manufactured at the company's Fayetteville, North Carolina, plant in a new USD 40 million facility that started up in late 2000. The new technology was developed jointly by DuPont and scientists at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
According to DuPont, the new technology produces Teflon® with enhanced performance and processing capabilities, while generating less waste. The new products are being manufactured at the company's Fayetteville, North Carolina, plant in a new USD 40 million facility that started up in late 2000. The new technology was developed jointly by DuPont and scientists at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
The new process is first being used to make select melt-processible products for applications such as wire and cable insulation, flexible tubing and industrial films. The new process also can be used to make other fluoropolymers, such as Teflon® PFA, which is used in high- purity fluid handling components in the semiconductor and pharmaceuticals industries.
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