|
Polycarbonate (PC), the engineering polymer
with excellent clarity and impact, is possibly the second largest
engineering polymer, after Polyamides in this group.
Somehow, their growth seemed to taper off after
the beginning of this century, possibly due to wider price fluctuations.
In fact, expansion plans announced by major producers like GE and
Bayer have not yet materialized. However, the material seems to
have returned to a healthier growth potential. This growth seems
to have been the result of very positive and concerted development
efforts made by the two large producers, GE and Bayer.
In fact, both these companies have collaborated
with each other to develop the difficult application of windshield
for cars in place of glass. While PC has succeeded in application
for windows for the sides, rear as well as the sunroof, windshield
replacement is likely to take another 4-5 years.
Another interesting newer application is the use
of PC film for external surface in automotive sector. This could
help in elimination of painting process, thereby preventing pollution
due to elimination of solvent emissions. This in-mould decoration
technique could be gainfully used in other applications like cell
phones, etc.
PC alloys with ABS and other thermoplastics have
been very successful. The newer developments of alloying/blending
with PP, aiming to seek wider applications in the interior of automobiles,
could help in increasing the growth of PC. This type of blend would
be quite economic, due to incorporation of PP.
Newer developments of higher storage capacity (going from 800 megabytes
to as high as 25 gigabytes) could continue the dominance of PC for
optical disks. Higher productivity due to faster cycle time (almost
2.5seconds) on PC CDs would also aid in the growth of PC.
GE, the largest PC producer has decided to spend significant resources
to catalyze the growth. In fact, the recent display of Lexan PC
at NPE 2003 in Chicago during June 2003 clearly shows that GE is
very buoyant about the future of PC.
Will these efforts lead to the projected demand of about 3 million
tonnes from less than 2 million in 2000?
|