MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem's Technology and Innovation Center in Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul invested RUSD1 million to acquire a new piece of equipment for evaluating the sizes and changes in the polymer chains studied in the laboratories, which are important characteristics for the manufacture and application of the plastic resins developed by the company, reported the company on its site.
The technology, which is known as gel permeation chromatography (GPC Polymer-Char), enables simultaneous analyses of polymer chains, which increases productivity and reduces the consumption of solvents and generation of waste, thereby making the entire process more sustainable.
It will also increase the company's capacity to meet the needs for developing new products to support industrial plants and clients. "Another key aspect is the fact that the entire preparation and analysis are conducted without any direct contact by researchers with the solvents," said Nercio Hexsel, director of the CT&I.
Braskem's Technology and Innovation Center in Triunfo has 11 research laboratories and six pilot plants. The structure is used to develop new materials and technologies whose applications improve people's lives and make manufacturing processes more sustainable. In 2013, the center, which has 44 Team Members, conducted 46,000 tests, 15,000 of which to support some 500 Clients. In the same period, new products developed in the last three years by the company's Technology and Innovation area accounted for 19% of the volume of polypropylene and polyethylene sold in Brazil.
As MRC informed previously, last summer, Braskem, one of the leading thermoplastic resin producers in the Americas and among the world's largest biopolymer producers, announced the expansion of its portfolio of renewable products with the launch of its new line of green low-density polyethylene (LDPE), with this new product family complementing itпїЅs already well known Green Plastics.
Braskem is Brazilian main producer of polyethylene and polypropylene. In addition with ongoing plants located in both petrochemical complexes, in April 2008 Braskem opened a 300,000 metric ton polypropylene plant in the city of Paulinia (Sao Paulo).
MRC