In order to further evaluate the effectiveness, flexibility, and practicality of R&D in the field of nanotechnology by companies or research organizations, on June 21 the Environmental Defense Agency (Environmental Defense) announced the future release of the “Guidance on the Safety and Environmental Risks of Nanotechnology Product Development” prepared in collaboration with companies.
In this collaboration, DuPont is responsible for conducting safety and environmental risk testing and developing guidance outlines for the nanotechnology development of three materials: titanium dioxide (titanium dioxide), carbon nanotubes, and zero-valent iron.
“The EPA chose to work with DuPont on the above three projects to complete the assessment, not only because DuPont manufactures all three of these products, but also because it believes that DuPont’s current production and development model is representative of a typical company participating in this assessment.” Mr. Terry Medley, DuPont’s project leader, said.
He also noted, “For DuPont, each of the three projects represents the core value chain of the industry. Because including raw materials, production, equipment, employees and many other links, DuPont has a very detailed deployment and arrangements, will help the U.S. Environmental Protection Association to successfully complete the task.”
DuPont’s new titanium dioxide category is Light Stabilizer 210, a light stabilization product applied to the plastics industry. According to the current market situation analysis, this product has a very optimistic development prospect in the future. Not all particles in this product meet the requirements of special-performance nanomaterials. Because according to the research, only particles larger than 100nm can play the special performance of photo stabilization.
Light stabilizer 210 was used as an experimental product in the preparation of “Guidance for the Development of Nanotechnology Products with Safety and Environmental Risks”. The results show that the material is effective in protecting plastic products against light radiation.
Carbon nanotubes are getting attention in thermoplastic material applications because of their ability to effectively improve the physical and electrical properties of materials. In this test, DuPont is currently researching and developing potential future properties and application technologies for carbon nanotubes. No further results have been reported at this time.
Nanoscale parts iron, a novel material for groundwater treatment. Depending on the need for testing, the focus is on its environmental impact in terms of physical safety, transportation and application. DuPont believes this compound has many unknown risks.