Willem De Vos, the former head of SPE, was recently named chief executive officer of Campine NV, a Belgian company that makes flame-retardant masterbatches for plastics,
antimony oxides, and PET catalysts.
Construction chemicals comprise a wide variety of materials such as cementations; admixtures like waterproofing admixtures, plasticizers, accelerating agents, retarding agents and others; adhesives and sealants like acrylic adhesives, polyurethanes, polyvinyl acetates, epoxy and others; and flame retardants like ATH,
antimony oxides, brominated, and chlorinated.
In principle, nano- structured
antimony oxides can be synthesized by various methods like vapor-solid route [24], hydrothermal [25], vapor condensation [26], sol-gel [27], X-ray radiation-oxidization route [28] and gas condensation [29].
Antimony oxides are chemically and toxico-logically distinct from antimony chlorides.
Antimony oxides, in combination with halogens, have been used as flame retardants in textiles since the 1960s.
(2003) reported antimony chloride as showing high estrogenicity, "antimony oxides--not antimony chloride--are used as catalysts in the manufacture of PET." Although Vasami asserts that
antimony oxides "are chemically and toxicologically distinct from antimony chlorides," the toxicological literature does not provide strong support for this assertion.
Above-average gains will also occur for
antimony oxides, which are used as synergists for halogenated compounds and for halogen-free phosphorus compounds substituted for others in response to environmental and health concerns.
Its Laurel industries subsidiary now offers OxyChem's Dechlorane Plus chlorinated organic FR additive plus Laurel's Fireshield and Ultrafine II
antimony oxides.
Antimony oxides and organophosphorus flame retardant chemicals are the sectors that have received the most funding, as the companies are investing to increase their flame retardant chemicals capacities by establishing new plants and expanding the capacities of the existing ones.
Among the firm's other recently commercialized additives are the EEA75UF and PP70UF FireShield Concentrates, both of which reportedly enhance physical properties of polymers when substituted for other
antimony oxides of one micron or larger; FireShield Petcats R9 and R9 UF, which are used as catalysts for polymerization of PET and production of acrylonitrile catalyst and other organic specialties; FireShield TP2 Colloidal
Antimony Oxide, for applications that require a finely divided form of solid
antimony oxide; and FireShield TPL
Antimony Oxide Colloidal Liquid, for use in adding finely divided
antimony oxide to fibers or plastics formed by an aqueous or polar organic solvent processing step.
Plastics compounders now can also buy
antimony oxide on the Web.