COLUMBIA, Md., May 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- W. R. Grace & Co. (Grace), the leading independent supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and polypropylene (PP) technology, has won the 2022 Chemical Week Global Innovation Award for the Most Innovative Specialty Chemicals Sustainable Product for their groundbreaking ActivCat® catalyst. Grace’s Vice President of Research and Development, John Oskam, received the award on May 18, 2022, in a ceremony hosted by Chemical Week. Inventing sustainable solutions for polyethylene and polypropylene production, ActivCat® catalyst is a major step in making plastic an environmentally friendly option for commercial packaging.
“Being recognized for a revolutionary product innovation like ActivCat® catalyst, spotlights Grace’s dedication to finding sustainable solutions to address the global need for renewable materials.” stated Laura Schwinn, Grace’s President, Specialty Catalysts. She adds, “Reducing plastic pollution globally while creating recyclable solutions, ActivCat® catalyst technology addresses both challenges.”
Grace’s technology helps producers cut down on catalyst consumption and reduce waste without compromising the products’ integrity. This one catalyst has the flexibility to make a variety of products and produces cleaner polyethylene grades for food and medical packaging. In addition, these cleaner grades are better suited for recycling and a safer alternative for overall consumer health.
The Chemical Week Specialty Chemicals Sustainable Product Innovation Award recognizes the best sustainable product innovation in the specialty chemical space that is commercially manufactured and has had a significant milestone in its development within the past five years. The selected product must push conventional boundaries to create an environmentally friendly, affordable solution to either an existing polluting product or a significant environmental challenge.
About Grace’s ActivCat® Catalyst
ActivCat® Catalyst provides a breakthrough activation technology designed to enhance plant and catalyst performance. ActivCat® catalyst is versatile supporting both polyethylene and polypropylene platforms and is a methylaluminoxane-based activation technology for metallocene single-site finished catalysts. Grace's ActivCat® catalyst delivers significant advantages over Ziegler-Natta and traditional single-site catalyst platforms, providing polyethylene resins with density and melt index capabilities ideally suited for all major applications for metallocene polyethylene, including pipe (PE-RT), blown film, cast film and rotomolding. Grace’s metallocene polypropylene ActivCat® catalyst systems deliver superior product performance due to extremely narrow molecular weight distribution and high hydrogen response. The benefits are seen in increased impact strength and toughness, better melt characteristics and improved clarity in films. Applications include fibers, medical, thermoforming, cast film, injection molding and flow modifiers in compounding.
About Grace
Built on talent, technology, and trust, Grace, a Standard Industries company, is a leading global supplier of catalysts, engineered materials, and fine chemicals. The company’s two industry-leading business segments—Catalysts Technologies and Materials Technologies—provide innovative products, technologies, and services that enhance the products and processes of our customers around the world. With more than 4,500 employees, Grace operates and/or sells to customers in over 100 countries.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, that is, information related to future, not past, events. Such statements generally include the words “expects,” “outlook,” “believes,” “plans,” “will,” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation: expected financial positions; results of operations; cash flows; competitive positions; and markets for securities. Like other businesses, Grace is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause its actual results to differ materially from its projections or that could cause other forward-looking statements to prove incorrect. Factors that could cause such differences include, without limitation: risks related to foreign operations, currency exchange rate changes; public health and safety concerns; natural disasters and force majeure events; changes in laws and regulations; the cost and availability of raw materials and energy; Grace’s legal and environmental proceedings; costs of compliance with environmental laws and regulations (including those pertaining to climate change); cyberattacks; the economics of its customers’ industries; and shifting consumer preferences. Past results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on Grace’s forward-looking statements, which speak only as the dates originally made. Grace undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revision to the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of their publication herein.
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Media Relations
Sue Cardillo
+1 412.953.7851
sue.cardillo@grace.com