“A proven legacy. An exciting future.” This is the theme Arkema has chosen to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the invention of its bio-polyamide 11.

Arkema has announced that its flagship Rilsan polyamide 11 series of high performance polymers is celebrating its 70th birthday.
Rilsan is a biopolyamide derived from the oil of the castor bean. The inedible castor bean grows in arid landscapes and therefore does not compete in any way with the cultivation of food crops.

The 70th birthday celebration was marked on 10 June by a series of customer events in different parts of the world. The celebration officially kicked off at Arkema’s Serquigny, France production facility and research center on June 10th.

During the festivities, Erwoan Pezron, global president for Technical Polymers, reflected not only on the rich legacy of the Rilsan polymer family, but on its future.
“The rapidly evolving world in which we live presents more and more opportunities for continued growth,” said Pezron. “Rilsan polymers are now produced in all three major regions – Europe, North America and Asia. And we are ready to meet many of tomorrow’s challenges today – such as lightweight metal replacement for the automotive industry, additive manufacturing (3D printing), and sports equipment that helps athletes break records. The first 70 years have prepared us well!”

The celebration will continue with several customer events across the globe, mainly in China and USA.

The first commercial batch of of material was made in 1947 in a re-purposed spinning mill called ‘La Dame Blanche’ in Serquigny, France.

Polyamide 11 made its market debut under the brand name Rilsan in 1949 and was taken up by automaker Citroën in 1950s as new plastic for fuel lines of the DS.

“Today, Rilsan PA11 is known across the globe for being one of the world’s highest performing specialty polymers,” said Kevin Hanrahan, chief marketing officer for Technical Polymers.

“The brand has become synonymous with differentiated performance as well as being 100 percent biobased. But the brand came from humble and challenging origins,” noted Hanrahan.

Arkema produces the polyamide at its sites in Serquigny, France, Birdsboro, Pennsylvania and Zhengjiagang, China.
http://www.arkema.com

Arkema and Purac sign an agreement for joint development of Lactides based block-copolymers.
09/13/2010 - Press release
Products - Innovation
Arkema and Purac announce their collaboration in functional Lactide-based block copolymers. These innovative block copolymers will enhance the thermo-mechanical and physical properties of many biobased polymers like Poly Lactic Acid (PLA), resulting in a wider range of applications opportunities. These copolymers are produced by combining Arkema’s organic catalysis ring-opening polymerisation technology with Purac’s L- and D-Lactide monomers. Arkema is known for its expertise in anionic and controlled radical polymerisation technologies. A polymer range based on these technologies is already available on the market under the Nanostrength® brand name. Arkema has developed a new ring-opening polymerisation process based on organic catalysis, thereby enabling full control over the polymer architecture. read more on
http://www.arkema.com/en/media/news/news-details/Arkema-and-Purac-sign-an-agreement-for-joint-development-of-Lactides-based-block-copolymers/