DuPont Creates Corn-Based Polymers

WILMINGTON - Jun 4/07 - SNS -- DuPont will market a new polymer made from corn instead of petroleum under the trade name DuPont Cerenol.

The product line is a family of renewably sourced, high-performance polyols (polyetherdiols). The company says the product can "replace petroleum-based ingredients or finished products without compromising functionality. . . . including personal care, functional fluids and high-performance elastomers."

The liquid polyol is made using Bio-PDO from the DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products joint venture in Loudon, Tenn. Cerenol is the result of polymerizing Bio-PDO with itself. Compared to existing alternatives such as polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG), DuPont Cerenol has a significantly lower environmental footprint as determined by an ISO 14000-compliant Life Cycle Analysis, because from cradle to gate it has a 40% savings in non-renewable energy and 42% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Cerenol is being produced at DuPont operations in the United States and Canada.

Cerenol can be used in personal care applications such as lotions. In some functional fluids such as heat transfer fluids, Cerenol offers a biodegradable fluid with excellent thermal conductivity. Cerenol is an ideal soft segment for several thermoplastic elastomers and thus enhances the performance of these elastomers. As an example, in spandex fibers it can replace the petrochemical soft segment of the polymer to provide better stretch recovery and an increase in the spinning speed of the fiber.

Cerenol will be the building block for two other renewably sourced products from DuPont. First, for new automotive primers and clearcoats from DuPont Performance Coatings that will be available in the first quarter of 2008, Cerenol provides increased chip resistance and flexibility. Second, grades of DuPont Hytrel thermoplastic elastomers made with Cerenol will be available in late 2007 and will offer performance comparable to conventional grades.