Short-chain fluorocarbon repels water, oil and alcohol

摘要

AGC Chemicals Americas Inc of Exton, Pennsylvania, USA, has developed a treatment that makes polypropylene (PP) nonwovens repellent to water, oil and alcohol without introducing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). To be sold under the name of AsahiGuard AG-E600,the treatment is based on patented technology using fluorocarbons with six carbon atoms in the molecule's chain (so-called "C6 chemistry") rather than the long-chain (C8) chemicals, which were widely used in the industry until recent concerns about the effects on health and the environment of by-products (such as PFOA) resulting from the breakdown of the long-chain molecules.