Fritz Stastny

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Friedrich Rudolf Stastny (born March 4, 1908 in Brno , Austria-Hungary , † May 25, 1985 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein , Germany) was a German-Austrian chemical engineer and inventor.

As an engineer and graduate chemist at BASF AG , Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Fritz Stastny did great services in expanding large-scale chemistry in the field of foam plastics. He was also a pioneer for fundamental innovations in the production and application sectors. His most important inventions are Styrofoam , Neopolen and Palusol .

Life

Stastny was born on March 4, 1908 in Brno as the fourth child of the German-Czech fire protection inspector and his German wife, a high school teacher from a wealthy Prague family. He, his two older brothers and a sister grew up bilingual.

At the age of six, Stastny lost his father to what was then an incurable lung disease. From the age of 12 he received piano lessons at his own request, inspired by his grandmother, who studied piano. He founded a music band and used it to finance his later natural science studies in Brno. In 1926 the Matura ( Abitur ) took place in Brno. Then Fritz Stastny studied at the Brno University of Technology in Brno. In 1930 he completed his studies in chemistry and chemical technology with a degree in chemistry and engineering. The second state examination followed in 1932. Fritz Stastny received his doctorate in 1933 under Albin Kurtenacker in Brno on the subject of disintegration processes in polythionate solutions .

Fritz Stastny began his professional years in Prague as a qualified chemist at the Czechoslovak Electrotechnical Association and at the E. Traub leather factory. He then became an employee of Semperit -Gummiwerke AG, Vienna, at the Engerau plant . After just one year, he was appointed laboratory manager there.

Despite good career prospects, Stastny applied for a job at what was then IG Farbenindustrie AG. Mainly because of his command of four foreign languages, he found his job on September 1, 1939 at BASF AG / Application Technology Department (AWETA). He was released from military service.

Inventor of the styrofoam

Initially, Stastny worked on the further development of various synthesis products for use in binders, plasticizers, as well as rubber-like and other synthetic materials. His work also concentrated on research work and special products in the foam sector.

Fritz Stastny was one of those researchers at BASF AG who started work again in 1947 under adverse circumstances after the end of the war, initially in a laboratory outside Ludwigshafen. In 1949, Stastny succeeded in developing his most important invention, styrofoam as a new type of system made of aromatic monomers for polymerization together with low-boiling aliphatic hydrocarbons as blowing agents. The patent DE845264 ("basic patent") with the title Process for the production of porous masses or porous moldings from polymers was applied for on February 28, 1950 and granted on August 14, 1952. His boss at the time, Rudolf Gäth , who was also involved in the development, is also listed in the patent .

The new product was presented to the public for the first time at the 1952 Düsseldorf plastics fair.

“At that time, a boat about 10 cm long and 4 cm wide ... was made as a toy at the BASF stand and distributed to visitors to the Düsseldorf trade fair. ... The booth was foamed with steam. The procedure attracted considerable attention. Some 100 boats were distributed. "

The elaboration of the manufacturing process took several years and led to the granting of around 60 patents.

Further activity and life

Other inventions by Stastny were Palusol (1951), a fire protection board based on silicate, and Neopolen (1961), a heat-resistant flexible foam made from polyethylene foam.

Fritz Stastny was chairman of the German Standards Committee and delegate at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) .

Fritz Stastny had two children and three grandchildren. He died in 1985.

Awards

Fonts

  • About practical experience with styrofoam. Special issue from: The plastic processor. BASF Archive, 1956.
  • with Klaus Köhling: Heat insulation of walls and ceilings with foam made of Styrofoam. In: floor, wall + ceiling. Vol. 9. H. 3, 1963, Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik AG, Ludwigshafen am Rhein 1965.
  • Novel polyethylene foams. Hanser, 1967.
  • Polystyrene foams. Hanser, 1968.
  • About the use of the new insulation material Styrofoam in construction.
  • Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Technical Chemistry . Volume 15. 1969.

literature

  • Fritz Störi: The stuff the foams are made of. The story of styrofoam. (Based on a recording by Fritz Stastny), series of publications in the corporate archive of BASF AG Ludwigshafen, 1976.
  • Patents DE941389 and DE946085 both filed April 20, 1951, issued April 12, 1956
  • BASF Kunststoffe: Expandable polystyrene - Styrofoam. Ludwigshafen 1968.
  • HL from Cube, KE Pohl: The technology of foamable polystyrene. Hüthig, 1965.
  • E. Neufert: Styrofoam manual. Bauverlag, 1966.
  • Lothar Suhling : Dr. Ing. Fritz Stastny and the invention of Styrofoam. In: Blätter für Technikgeschichte , 38th issue 1978, pp. 55–75.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Stastny, Fritz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stastny, Friedrich Rudolf (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Austrian chemical engineer and inventor
DATE OF BIRTH March 4, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Brno , Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH May 25, 1985
Place of death Ludwigshafen am Rhein