For Release:
January 19, 2010
Tedlar Bags To Become Obsolete: What’s Next?
In March of 2009, SKC received a letter from DuPont®, the manufacturer
of Tedlar® film. In this correspondence, DuPont stated the following:
| “Several of the key global markets in which Tedlar PVF oriented
film is used continue to see high demand. Although DuPont continues
to make improvements in our capacity to serve our various markets,
current projections indicate that we are unable to fulfill all needs
for our
products. Unfortunately, DuPont has had to make some difficult
choices about which markets we can continue to support, and we have
determined
that the gas sampling bag market is a segment where we will phase
out support”. |
To their credit, DuPont did give advance notice of their plans before
sending out the letter. This gave SKC research chemists time to
evaluate other films as Tedlar alternatives. At this time, SKC offers
several choices
in air sampling bags:
Tedlar bags - SKC still has a supply of top-grade Tedlar film on-hand.
We will continue to offer Tedlar bags in 0.5, 1, 3, 5, 8, and 10-liter
sizes while supplies last.
SamplePro® FlexFilm bags -
After extensive research, SKC chemists determined that this film is
the best alternative to Tedlar. The SKC
proprietary SamplePro
FlexFilm offers storage stabilities > 3 days for many organic
vapors without the background levels of phenol and DMAC found in Tedlar.
See
SamplePro
FlexFilm Spec. Sheet (PDF) for storage stability
data on various compounds.
Kynar bags - Many bag users have advised SKC that they
want to transition to bags made of Kynar® film. SKC now offers these
bags on a custom basis and will evaluate market demands as the year
unfolds. Note that Kynar film
is higher in price than SamplePro FlexFilm.
Teflon bags - Teflon® is a very inert material and
is a good choice for low-level contaminants. The storage stability
in Teflon
is very limited however and analysis within 24 hours is necessary
for good
results. SKC
provides Teflon bags in a choice of sizes and fittings at
this
time.
FlexFoil bags - SKC has received
many requests for bags suitable for the collection of biogas and
landfill gases
including methane and hydrogen
sulfide. Four-ply FlexFoil® bags are recommended for this
application. See the FlexFoil bags page for storage
stability data
on various compounds.
For more information: Email: skctech@skcinc.com
Tedlar Bag Press Release (PDF)
|