Polymer Characterization, S.A
Polymer Char is devoted to the development of state-of-the-art instrumentation for Polyolefin Analysis. The company offers the broadest and most modern range of instruments and services for structural characterization of polyolefins, such as Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC/SEC), Chemical Composition Distribution, Bivariate Distribution, High Temperature HPLC, Xylene Solubles, Quality Control, Preparative Fractionation or Infrared Detection.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Distributor
- Industry Type:
- Laboratory Equipment
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
About Us
Polymer Char is also well known for its advanced approach into Virtual Instrumentation Software Architecture (VISA) that, together with excellent remote control capabilities and its strong commitment to Customer’s success, places the company at the leading edge on instrumentation diagnostics and technical support.
Together with its global network of partners and distributors, Polymer Char supplies, trains and supports Customers worldwide. The company provides analytical services to 35 countries and its instruments are present today in over 20 countries within the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific, predominantly serving to Polymer Producers and Processors, Government and Contract Research Laboratories, and Universities that work on polymer research.
In the last two decades and with an average annual investment of 30% of its manpower resources on R&D, Polymer Char has played a key-role in the development of most of the existing polyolefin characterization technologies, such as CRYSTAF, CRYSTEX, CEF, automated CFC and TREF, or GPC with IR detection. Each new project, each new analysis, makes clearer Polymer Char recognition as The Polyolefin Characterization Company.
Today, in the area of polyolefin analysis, you can rely on Polymer Char’s technical excellence, expertise and overall Customer commitment, together with high quality solutions and good service.
History
Polymer Char was established by Dr. Benjamín Monrabal in 1992 in the Valencia Technology Park in Spain, being registered as Polymer Characterization, S.A.
Its initial goal was to develop a commercial CRYSTAF instrument, a new patented technology developed by Dr. Monrabal at The Dow Chemical Company laboratories to measure the Chemical Composition Distribution in semicrystalline polymers by using only one temperature cycle.
The first CRYSTAF 100 prototype was presented in the Pittsburgh Conference (Pittcon) in 1994 in Chicago, and it was in 1995 when the first unit was acquired by a leading petrochemical company in South Korea.
To count on the most accurate analysis for all its instruments, Polymer Char acquired in 1993 from a leading optoelectronic research center in Scandinavia an Infrared Detection technology fully-dedicated to polyolefin characterization.
Today, practically every petrochemical company in the world counts on the stand-alone Infrared Detector IR4, using it as a concentration and/or composition detector in HT-HPLC techniques such as Size Exclusion Chromatography as for its excellent baseline stability versus the refractive index detectors, traditionally used in GPC instruments.
Consolidated the performance of the CRYSTAF equipment and with an advanced and precise detector for polyolefin analysis, Polymer Char continued developing and marketing new instruments for polyolefin characterization.
In 1996, Polymer Char developed a TREF automated system, as well as PREP mc2 together with a German chemical company, to fractionate polymers by molar mass and by composition.
In 1999, the company launched CRYSTEX, developed in collaboration with a Belgian Polypropylene company to automate the Xylene Solubles measurement, as a fully robust and reliable alternative to traditional gravimetric methods, previously performed in PP laboratories.
In 2005, Polymer Char developed CEF. Being initiated the procedures to obtain the patent one year later, this equipment was based on an innovative crystallization concept to obtain the Chemical Composition Distribution in polyolefins, obtaining the same results than TREF in 10 times shorter.
In the same year, Dr. Monrabal together with Dr. Colin Li Pi Shan, from The Dow Chemical Company and Prof. João Soares, from the University of Waterloo, founded the International Conference on Polyolefin Characterization. Having been favorably held the first edition in Houston in 2006, next editions held in Valencia in 2008 and Shanghai in 2010 were also successfully, where Prof. Minoru Terano, from the Japan Institute of Science and Technology, and Prof. Dujin Wang, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, joined in the Committee in the respective editions. The ICPC Conference, organized by Polymer Char, represents nowadays the meeting-point par excellence for Polyolefin Characterization experts all over the world.
In 2006, Polymer Char designed CFC, according to the request of a prestigious Japanese chemical company to develop a new benchtop and fully automated instrument to perform TREF+GPC in a single process and therefore obtaining the bivariate distribution in 3 dimension plots. With a very good acceptance of this technology received from the industry, the equipment became a commercial product afterwards.
In 2007, with all the expertise acquired during the previous 15 years in polyolefin analysis together with Dr. Monrabal’s previous experience in GPC, Polymer Char entered in the Molar Mass Distribution industry. GPC-IR was designed to respond to the features that in the last decade were being demanded by Polyolefin GPC Users, such as a separate column oven compartment, automated in-line filtration, no solvent handling, a comprehensive data processing software, and besides Triple Detection, incorporation of an accurate Composition Sensor (IR4 or IR5 MCT). Three years later, GPC-IR was recognized by the Chemical & Engineering News magazine of the American Chemical Society, as one of the 10 most innovative technologies presented at Pittcon in Orlando.
By the end of 2010, Polymer Char had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Wallace W. Yau as a Scientific Advisor. Since then, Dr. Yau, the most recognized scientist in GPC, has been contributing significantly on the improvement of Polymer Char’s technology.
In the beginning of 2011, Polymer Char entered into a Value-Added Reseller (VAR) Agreement with Agilent Technologies, the global leader measurement company. Polymer Char, has been incorporating Agilent equipments for almost two decades in its final Polyolefin Analysis solutions, to ensure the highest instrument performance and reliability.
In the last two decades and with an average annual investment of 30% of its manpower resources on R&D, Polymer Char has played a key-role in the development of most of the existing polyolefin analysis technologies, such as CRYSTAF, CRYSTEX, CEF, CFC or GPC with IR detection. Each new project, each new analysis, makes clearer Polymer Char recognition as The Polyolefin Characterization Company.
Mission & Values
Mission
Polymer Char’s Mission is to become the global leader in development of state-of-the-art Instrumentation, as well as in Analytical and Consulting Services; in the field of Polymer Characterization.
Polymer Char carries out its Mission with responsibility and integrity, with a technology and innovative driving-force through significant Research & Development activities, maintaining high quality standards and commitment in all of its tasks, respecting its Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Distributors and the environment.
Values
The values of Polymer Char are based on its own principles, and represent the pillars of all its best practices. Consequently, its values are the main channel to reach its Mission, while getting responsible results.
Therefore, Mission and Values are not separated issues in the Polymer Char day-to-day activity. The company is convinced that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’, and the essence of this ‘whole’ is the continuous improvement and search of excellence.
Research & Developme
As a technology company, Polymer Char is highly devoted to Research and Development activities. For more than 20 years the company has been investing annually around 30% of its manpower resources in R&D.
Thanks to this continuous dedication, today the company can provide the widest range of reliable and advanced instruments for polyolefin characterization.
In recognition of Polymer Char’s technology, the company has received several awards, such as being considered one of the 50 Successful Companies in innovation in the Valencia Community or the innovation recognition in 2010 to its instrument GPC-IR by C&EN Magazine (from the American Chemical Society).
Polymer Char collaborates in several projects with prestigious Petrochemical companies and Research Institutes to develop unique instruments adapted to their specific characterization needs. In most of the cases these instruments have been introduced into the commercial industry afterwards with reliable and satisfactory results. Polymer Char laboratories in the Valencia Technology Park are considered today a worldwide reference, receiving every year scientists and technologists in the field of polyolefin analysis from all around the globe. With the various techniques to determine polyolefin microstructure, the whole range of Polymer Char instruments perform here analyses for companies in 35 countries.
Polymer Char has a close connection with the polyolefin industry, being its researchers frequently invited to give lectures in the main polymer research conferences and to contribute proactively by publishing scientific publications of the field.
With approximately 80% of its employees directly involved in R&D projects, Polymer Char’s technical approach is closely aligned to its Mission: to become the leading-technology company in the field of polyolefin analysis.