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DuPont Dow Announces New Viton® FreeFlow™ Z: Breakthrough Processing Additives Technology

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News Release from Dupont Dow Elastomers

9/9/2002

Electrical wires DuPont Dow Elastomers has announced new-to-the-industry polymer process additives that represent a breakthrough in process aid technology. The new Viton® FreeFlow™ fluoroelastomer process aids are used in the production of blown film, cast film, and extruded pipe, wire and cable.

The new products - Viton® FreeFlow™ Z-100 and Viton® FreeFlow™ Z-200 - use an optimal combination of rheology modified fluoroelastomer and innovative interfacial agents to make them work more efficiently and effectively than products currently on the market. They can significantly improve product quality without increasing costs, as well as provide exceptional performance in the most challenging resins. Viton® FreeFlow™ Z by DuPont Dow is the first new process aid technology to be introduced to the plastics industry since the early 1990s.

For film converters, the additive eliminates melt fracture quickly, facilitating the production of smooth, clear films with a high gloss finish. It offers robust processing capability, the ability to reduce die gap size in blown films and it reduces die-buildup on extruded goods. Less material is needed to coat the die, reducing material costs.

Christopher Fisher, Marketing Manager - DuPont Dow, said, "These new Viton® FreeFlow™ products offer customers revolutionary improvements in processing, efficiency and performance. The technology enables the production of products that were not possible before and solves processing problems that other types of additives cannot."

The newest addition to the DuPont Dow Viton® FreeFlow™ family is based on patent-pending technology that controls the size of the fluoroelastomer particles. The larger particles coat more of the die surface, enlarging the boundary layer on the die wall thus increasing the probability a particle will reach and coat the die. The result is a higher quality product produced quickly and at a lower cost.

Viton® FreeFlow™ Z-100 offers improved performance and uses a lower level of polyethylene glycol (PEG), a conventional interfacial agent, than other fluoroelastomer polymer process aids. Among its benefits are: reduced potential for olfactory effects in the final product; reduced screw slippage in film extruders that can be caused by excessive PEG, reduced breakdown from oxidatively unstable components and reduced negative interactions with other film additives.
Viton® FreeFlow™ Z-200 uses a new, patent-pending interfacial agent with superior performance characteristics. The product uses new polycaprolactone-based technology, which is more oxidatively and thermally stable than PEG, to offer best in class performance. Its benefits include no olfactory effects in final products, virtual elimination of screw slippage, reduced discoloration and reduced potential for negative interactions with other film additives.

Viton® FreeFlow™ Z products contain no toxic chemicals and are stable at standard formulation and processing temperatures. DuPont first introduced Viton® FreeFlow™ 10, the original fluoropolymer for improved processibility and film clarity, in 1982.

About DuPont Dow Elastomers

DuPont Dow Elastomers, a global supplier of specialty elastomers with global headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, is a joint venture between the DuPont Company and The Dow Chemical Company, with more than US $1 billion in sales. The company is the industry leader in chloroelastomers, ethylene elastomers and fluorinated elastomers, serving the automotive, chemical, construction, general rubber, plastics and wire and cable industries.

Viton® FreeFlow™ is trademark of DuPont Dow Elastomers.

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Viton® FreeFlow™ and Viton® are registered trademarks of DuPont Dow Elastomers.