Amoco, aromatic polyesters

Petroleum refineries produce a stream of valuable aromatic compounds called the BTX, or benzene-toluene-xylenes (Ruthven 1984). The Cg compounds can be easily separated from the Ce and C compounds by distillation, and consist of ethyl benzene, o-xylene, m-xylene, and / -xylene. Ethyl benzene is the starting material for styrene, which is used to make polystyrene / -xylene is oxidized to make terephthalic acid, and then condensed with ethylene glycol to make polyester for fibers and films. The buyers of / -xylene are the manufacturers of terephthalic acid, such as BP-Amoco, who in turn sell to the fiber manufacturers such as DuPont and Dow. These are big and sophisticated companies that have strong research and engineering capabilities, and are used to have multiple suppliers. The eventual consumers of adsorbents are the public who consider polyester as one of the choices in fabric and garments, in competition with other synthetic and natural fibers. Their purchases are also dependent on personal income and prosperity. In times of recession, it is always possible for a consumer to downgrade to cheaper fibers and to wear old clothes for a longer period of time before new purchases. 

A whole series of high-performance polyester LCPs was introduced in 1985. They were assembled from p-hydroxybenzoic acid and 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid. Polyarylates (PARs) - amorphous phenolic esters derived from aromatic dicarboxylic acids (mixtures of terephthalic acid and isophthalic acid) and biphenols such as bisphenol A - are produced by Amoco (Ardel ), Celanese (Durel ) and DuPont (Arylon ) at a volume of approx. 2000 t/a. 

Liquid crystalline aromatic polyamides were the first chemical class to be commercialised. The best known example is Kevlar fibre which is spun from liquid crystalline solution to obtain the benefit of the high orientation present in the nematic phase. Subsequently, melt-processable main-chain polyesters were developed and brought to the market (Amoco with Xydar, Hoechst-Celanese with Vectra). 

In the future, prospects for combining engineering polymers with the lower cost commodity polymers should lead to unique cost/performance systems. Potential combinations might include PC/PP, polyester (PBT, PET)/PP and POM/PP or HOPE. Newer commercial polyamides (PA-46 Amodel (Amoco) aliphatic/aromatic polyamide) should also be off interest in new blend combinations. An example of this involves Amodel/ PPS blends as noted by Chen and Sinclair [1997]. Although the rate of introduction of new engineering polymers has decreased, new additions will be continued to be expected and thus new blend combinations will also be offered. 

Xydar Amoco Performance Products Inc. s tradename for its family of liquid-crystal polymers, xylene A colorless aromatic hydrocarbon liquid. It is used as a solvent, in the manufacture of polyester plastics, and as a chemical intermediate. 

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