Thomas Swan consolidates its leading position in Graphene production with patents granted in continuous centrifugation

Thomas Swan & Co. Ltd., one of the UK’s leading independent chemical manufacturers, announced that it has been granted patents GB1521001.6 and GB1619983.8 for the process of continuous centrifugation in the separation of sub-micron (nanoscale) materials.

The patents are part of a portfolio of rights for Thomas Swan in the evolving graphene (and other 2D materials) processing arena. As the challenge to deliver more high-performance composite materials increases, adopting graphene as an additive often demands a selection of critically fine laminar particle grades demonstrating higher features and enhanced levels of performance.

The use of centrifuges for separating fine material is well understood and utilised generally in the chemical field. This patented Thomas Swan technology builds upon that by using a continuous centrifuge for separating sub-micron laminar solid particles, stabilised by means of a surfactant, and separating atomically thin nano-platelets having a crystalline structure and being capable of doing so at industrial scale.

Michael Edwards, Commercial Director – Advanced Materials at Thomas Swan said, “the continual development of process capabilities for Thomas Swan graphene, specifically graphene nanoplatelets [GNP], puts us in the ideal position to support customers in scaling-up from a growing number of diverse applications, into the commercial adoption of bulk graphene. With our modular, scalable production capability and our ISO-standard manufacturing operations we are ready to support the market demands”.