ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, September 6, 2011 – Retired LyondellBasell researcher Professor Ludwig Böhm has received the 2011 Giulio Natta Award for the successful development and commercialization of the company’s Hostalen Advanced Cascade Process (ACP) technology. Named for the renowned LyondellBasell predecessor company scientist whose discovery of crystalline polypropylene earned him the 1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the annual award is given to a senior scientist whose discoveries have substantially improved quality of life through chemistry.
Winnners are selected by a distinguished panel of industry experts representing the plastics and chemicals community in Ferrara, Italy, the birthplace of numerous industrial discoveries. At the awards ceremony in June, the committee stated that “Professor Böhm and his team significantly contributed to the creation, development and commercial success of the Hostalen ACP process technology for the production of HDPE, resulting in a material of superior quality and properties, achievable at competitive economics. He gave priority to the understanding of the basic phenomena involved in the catalysis, the polymerization process, the relationship between the material structure and its properties.”
“Knowledge of the catalytic processes and the structure-properties relationship are fundamental to improve products for known applications and to develop products for new applications,” said Böhm. Over his 30 year career with LyondellBasell and its predecessor companies, Prof. Böhm held various positions in Polymer R&D and ultimately became the head of R&D strategy planning at the LyondellBasell research facilities at Frankfurt, Germany. More than eight million tonnes per annum of LyondellBasell’s Hostalen process technology of has been licensed.
The Hostalen ACP process technology manufactures high-performance, multimodal HDPE resins offering optimum stiffness, impact resistance, high stress cracking resistance and processing advantages for film, blow molding and pipe applications.
LyondellBasell’s portfolio of licensed polyolefin technologies and associated technical services is comprised of:
• Hostalen – low-pressure slurry process for the production of high-performance multimodal HDPE
• Spherilene – flexible, gas-phase process technology for the production of LLDPE, MDPE and HDPE
• Lupotech – leading high-pressure tubular and autoclave processes for the production of LDPE and EVA copolymers
• Spherizone – latest-generation polypropylene technology, based on a multi-zone reactor for the production of polypropylene and novel polyolefins
• Spheripol – leading polypropylene technology for the production of homopolymer, random and heterophasic copolymers
• Metocene PP – innovative add-on technology for the production of specialty polypropylene products using single-site catalyst systems
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LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies. The company manufactures products at 58 sites in 18 countries. LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items that improve the quality of life for people around the world including packaging, electronics, automotive components, home furnishings, construction materials and biofuels. More information about LyondellBasell can be found at www.lyondellbasell.com.
For information, contact:
Media – Andreas Anker, +49 22 3672 1595 or
andreas.anker@lyondellbasell.com
