CHARLOTTE, NC - Dow Coating Solutions, a market-facing
business of The Dow Chemical Co., announced that it has implemented
high-throughput experimentation (HTE) technology in the company’s global
R&D labs. HTE, also known as combinatorial chemistry, uses advanced
computer modeling and robotics to identify promising compounds and material
solutions, enabling faster development and commercialization of new chemistries
in the coatings industry.
“Using HTE technology, we are changing the way we develop
new products and explore new solutions with our customers,” Wendy Hoenig, Vice
President R&D for Dow Coating Solutions explained. “Through new polymer
development and formulation latitude studies, we are working on innovative
solutions that meet historic and emerging industry needs with chemistries we
would not have considered before. Current projects include enabling new environmental
or ‘green’ coating formulations, enhanced environmental durability, reduced
application and formulation costs, smart coatings, and others.”
Hoenig also explained that by significantly reducing the
time it takes to explore and implement new solutions, HTE will allow Dow
Coating Solutions to more quickly respond to new customer and industry
challenges in areas such as sustainability, regulatory compliance and desired
product performance characteristics. Through implementation at the new coatings
R&D labs in Midland, MI, and Shanghai, China, the cycle time for
development of new formulations is significantly reduced.
Dow partnered with Symyx Technologies to develop the
equipment and technology behind HTE. In addition to coatings, the approach is
being successfully used for several other Dow businesses including thermosets,
adhesives, specialty elastomers, and for exploratory research involving
synthesis and catalysis. Since 2000, Dow has invested more than $100 million in
HTE technology.
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