Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Perpetuus Carbon Group Receives Independent Verification of its Production Capacity for Graphenes at 140 Tonnes per Annum: Perpetuus Becomes the First Manufacturer in the Sector to Allow Third Party Audit

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Abstract:
Perpetuus Carbon Group (‘Perpetuus'), the world's largest producer of purified and functionalised graphene, is pleased to announce the results of an independent study of its graphene material production.

Perpetuus Carbon Group Receives Independent Verification of its Production Capacity for Graphenes at 140 Tonnes per Annum: Perpetuus Becomes the First Manufacturer in the Sector to Allow Third Party Audit

Ammanford, UK | Posted on October 7th, 2014

Industrial process experts Scott Grant, with accountants Grant Thornton in attendance, conducted a work-study in September 2014 at Perpetuus' facility in Ammanford, Wales. The aim of this study was to ascertain the annual production capacity of the Perpetuus Dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactor.

Using a measurement technique which complied with BS 3138:1992, the conclusion of the study was that the facility's annual theoretical capacity, running 30kg batches of raw graphite, is 140 tonnes per annum from a single reactor.

During the quantity audit, two 30kg batches of graphene stacks, surface-engineered with 3% oxygen functionalities, were produced and randomly sealed samples were taken for independent quality testing. Both Swansea University and the National Graphene Institute in Manchester have been independently commissioned to formally characterize the material from Scott Grant's quantity work-study. This was also audited by Grant Thornton. The material characterization results will be published on the Perpetuus website within the next six weeks.

John Buckland, Chief Executive of Perpetuus, commented:

"Hype and misinformation are some of the biggest problems facing the graphene industry. It is our hope that by being the first business to allow third parties to independently audit and verify the quantity of our production and the quality characteristics of our graphene materials, it will encourage others in our industry to follow suit."

"The market for graphenes has reached a tipping point and genuine enquiries from industry are at an all-time high and rapidly increasing. However, we know from our customers, they will only commit to R&D if they have confidence that they can obtain commercial quantities of high quality functionalised materials when they are ready to shift to commercial scale production."

Ian Walters, Director of Perpetuus, added:

"We hope our open and transparent approach to current graphene industry capabilities will enhance our reputation as an authority in the commercialisation of graphenes. The rise of customer confidence in Perpetuus requires us to commission three new reactors with enhanced technical and production capacity and move into new premises early in 2015."

Perpetuus is the first business to submit for independent material testing by the Graphene Characterization and Standardization Services (GCSS) run by Graphene Enterprise Award 2014 winner, Antonios Oikonomou, based at the National Graphene Institute, Manchester.

The consistently high quality of materials, together with immediate availability of commercial quantities, has in the last year resulted in more than 200 R&D customer orders for Perpetuus graphenes. The ability to specify exact surface engineering requirements has enabled customers from Japan, Korea, the EU and USA to rapidly move towards the commercialization of their ‘graphene enabled' products.

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About Perpetuus Carbon Group
For any company to be successful in the commercialisation of graphene-based materials they need to offer all the following features to customers:

· Functionalization by implanting a variety of chemical groups onto and within graphenes, in order to surface-modify graphenes to suit customer specifications.

· Reliable and consistent supply of high quality graphenes for R&D.

· Immediate availability of materials in grams and kilos.

· Rapid delivery of tonnes rather than grams.

· Commercial quantities.

· Competitive pricing.

· An environmentally friendly production process (this will become more relevant as the industry expands).

· Environmental impact studies and life cycle analysis on all outputs and by-products.

· Comprehensive and reliable characterization data.

· Manageable, transportable, user-friendly graphene presented in ‘stacks’. (Graphenes as single layers are invisible to the naked eye and cannot be packaged or handled).

Perpetuus offers all of the above to its customers.

Perpetuus is not aware of any other business in the world that can offer the full range of these goods and services to their customers and therefore we believe that we are the world’s leading producer and supplier of high quality nano surface-engineered graphenes.