TPT November 2010

PVDF range of anti-corrosion solutions

THE problem of corrosion undoubtedly causes the worst damage to plant and equipment in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, involving the responsibility of every manufacturer. Arkema’s range of anti-corrosion products makes for smoother plant operation. Arkema’s Kynar ® polyvinylidene fluoride has emerged as one of the market’s toughest thermoplastics in terms of resistance to corrosion and to the harshest of acids. The company is a leading producer of polyvinylidene fluoride resins. These resins are used in the lining of tanks, in injection moulded parts for fittings and valves, and in extruded parts for pipes. The company’s PVDF range has outstanding properties for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Kynar ® polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), the homopolymer of 1,1-di-fluoro-ethene (VF2), is a technical thermoplastic offering excellent mechanical strength and chemical stability, high abrasion resistance, and very good thermal stability.

As a fluoropolymer, Kynar PVDF boasts outstanding resistance to most chemicals and solvents. It is also appreciated for its low flame and smoke characteristics. This unique balance of properties has marked it out over the years in a number of sectors, from prepainted metal structures for architecture to high-purity equipment for the micro-electronic and pharmaceutical industries. Kynar resins are easy to process using standard extrusion, injection moulding or compression moulding methods. Kynar Flex ® resins are a series of PVDF- based fluoropolymers with higher flexibility than conventional PVDF. Their properties are similar to those of Kynar resins in terms of purity and chemical resistance. However, they feature unique qualities of chemical compatibility with high pH solutions, and superior impact strength at ambient and colder temperatures. Arkema has also recently developed a new functionalised PVDF range, branded Kynar ® ADX. These resins have high reactivity and offer excellent adhesion

performance on a variety of substrates (metal, plastic, glass, textile) without the need for an adhesion primer. This makes the product suitable for the manufacture of composite structures that combine the properties of Kynar with those of the various substrate materials. Kynar ADX thereby offers opportunities for new applications in a number of markets. Kynar ADX can be used in electrostatic or in dip powder coating, when applied on steel or aluminium without a primer. The resin imparts excellent chemical resistance to metal parts in highly corrosive environments (eg paper, chemical industries). This product can also be used in coextrusion, for multilayer structures obtained by combining Kynar ® ADX with most polymers. This process imparts other properties (eg chemical stability, UV resistance, barrier) to the polymers. Arkema – France Fax: +33 1 49 00 83 96 Email: guenter.sappelt@arkema.com Website: www.arkema.com

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N ovember 2010

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