Albemarle Announces Breakthrough in Curatives Technology

ETHACURE® 90 aliphatic diamine chain extender improves cure-rate control in a wide range of aliphatic and aromatic systems

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Albemarle Corporation

Sep 21, 2010, 04:07 ET

BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 21, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), a leader in the development, manufacture and marketing of curative solutions, announced today it has commercialized ETHACURE® 90, a new polymer chain extender that greatly improves the processing capability of polyurea and polyurethane spray elastomer coating systems used in applications such as truck bed liners, concrete and steel coatings, potable water systems and industrial coatings. Final review by the US Environmental Protection Agency is complete and commercial sales will begin in November 2010.

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ETHACURE® 90 is a unique, new aliphatic diamine chain extender for aliphatic and aromatic formulations in sprayed and hand-applied coatings. Its low reactivity and highly compatible diamine chemistry provides formulators with improved cure-rate control in a wide range of aliphatic and aromatic systems. The new product, developed by Albemarle R&D, expands and complements Albemarle's existing portfolio of value-adding polymer additives, such as the market-leading aromatic curatives, ETHACURE® 100, ETHACURE® 300 and ETHACURE® 420.

"Albemarle's new ETHACURE® 90 chain extender was developed to fill a void in the market, providing an aliphatic curative with slow reactivity that provides excellent cure rate control," said Mike Gaudet, Division Vice President of Albemarle's Stabilizers and Curatives division. "Applicators will appreciate the way that ETHACURE® 90 extends gel time for improved processing through spray equipment. New curatives aren't commercialized very often and ETHACURE® 90's slow cure time provides formulators with new formulation flexibility that they never had before."

Key benefits of ETHACURE® 90 for formulators and applicators include:

Aliphatic nature provides excellent color and UV stability
Slow cure speed and compatibility with other amines allows for extended formulation latitude
Low viscosity water white liquid for easy handling
Not moisture or air sensitive
Slow gel times provide excellent processing capability through both manual and robotic plural component spray equipment without delays in through-cure
Produces smooth, high gloss coating finishes, avoiding the undesirable "orange peel" effect
Improved performance and durability in severe-service applications such as containment barriers, floors, parking garages and bridges
Gives coatings with improved gloss retention and good physical properties (excellent adhesion, leveling, flexibility, elongation, etc.)

For additional ETHACURE® 90 information and sample requests, please contact ETHACURE® Business Development Manager, Sam Lane, at [email protected].

Albemarle's curatives business is part of the company's polymer solutions business segment. For more information about ETHACURE® 90 curatives, please visit www.curatives.com.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services. The Company is committed to global sustainability and is advancing its eco-practices and solutions in its three business segments, Polymer Solutions, Catalysts and Fine Chemistry. Corporate Responsibility Magazine recently selected Albemarle to its prestigious "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list for 2010. Albemarle employs approximately 4,000 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. To learn more, visit www.albemarle.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.

SOURCE Albemarle Corporation