AGC Inc., headquartered in Tokyo, has announced the global sales launch of AMOLEA (TM) AS-300, a new type of fluorinated solvent with low environmental impact. The product is available for sampling from November 2018.

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Rising environmental awareness in recent years has created strong demand for new fluorinated solvents with decreased Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) (*1) and decreased Global Warming Potential (GWP) (*2). This launch marks the first ever fluorinated solvent that reduces ODP to almost "0" and GWP to below "1". AMOLEA (TM) AS-300 not only exerts minimal impact on our global environment, but also delivers superior safety, excellent solvency and an optimal boiling point that decreases consumption. Since announcing the product in October 2017, AGC has conducted several detailed performance evaluations in cooperation with customers, which have verified its suitability for a wide range of applications. Now that mass production preparations have also been completed, the company is focusing efforts on the official global sales launch of the product.

Fluorinated solvents have several traits, which give them advantages over other products, chlorinated solvents, hydrocarbon, t-DCE blended solvents, n-PB, HFC (*4) and so on. For instance, their non-flammability provides easy handling. They also feature a less rusting issue of final products and their low surface tension allows for cleaning parts with complex shapes while they reduce water discharge compared with water-based detergent and their moderate boiling point helps to reduce consumption. This makes AMOLEA (TM) AS-300 ideal for a wide range of applications, including the cleaning of precision parts and optical components, as well as being a dilution and carrier fluid. AMOLEA (TM) AS-300 is ideal for customers moving away from chlorinated solvents, and n-propyl bromide (*3) due to its lower impact on the environment and superior solvency. AMOLEA (TM) AS-300 may easily be used in existing vapor degreasers currently used with chlorinated solvents or n-propyl bromide.

Under its “AGC plus” management policy, the AGC Group has made a commitment to create products that add various “pluses” for stakeholders. Pluses for society include “safety,” “security” and “comfort” while pluses for customers include “new value” and “functionality.” AGC is dedicated to leveraging the technical strengths it has built up and refined through years of experience with fluorochemicals to continue to develop and provide products that help in reducing environmental impact.

Notes:

(*1) Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP): A coefficient that represents the destructive effect of the unit weight of mass of substance emitted into the atmosphere, as compared with the potential of chlorofluorocarbon-11 (CFC-11) which is assigned a reference value of 1.

(*2) Global Warming Potential (GWP): A coefficient that represents the effect on global warming. It refers to a figure that expresses the global warming potential of greenhouse gases in relation to the baseline value of carbon dioxide.

(*3) n-propyl bromide (1-bromopropane): Based on toxicity data, the ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) has banned the use of such solvents in Europe, except for specified uses, with effect from July 4, 2020, as described in Annex XIV of REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals).

(*4) Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC): HFC will be phased down worldwide as per the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

*The company changed its name from Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. to AGC Inc. on July 1, 2018. Its President is Takuya Shimamura.

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For reference, please visit:

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/201811280853-O1-p12XG7mt.pdf

Web site: https://www.agcce.com/amolea-as-300/