Living polymer scale-up
25 Jan 2005
Coventry-based specialist polymer company Warwick Effect Polymers (WEP) has successfully scaled up its proprietary living controlled polymerisation technology, which allows it to remove a metal catalyst from a crude product mixture with a single filtration.
The 150kg test batch proved the scale-up concept, and will allow the company to begin production of a specific polymer for Unilever hair products.
Living controlled polymerisation is a technique that uses mild conditions, giving it an advantage over free radical polymerisation, until now the dominant technology for making speciality polymers.
The polymer chains grow at a predictable, linear rate, allowing the process operators to control the length of the polymer and the architecture of the chain, such as the addition and composition of different copolymer blocks and side-chains.
WEP's proprietary pyridine imine ligand system can be altered to make a broad range of catalysts which can be adapted for individual applications, the company says.
'This chemistry is set to revolutionise the production of new effect macromolecules,' claims WEP's chief executive, Fergal O'Brien.
'We have already demonstrated that particular effects that are desired in a product can be designed into a polymer, and we have now proven this technology at scale. We are delighted that Unilever has recognised the process's potential and look forward to producing multi-kilo batches for trials over the coming months,' he adds.
