Dow wins ten prestigious 2017 R&D awards from R&D Magazine

Nine innovative technologies from The Dow Chemical Company won 10 R&D 100 awards at a recognition event on November 17, 2017. The R&D 100 Awards, a signature program of R&D Magazine, is designed to identify and celebrate the top 100 revolutionary technologies introduced during the past year.

“The award winning technologies are great examples of innovation at Dow. Our unmatched R&D engine and portfolio of technologies continues to generate innovative new products that address customer needs in our rapidly changing, dynamic world,” said A.N. Sreeram, senior vice president, Research and Development, and chief technology officer for Dow. “I’m very proud of the women and men behind these technologies, who continue to innovate to bring value to our shareholders and address the world’s greatest challenges. We are grateful to the R&D 100 organization for the recognition of the depth and breadth of our breakthrough products.”

The 2017 R&D 100 award-winning Dow technologies are:

• Dow ComfortScience VORAZzz™ Foam helps foam producers and brand owners deliver the coolest sleep to consumers by enabling 0.2 second moisture-wicking capabilities – 7 times the standard for viscoelastic foams – and increasing airflow to 8-9 ft.3/min, a step change away from other "high-airflow" foams which only achieve 3-3.5 ft.3/min.
• Dow Corning® TC-2022 Thermally Conductive Adhesive is a one-part thermally conductive heat cure adhesive for demanding assembly of components in transportation such as engine control units, power control units, transmission control units and sensors that require not only adhesive materials for their assembly but also heat dissipation.
• ECOGROUND™ Waterborne Acrylic Binder System fully replaces polyurethane adhesives for making rubberized running surfaces for track and field, playgrounds and walkways for schools, public institutions, athletic and recreational facilities. ECOGROUND™ is a novel low odor, low VOC solution that does not contain free TDI/MDI. ECOGROUND™ provides an improved environmentally friendly and higher-performing alternative to solvent-based systems.
• Fluidized Catalytic Dehydrogenation (FCDh) technologyselectively produces targeted olefins from abundant shale gas resources while enabling greater than 20 percent capital savings versus other commercial processes and reducing energy requirements per pound of olefin produced. The patented technology easily integrates into existing or new production processes for propylene, ethylene and other valuable hydrocarbon intermediates.
• Fusion™ Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers – Dow and NexGen, LLC developed Fusion™ Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers to revolutionize the bulk bag industry using an automated Fusion™ heat sealing process to eliminate the standard hand-sewn bag construction, providing improved functionality and increased sustainability.
• INNATE™ Precision Packaging Resins are a family of linear low density polyethylene polymers that deliver game changing toughness to the flexible packaging market. This technology enables the design of lower cost, tougher packages which are more sustainable and outperform incumbent solutions.
• ROPAQUE™ NT-2900 Opaque Polymer for BLUE 4EST™ Thermal Paper replaces conventional thermal paper, eliminating chemical developers and removing chemicals of concern from production. The new paper uses engineered reflective polymer spheres that collapse when heated by the thermal print head allowing underlying color to show. The paper is compatible with existing equipment and, as an added bonus, creates images that do not fade with time.
• Syl-Off® EM 7978 Coating is an emulsion-based silicone release coating for bakery and food release applications. A release coating for non-stick packaging, Syl-Off® EM 7978 Coating technology enables release paper manufacturers to address several global trends, including growth in the fast food market, cost efficiencies, processing improvements, and sustainability initiatives.
• VORAGUARD™ technology for Sustainable Fire Safetyenables ultra-low emission and halogen-free polyurethane foam products. This new polyol technology provides flexible foam manufacturers with a powerful solution that increases comfort levels in furniture, bedding and seating applications, while easing regulatory compliance and simplifying foam processing and storage.

VORAGUARD™ Polyol for Polyurethane Foam, and ECOGROUND™ Waterborne Acrylic Binder System received special recognition awards. ROPAQUE™ NT-2900 Opaque Polymer for BLUE 4EST™ Thermal Paper received both an R&D 100 Award and a special recognition award.

This year marks six straight years of Dow products appearing on the R&D 100 list. The Dow name now appears more than 100 times in the R&D 100s. Read more about our recent 2014, 2015 and 2016innovations. In 2017, Dow again received more awards than any other entrants, and had more Dow finalists than all other organizations.

Since 1963, the R&D 100 Awards have identified revolutionary technologies newly introduced to the market. Widely recognized as the “Oscars of Invention,” the R&D 100 Awards identify and celebrate the top technology products and services of the year. Past winners have included sophisticated testing equipment, innovative new materials, chemistry breakthroughs, biomedical products, consumer items, and renewable energy.

For more information about Dow’s innovation engine and this year’s full list of 2017 Dow Winners and Finalists, visit Science and Sustainability on www.dow.com.

This release was first published 20 November by Dow.