 5 May 2009
AGC’s Fluon® PTFE will be free of PFOA
AGC has announced the launch of a new range of PTFE products, the Fluon® PTFE E-SERIES.
Applications of the Fluon® PTFE E-SERIES include wire and cable insulation, hose and tube and non-stick coatings.
The E-Series production process will not use ammonium salts of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as a polymerisation surfactant. Conventional PTFE manufacturing uses PFOA in its process but there have been concerns expressed about its persistence and widespread presence in the environment.
AGC has already started commercialising the E-SERIES and the target for complete conversion of its current PTFE range to Fluon® PTFE E-SERIES is the end of 2010.
This announcement of further investment into Fluon® PTFE product development and manufacturing at the Hillhouse site in Thornton Cleveleys (UK) follows the recent £20 million construction of an ETFE manufacturing plant alongside the existing PTFE production facility.
Fluoropolymer and fluorotelomer manufacturers were invited in January 2006 to participate in a programme to voluntarily reduce and ultimately eliminate facility emissions and their product content of PFOA, PFOA precursors and related higher homologue chemicals. AGC is one of 8 companies in this global stewardship programme.
Since concerns about PFOA were raised, AGC has worked to reduce PFOA emissions in the environment and has developed a new high-performance surfactant as an alternative to PFOA. This new surfactant is being registered in the EU under the REACH programme.
AGC will convert all its fluorinated products, including the water and oil repellent Asahi Guard®, into PFOA-free products (free of PFOA at or above detection limits) by 2012.
Glossary
PFOA – PFOA is used as a polymerisation aid in the manufacture of fluoropolymers and is present in trace quantities as impurities in fluorinated water and oil repellents
Surfactants
Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the surface tension of a liquid. They can reduce the interfacial tension between oil and water by absorbing at the liquid-liquid interface.
Precursors
Precursors are substances that change into other substances via decomposition. In this case, those chemicals that decompose to generate PFOA and/or related higher homologue chemicals.
Effective 1 September 2008, AGC Chemicals Europe Ltd. announced a 15% surcharge on its entire Fluon® PTFE, Fluon® ETFE, Fluon® PFA and Aflas® fluoroelastomers product range.
This surcharge was primarily driven by the dramatic price increase of raw materials and energy as well as production investments required to meet demand.
Auf Grund der drastischen Preiszunahme der Rohstoffe und Energie sowie der geforderten Investitionen in unsere Produktion hat AGC Chemicals Europe Ltd. ab dem 1. September 2008 eine Zusatzgebühr von 15% auf alle Fluon® PTFE, Fluon® ETFE, Fluon® PFA und Aflas® Fluorelastomere Produkte erhoben.
Die neuen Preise sind angemessen und reflektieren den Wert der AGC Produkte auf dem Markt.
www.agcce.com
The Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - made from Fluon® ETFE foil cushions
AGC is proud to have supplied the ETFE film used in the construction of the Allianz Arena, Munich.
History of the construction of the Allianz Arena football stadium:
On 20th October 2002 the groundbreaking took place and construction started.
At the end of May 2005 the Allianz Arena was officially opened.
Between May and July 2006 FIFA took over the stadium.
The stadium is home to the 2 football teams FC Bayern & die Löwen (the Lions).
It is the biggest ETFE membrane in Europe consisting of 2760 cushions manufactured from
Fluon® ETFE foil from AGC. These cushions can be illuminated red, white and blue.
The World Cup was played in the stadium in 2006.
Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. has supplied the fluororesin ETFE foil for the roof of the National Stadium and also for the National Aquatics Center in Beijing.
The National Stadium used about 50,000 square metres of Fluon® ETFE foil. The National Aquatics Center (NAC) used about 300,000 square metres of the ETFE foil. This makes it the largest and most complex ETFE project in the world.
Over recent years in Europe Fluon® ETFE foil has been used increasingly as a construction material. Another example is as illustrated above, the Allianz Arena football stadium in Munich, Germany.
The ETFE membrane, film or foil has some unique features, such as transparency with high light transmittance, is lightweight so ensures the cost of its supporting structure is reduced, is durable guaranteeing a long service life and is flexible which allows architects to come up with innovative designs. Another element of the design flexibility is that it is possible to print on the surface of the foil which also makes it possible to control heat and light in stadiums. Coloured foil can further enhance the design. For the National Stadium of Beijing printed foil was selected and for the National Aquatics Center a combination of coloured and printed foil was the preferred option
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