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Polyolefin Catalysts |
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Grace Davison: A Leading Supplier of Polyolefin Catalysts and Silica Carriers News: SYLOPOL TM selected for polyethylene technology process in Asia. |
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| Grace Davison has been a pioneer and leader in polyolefin catalysts and supports since the 1950's, when Phillips Petroleum first invented the low-pressure process for polymerization of high-density polyethylene. | ||||
| But Grace Davison's expertise in silica gel, which acts as the carrier for polyolefin catalysts, dates back to the 1920's. Silica gel was a material developed by Dr. Walter A. Patrick, a Johns Hopkins chemistry professor, to adsorb vapors and gases for use in gas mask canisters. Based on Dr. Patrick's process, Davison became the first commercial manufacturer of silica gel. | ||||
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| However, silica gel did not receive wide acclaim until World War II, when Davison developed the silica technology to meet three compelling wartime needs: first, as a dehydrating agent to protect military equipment from moisture damage; second, as a fluid cracking catalyst for the production of high-octane gasoline; and third, as a catalyst support for the manufacture of butadiene from alcohol, an integral part of the synthetic rubber program. | ||||
| These last two applications marked the beginning of Davison's entrance into the custom catalyst business. Davison continued to work with specific companies to develop catalyst technologies. | ||||
 In
1957, Davison started commercial scale production of polyolefin
catalysts developed by the Phillips Petroleum Company. Hogan and
Banks at Phillips had used Grace Davison products to develop their
process for production of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and
Grace Davison continues to be the major supplier of the chrome-silica
catalyst used in the process. Further developments by Phillips led
to improved catalyst systems and the commercialization of Magnapore®
catalyst in the late 1970's. Today, Grace Davison is the sole supplier
of Magnapore catalyst. |
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 In
1968, Union Carbide introduced its Unipol® gas phase
process for high-density polyethylene production and subsequently
for linear low-density polyethylene. The catalysts used in this
process are complemented by Grace Davison silica technology and
developed jointly with researchers from Union Carbide. Grace Davison
is currently the worldwide and principal supplier to both the Phillips
and Union Carbide polyethylene processes |
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| Magnapore®
is a registered trademark of W.R. Grace & Co. Unipol® is a registered trademark of Union Carbide Corporation Copyright © 1999 W.R. Grace & Co. All rights reserved. |
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