International Polyol Chemicals, Inc.
PO BOX 190 - Blue River, OR 97413 - (541) 822-8400
History
HISTORY
A Quarter Cenury
of Continuous R&D Commitment to
the Development of GREEN Technology
Organized as Quincy Chemical Research Inc. in 1977 by some 30 agriculturists living in Grant County in Central Washington State.
Corporate vision and mission established to develop and market clean technology which would add value to, and increase markets for, agricultural products.
Funded Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory at the nearby Hanford Nuclear Reservation to identify and explore candidate technologies to meet corporate vision.
Selected obscure thermal catalytic hydrotreating technology for producing, 1st - sugar alcohols (e.g. sorbitol) from starch or sugar, then 2nd - further processing of the sugar alcohols to produce the commodity industrial polyol chemicals ethylene glycol (EG), propylene glycol (PG) and glycerin (GLY), using hydrogen as a reactant in both processes. EG, PG and ~50% of GLY is conventionally made from petroleum derived products.
Contracted with Hydrocarbon Research Inc. of Camden NJ in 1978 to develop and demonstrate the technology and processes to the point of proven conceptual designs for processes to produce industrial glycols from potatoes. Obtained 5 patents and 2 process conceptual designs for a unique, continuous sorbitol process, and for a continuous polyols process. Technology applicable to any sugar derived feedstock.
Reorganized as International Polyol Chemicals, Inc. in 1982 to reflect new mission of marketing the technology which it had developed.
Licensed Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) to build and operate a 5,000 ton per year IPCI polyols-from-sorbitol plant at Decatur Ill using IPCI technology. Plant was built and successfully operated by ADM for a period of approximately one year. ADM decided not to proceed with a full-scale production plant because economic return calculated was lower than threshold return demanded by corporate policy. Low polyol prices based on cheap petroleum was a contributing factor to the ADM decision.
IPCI continued its corporate funded research work on catalyst, process and separations development in order to improve performance and process economics. Issued contracts for economic studies to Stone & Webster, for separations to Dr. Lloyd Berg, for catalyst studies to Montana State University. Funded CRADA with Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory on catalysts.
Obtained funding from U.S. Department of Agriculture Alternative Agricultural Research Center and the National Corn Growers Association - in exchange for IPCI stock - to continue with catalyst and process development work. Developed proprietary co-catalyst and blast reactor technology, funded research test runs at Hydrocarbon Technology, Inc., and acquired azeotropic and extractive distillation separations patents from Dr. Lloyd Berg.
Conducted testing of various cane sugar products at Montana State University for Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa. Signed licensing agreement with IDA, and participated in major design study of a 100,000mtpy sugar-to-polyols plant by Fluor Daniel Engineers - funded by IDA, IPCI and the Technology Development Program of the U.S. Department of State.
Licensed IDA and participated in design and construction of a versatile IPCI polyols pilot plant, now installed at the Komati Mill of Transvaal Sugar Beperk in Umpumalanga Province, South Africa. Participating in experimental program.
Signed development license agreements with Icelandic interests, TSB and IDA for a cooperative test program on the Komati Mill pilot plant.
Today, IPCI continues its process development and marketing efforts for it's "GREEN" hydrotreating technology for production of sugar alcohols and polyols from agricultural products and biomass.
We believe IPCI may be the longest surviving, stockholder funded and held, U.S. corporation steadfastly dedicated to a single vision and mission of "GREEN" chemical processing technology.