ARKEMA
Arkema is a French chemical company involved in the production and commercialisation of chemical intermediates and polymers. With 19.000 employees around the world and a 2017 turnover of 8.4 Bn€, Arkema is among the 3 leading worldwide players for 90% of its product portfolio, being number one for such products as specialty long chain polyamides and fluorinated polymers, thiochemicals, etc. Arkema is especially the leader in high performance long chain polyamides, finding applications in such markets as oil and gas and automotive. The Polyamide powders proposed in this project are a new generation of products designed to match the requirements of structural automotive parts. The R&D work will be carried out in Arkema’s Polymer R&D facility located in Serquigny (France). This R&D centre is equipped with all the up to date synthesis, formulation, analytical, processing and characterization facilities.
For the project, various existing polycondensation reactors, including a continuous polycondensation pilot plant under development in 2018 will be used. Grinding equipment will be used for the recycling studies as well as for the PA powder production. Twinscrew extruders, injection moulding machines will also be used for the recycling study. Analytical tools such as GPC, IR, NMR, microscopy and mechanical characterization will be used as needed for the expertise of the polymer and composites.
