Market indicators unanimously point to a rosy future for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and other fluoropolymers, with mean growth of 4.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) forecast through 2017 for the European market. In addition, a report published by PR Newswire estimates global fluoropolymer market revenue will reach almost $9.8 billion by 2018, growing at a CAGR of 5.7% from 2013 to 2018.

Dyneon, headquartered in Burgkirchen, Germany (photo), is one of the leading producers of fluoropolymers in the world. The company emerged from a joint venture of 3M and Hoechst AG in 1996 and, since 1999, has been a wholly owned subsidiary of 3M. Today, Dyneon is part of 3M's Advanced Materials Division and is diligently working to stay ahead of market demand, having made several key moves to bolster capacity recently.

Material with a Bright Future

Fueled by their growing range of applications, advancing technology across all industries and their enormously advantageous chemical and thermal properties, fluoropolymers are poised to capture even more market share in the future.

"Automobile manufacturers, for example, who are confronted with increasingly tougher carbon-emission regulations, are looking for ways to improve engine performance while saving on space. They have discovered the merits of PTFE's chemical resistance and the ability to handle higher temperatures," said Dr. Hans Günther Beckers, general sales and marketing manager, 3M Advanced Materials Division.

Fluoropolymers' lightness, durability and several other key properties make it of great value in architecture as well, enabling the construction of stadiums, for instance, with significantly fewer structural members, which improves visibility for spectators. These materials made possible the innovative and futuristic design and construction of many of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil venues. In the chemical industry, fluoropolymers are essential in applications like tank linings or seals. Their outstanding chemical and thermal resistance is a key contributor to making chemical processes safer and more efficient.

Dyneon Builds Up-Cycling Facility

The list of fluoropolymer's field of applications is vast, and 3M is developing its capacities and resources as the market develops. When talking about the future of these materials, however, it is necessary to address the subject of sustainability, which Dyneon takes very seriously, having designed the world's first process to recover up to 95% of the monomers split from fluoropolymers. The new Up-Cycling process conserves fluorspar, a very valuable mineral that is the raw material essential to the manufacture of fluoropolymers. It also secures the availability of this rare commodity, whose price is very volatile. The process integrates seamlessly into fluoropolymer production lines.

This project already has passed the laboratory phase, and a plant on industrial scale is under construction, with the building construction already complete. Work is underway on the plant's infrastructure and installation of equipment and machinery. Plans call for the new facility to begin operations in fourth quarter 2014, when the first industry-scale fluoropolymer Up-Cycling plant is expected to process 500 metric tons of fluoropolymer waste generated from Dyneon's plant and other sources in the first year. The facility will integrate into the on-site emission control system. Alone, the fact that we received such enormous support on this project, including that of the University of Bayreuth, InVerTec and Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, should be an indication of just how significant this achievement is.

Top Industry Specialists

Another key move made by Dyneon is bringing Dr. Michael Schlipf on board. Schlipf is known throughout the industry as an expert in PTFE and modified PTFE and is highly regarded as a forum speaker. He will play a very active role in PTFE engineering and Dyneon's New Sealing Technology compounds, and will consult customers on the use of Dyneon fluoropolymer products.

"If a customer requires assistance modifying processes or needs a custom solution, Dr. Schlipf will work closely with the customer to find the best answer to the challenge. He is especially experienced in listening to the needs of industry customers and he knows how to plow the information he obtains from such interaction effectively back into our new product engineering processes, ensuring the products successfully meet customer requirements," said Dr. Hans-Günther Beckers. Schlipf will also provide important feedback for the advancement of existing products according to the evolving needs of our customers.

PTFE: Sealing Our Future

Meeting market demand also means developing new products and technologies. 3M has recently launched the first of many soon-to-come products in its New Sealing Technology (NST) product portfolio. The new high-performance PTFE compound for dynamic seals offers numerous significant advantages for the automobile and chemical industries, processors, consumers, and the environment. The first product, called NST 1111R, is highly innovative and demonstrates the company's compounding expertise, featuring Dyneon's high-performance PTFE and 3M's solid ceramic fillers. Its development required a sizeable financial investment, much time and a great deal of technical know-how.

The new material offers many decisive advantages over fiberglass-reinforced compounds, including lower raw-material consumption, reduced leakage, improved wear and friction torque, as well as lower permeability. And there are many more high-performance compounds in 3M's innovative pipeline, including products with hollow glass microspheres for static sealing applications. Especially useful is that all the compounds formulate to meet customers' specific needs.

New FFKM Production Facility

Especially perfluoroelastomers (FFKM) are highly resistant to aggressive substances and heat, which along with their excellent compression set resistance makes them ideal for chemical and pharmaceutical processors. But since there is no single perfluoroelastomer that is capable of meeting all the ambitious requirements of every manufacturing process or environment, individual and balanced solutions are necessary. This is where 3M's customer commitment, and polymer/compounding expertise and capability ensure customers get exactly what they're looking for.

Here, too, 3M Advanced Materials is expanding its manufacturing capacities and product portfolio to satisfy and prepare for tomorrow's market requirements. These efforts include a brand new compound manufacturing facility in Antwerp, Belgium, which recently opened its doors to production at the company's facility. The production line dedicated solely to the manufacture of FFKM compounds, a state-of-the-art milling-, pachaging and storage areas.

Teaming Up with Leading Innovative Institutes

3M realizes the need to work closely with leading institutes, universities and other sources of cutting-edge technologies and know-how, in order to provide various industries with advanced fluoropolymer solutions. Among the many instances of cooperation, certainly the collaboration with InVerTec, the University of Bayreuth and Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt on the fluoropolymer up-cycling plant is a prime example of Dyneon's unwavering faith in PTFE's ability to answer many of the industries' diverse challenges now and in the future.  

ChemDelta - Fertile Ground for Innovation

Dyneon's German headquarters in Burgkirchen at the Industriepark Gendorf, which is in Bavaria's ChemDelta, is home to its research and development facilities, as well as fluoromonomer and fluoropolymer plants. In the ChemDelta, 25 companies and 25,000 employees together have generated total annual revenue of over €8 billion and have received or implemented €3 billion in investments in the past three years. Many of the companies are household names in the global chemical industry.