•H EfflËEFQEÎEËÎKËEK BUSINESS
ICI ENTERS C02 DRY CLEANING Company says new additive enhances technology's cleaning performance
I
CI AND LINDE HAVE JOINTLY
developed a new carbon dioxide-based fluid, called Washpoint, that the companies say will enable liquid C 0 2 to challenge the entrenched position of hydrocarbons and potentially cancer-causing
GREENER C02based dry-cleaning systems translate into less pollution.
perchloroethylene as solvents in the dry-cleaning market. "The introduction of Washpoint comes at a time when the dry-cleaning industry is searching for a permanent replacement for chlorinated solvents," says Howard Guy, business manager for Washpoint at Linde Gas, which will market the fluids. ICI and Linde signed a product development agreement in 2000, and the effort has resulted in a proprietary booster incorporated in the solvent. ICI hasn't said what the new chemical is, but previous technologies have incorporated fluorine- or siliconbased surfactants.
INDUSTRY
ACC NAMES ITS NEXT PRESIDENT Chamber of Commerce's Lebedev will lead chemical makers' group
T
Council has chosen a successor to President and CEO Frederick L. Webber, 64, who will retire at the end of October. The new leader of the association of chemical producers will be Gregori Lebedev, 59, currently executive vice president and chief operating officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. At the Chamber, Lebedev directs all international policy leads the Chamber's Center for Corporate Citizenship—the business group's philanthropic and gover-
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nance operation—and heads the organization'stihink-tank,the National Chamber Foundation. Prior to joining the Chamber, Lebedev held various leadership positions at the AmericanTrucking Association and the Hay Group, an employment consulting firm. H e served twice as deputy assistant secretary of state under Henry A. Kissinger and was on the W h i t e House staff during the Ford Administration. "Greg brings a rich and unique background in business, government relations, international
Linde entered the dry-cleaning business through its 2 0 0 0 merger withAGA, which had been selling DryWash fluids using a C 0 2 system developed by Raytheon Environmental Systems and Los Alamos National Lab. In addition to the GlobalTechnologies system, another drycleaning platform is based on work in liquid C 0 2 done by Joseph M. DeSimone, a chemistry and chemical engineering professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. DeSimone founded Micell Technologies in 1995 to market his process. Micell established the Hangers chain of dry cleaners, which has 16 stores using the technology Equipment maker Cool Clean Technologies bought Hangers in 2001 and became the exclusive licensee of the technology Meanwhile, Micell has branched into applications of C 0 2 ranging from electronics to metal cleaning. ICI and Linde say Washpoint is compatible with the Micell system.-ALEXTULL0
affairs, and trade association management to this important position," says Daniel S. Sanders, chairman of the A C C search committee and president of ExxonMobil Chemical. Webber has served as ACC president and CEO since 1992. During his tenure, he launched several initiatives, including the Chlorine Chemistry Council, the High Production Volume Chemical Initiative, and the LongRange Research Initiative. He also oversaw ACC's merger with the American Plastics Council. Of his successor, Webber says, "Greg has the experience, the skills, and the vision necessary to move our industry's priorities forward." On leaving ACC, he says, "It's not easy to leave this great organization after 10 challenging and rewarding years, but it is comforting to know that ACC will be in good hands."— WILLIAM ST0RCK
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