PRESS RELEASE

Valencia, February 26 th , 2009

GPC-IR ®, the most advanced High Temperature GPC/SEC system for Polyolefin analysis.

Polymer Char launches its new High Temperature GPC instrument. The GPC-IR ® is specially designed for polyolefin analysis and provides its users with an advanced modular design, an improved detection stability and full automation of the analytical process.

The GPC-IR ® fully automated operation process eliminates the need of solvent handling. The instrument takes care of the filling of the vials, sample dissolution, in-line filtering and injection process. There is no need at all of vials transfer at high temperature.

The GPC-IR ® main body consists of a Columns Oven compartment, with a 0.01ºC control up to 220ºC, where the GPC/SEC columns are placed and isolated from the rest of the hardware; and on top of it, the separate Injector-Detectors Oven compartment, where Injection and Filtration Valves and detectors are installed.

The autosampler’s capability is 70 samples, with a heated zone for sample dissolution. Each sample vial stays at the heated compartment (up to 250ºC) only for selected dissolution time. This capability combined with a gentle shaking avoids the thermal and shear degradation in the samples.

The instrument can be configured as a quadruple detector system with: Infrared detector IR4 (with concentration and composition sensors), Viscometer, Light Scattering (DAWN ® HELEOS™ II of Wyatt Technology ®) and, optionally the high sensitive IR5 MCT with a Mercury Cadmium Telluride infrared detector can be added for the analysis of very low levels of branching (e.g. analysis of HDPE Pipe resins).

GPC-IR ® Virtual Instrumentation Software provides instrument control and process monitoring. The new and comprehensive GPC One ® calculation and reporting software platform integrates all detector signals in a single package. Also SQC (Statistical Quality Control) tools are incorporated into the software, to help tracking the status of the instrument.

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Press Contacts

Corporate Affairs: Products:

Jose Ignacio Monrabal Raquel Ubeda [email protected] [email protected] Tel.: +34 96 131 64 29 Tel.: +34 96 131 81 20 Fax: +34 96 131 81 22 Fax: +34 96 131 81 22

About Char

Polymer Char is devoted to the development of state-of- the-art instrumentation for Polyolefin Analysis.

The company offers the broadest and most modern range of instruments and services for polymer analysis and more specifically, for structural characterization of polyolefins, such as - GPC/SEC (GPC-IR, GPC One), Chemical Composition Distribution (CRYSTAF, TREF, CEF), Bivariate Distribution by Cross Fractionation (CFC), High Temperature HPLC (TGIC, SGIC 2D), Xylene Solubles (CRYSTEX), Preparative Fractionation (PREP mc2) or Infrared Detection (IR4, IR5 MCT).

Polymer Char is also well known for its advanced approach into virtual instrumentation software that, together with excellent remote control capabilities and its strong commitment to Customer success, places the company at the leading edge on instrumentation diagnostics and technical support.

Polymer Char, together with its global network of partners and distributors, supplies, trains and supports Customers worldwide. The company provides analytical services in 35 countries and its instruments are present today in over 20 countries within the Americas, , , Middle East and Pacific, predominantly serving to Polymer Producers and Processors, Government and Academic Research , Contract Research Organizations, Analytical and Testing Laboratories and Chemical Instrumentation Manufacturers.

In the last two decades and with an average annual investment of 30% of its manpower resources on R&D, Polymer Char has played a key-role in the development of most of the existing polyolefin characterization technologies. Each new project, each new analysis, makes clearer Polymer Char recognition as The Polyolefin Characterization Company.

www.polymerchar.com