The Center has developed the unique capability of measuring polymer solution vapor equilibria and diffusivities at high pressures and temperatures. The applications have included the formulation of blowing agents to be dissolved in molten polymers during extrusion to produce polymer foams; diffusion and distribution of co-monomers in high-pressure polymerization reactors; and defect formation related to the influence of pressure on the solubility of impurities such as air and water in polymer films. The Center has been particularly effective at predicting and correlating solubilities of gases and liquids in polymers at high pressures using the group-contribution based lattice-fluid equation of state (GCLF-EoS), developed within the Center.

The Center has also developed the capability to conduct extraction of impurities from polymers exposed to high pressure supercritical fluids such as carbon dioxide. A related apparatus is the remote visualization apparatus so that defect formation such as bubbles can be observed in polymers in situ at high pressures.