a global chemical manufacturer

Phthalic Anhydride

Phthalic Anhydride (P.A.) is the backbone of Stepan's Polymer Business.  Stepan operates a world scale P.A. manufacturing facility at its ISO 9002 certified Millsdale, Illinois production site.  Stepan is a leading supplier of P.A. to the merchant market in North America, in addition to supplying internal requirements of this key raw material,.  P.A. is used in the production of plasticizers for flexible PVC.  The function of plasticizers is to make otherwise rigid plastic materials flexible.  Common applications include, wire coating and insulation, vinyl wallpaper, flexible tubing and containers for the medical industry.  Another key market for P.A. is unsaturated polyester resins.  These resins are used in the construction of boats hulls, shower stalls, marble-like vanity tops, and a wide range of other applications.

 

Alkyd resins for commercial and residential paint and coatings represent another significant end use of phthalic anhydride.  Stepan's reputation for outstanding service and high quality is well known in the industry!

 

Polyester Polyols

At Stepan, phthalic anhydride is reacted with various other molecules to produce a wide pallet of aromatic polyester polyols.  Stepan is the global leader in the production and sale of aromatic polyester polyols.  The largest end uses for Stepan polyester polyols are the PUR/PIR construction and insulation markets.  Additionally,  these products are supplied to the C.A.S.E. and flexible PUR foam industries.  The unique nature of our PA-based polyol molecules, coupled with an unsurpassed position in organic surfactants, allows Stepan to provide significant physical property enhancements for customer's end-use products.  These include improvements in cell structure and insulation value of foams, adhesion to various substrates, and hydrolytic stability of the finished PUR polymers.  Lastly, Stepan's basic position in phthalic anhydride offers a reliable raw material stream of exceptional purity.  For Stepan's customers and their customers, this translates into long term supply dependability, and consistency from lot to lot.

 

Polyurethane Systems

The STEPANFOAM® line of pourable and sprayable polyurethane/polyisocyanurate foams has four decades of proven performance in a variety of aerospace, defense and other specialty applications ranging from electronic potting of antennas and radomes to composite cores, rapid tooling, cryogenic insulation and blast resistance. High-temperature RTM/autoclave capable products are available, and Stepan will certify conformance of its STEPANFOAMs to a range of military and prime-contractor performance specifications. New areas of development include wind turbine blades and liquid-hydrogen fuel cell insulation.