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New blowing agent talent discovered.

When Honeywellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SolsticeTM Liquid Blowing Agent takes the stage in 2012, it will create an overnight sensation. Taking inspiration from the many qualities that made HFC-245fa famous, this new high-performing blowing agent, with a GWP of <7, promises instant stardom. In spray foam insulation, Solstice LBA shows improved k-factor, higher solubility and lower vapor pressure in polyol blends. Talk to a Honeywell blowing agent expert today.

www.pu-magazine.com To learn more visit www.honeywell-solsticeLBA.com. Š 2011 Honeywell International Inc. All rights reserved.

75 years of Swiss cheese imitation “At the most feasible for the production of Emmentaler cheese imitations” was the sceptical opinion of a chemist at the beginning of a true success story.

In the next year, we can celebrate the 75th anniversary of the invention of polyurethanes by Otto Bayer. In fact, at the beginning it wasn’t a success story at all but more a story of failures and mistakes. Initially, Otto Bayer wanted to invent some new artificial fibres but what he got was a viscous sticky mass only. The breakthrough came by another mistake when some samples were contaminated by a few drops of water and the whole system started foaming.

Nowadays, we have two main kinds of cheese that are very successful in their specific fields of use… soft cheese (flexible foam) and hard cheese (rigid foam) where we can find different trends with respect to the holes in the cheese. The soft cheese manufacturers are aiming to get bigger, open holes to have a better airflow while the hard cheese producers aim for nanobubbles to achieve better insulation.

Now, as the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, it might be a good idea to spend the evenings in front of the fire with a glass of red wine and some cheese. Just make sure that you sit on the imitation and eat the real stuff and not the other way round.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Your PU Magazine team

Frohe Weihnachten und ein gutes neues Jahr wünscht Ihnen Ihr GAK-Team

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

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News Page.330

No. 6 · DeCeMBeR/JANuARy 2011/12

CONTENT Editorial............................................................................................ 327 News.

Industry.news................................................................................. 330 Technology.and.product.news.............................................................. 333 People......................................................................................... 336

Boinowitz.to.lead.Evonik’s..

Comfort.&.Insulation.Business Page.346

Corporate.publications...................................................................... 338 Reviews. ...................................................................................... 338.

Events......................................................................................... 339

PUTech.Eurasia.2011........................................................................ 342 BASF.presents.ambitious.strategy.to.2020......................................... 344 Special.show.at.K.2013.takes.up.the.theme.of.mobility...................... 345 Rosehill.Polymers:..

Pioneers.in.polymer.innovation Page.349

Boinowitz.to.lead.Evonik’s.Comfort.&.Insulation.business.................... 346 Bayer.and.Tongji.University.to.collaborate.. in.eco-construction.and.materials.in.China......................................... 348 Rosehill.Polymers:.Pioneers.in.polymer.innovation.............................. 349 M. Bogdan

Grade.B1.(not.easily.flammable). rigid.spray.polyurethane.foam Page.355

Honeywell.Solstice.liquid.blowing.agent.. introduced.for.global.spray.foam.applications.................................... 352 Call.for.papers:.CPI.2012.Polyurethanes.Technical.Conference.......... 354 J. Gao, J. Cao

Grade.B1.(not.easily.flammable).rigid.spray.polyurethane.foam.......... 355 P. Ashford, A. Vetter

Trends.in.the.selection.of.next.generation.. blowing.agents.–.An.international.view............................................... 358 Non-hazardous.“ultra-green”.cleaning.agent.from.Bio8....................... 363 P. Wiggins, T. Burris, S. Lane, T. Pe, D. Le

New.developments.in.aliphatic.polyurea.coatings............................... 364 L. Zhu, W. Xu

Improvement.of.mechanical.properties.of.biomedical.. silk.powder/PU.blend.film.by.plasma.treatment.................................. 368 Non-hazardous.“ultra-green”.. cleaning.agent.from.Bio8 Page.363

Cut & seal seam

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Ultrasonic.welding.of..

Welded textiles . polyurethane-coated. flexible.materials Page.370

V. Niebel, S. Seehausen, M. Kemper, M. Raina, T. Gries

Ultrasonic.welding.of.polyurethane-coated.flexible.materials............... 370 Fast.curing.epoxy,.PU.and.PA.solutions.for.lightweight.composites...... 374 From.the.fifth.PDA.Europe.conference................................................ 375 Update.on.the.global.TPU.market....................................................... 376 Suppliers.list..................................................................................... 377 Publication.information.&.contacts..................................................... 382

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

STABAXOL® IN THERMOPLASTICS. VERSATILE HYDROLYSIS STABILIZATION.

For over 30 years now Rhein Chemie has been helping increase the lifespan of plastics prone to aging. The solution is Stabaxol®, a high-performance anti-hydrolysis agent that is a recipe which gives long life to polymers such as PUR, PET, PBT, TPU, TPE-E and EVA. And every one of us profits from that – at least all those who like being active on their feet. For example, in today’s shoe soles our Stabaxol® P, Stabaxol® P 200 and Stabaxol® I LF additives ensure that such valuable properties as flexibility, high abrasion resistance and good shock absorption maintain up to three times longer. For a long and mobile life for both the shoe and its wearer.

Solutions for the rubber, lubricant and plastics industries.

Whatever requirements move your world: We will move them with you. www.rheinchemie.com

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Industry news Lubrizol to acquire Merquinsa Lubrizol has signed an agreement to purchase Merquinsa, a manufacturer of thermoplastic polyurethanes, located in Barcelona, Spain. Established in 1964, Merquinsa is a familyowned business. According to the company, with this transaction, the owners have decided to focus on the non-chemical segments of their product portfolio.

Lubrizol will be assuming ap-

proximately 100 Merquinsa employees. Once the transaction closes, all Merquinsa products will be integrated with Lubrizol, combining the product offerings under the company’s Engineered Polymers business. Financial terms of the agreement were not d is c los e d . The transaction is expected to close by the online end of 2011.

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BASF inaugurates new Cellasto production site in Shanghai BASF has officially inaugurated its new Cellasto production site in Shanghai, China. The site is the company’s third Cellasto facility in Asia Pacific and second in China and expands its global service and production network, totalling six sites throughout the world. At the site, BASF will produce Cel-

lasto spring aids and top mounts made of microcellular PU, specifically designed for the Asia Pacific automotive market. Through the new production site BASF will deliver customised NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) technolo- online gy and capabilities.

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BASF to further invest in Brazilian PU business BASF will be investing to expand its PU systems and specialities business in Brazil. The production facilities for PU systems, polyols, TPU and Cellasto will be enlarged and established at the company’s Verbund site in Guaratinguetá. Also, a new

development and technical service centre will be opened at its Demarchi site. Due to spacial restrictions these expansions can not be realised at the Mauá online site, says BASF.

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KraussMaffei receives major order from BMW KraussMaffei has received an order from BMW to supply a large number of injection mould-

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ing, reaction process, and automation machines and systems.

The machines will be used,

e. g., to produce and finish components made of thermoplastics and reactive resins in the interior and exterior, as well as for load-bearing structures. Parts for the vehicle body will be produced on a total of nine high pressure resin-transfer moulding machines at the BMW plants in Landshut and Leipzig, Germany.

As part of the order, the BMW plant in Wackersdorf will acquire another large MX 4000-24500

injection moulding machine to produce stable mould carriers for the instrument panel in the 1 and 3 Series using the socalled injection moulding structural foam process. At the BMW plant in Leipzig two 4,000 t MX 4000-17200/12000/ 750 WL double swivel-plate machines will produce components with an outer skin and a thermoplastic substructure. online

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Era Polymers and ChemPoint.com to cooperate Era Polymers recently announced a new partnership with ChemPoint.com, an e-distributor of speciality and fine chemicals.

Effective immediately, ChemPoint will provide marketing, sales, tech-

nical support, and order fulfilment for Erapol polyurethane prepolymers and curatives within North America, Europe, the Middle East online and Africa.

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Solvay commissions world's largest HP plant in Thailand Solvay announced that MTP HPJV (Thailand) Ltd., its hydrogen peroxide (HP) joint venture with Dow, has successfully commissioned the largest HP plant in the world. The production process of the new plant in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, is based on Solvay’s proprietary HP technology.

The plant has a capacity of over 330,000 t/y of hydrogen peroxide at 100 % concentration and serves mainly as a captive raw material source for the manufacture of propylene oxide (PO) by

The

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online

Dow and Siam Cement Group (SCG). It is the second worldscale HP plant dedicated to PO production, the first being the 230,000 t/y HP plant in Antwerp, Belgium, commissioned at the end of 2008, which serves a Dow and BASF HPPO plant. Up to a quarter of the new HP plant’s production will also be supplied to Solvay Peroxythai Limited (SPX), which will allow the company to more than double its cur- online rent capacity.

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Extended content for all articles with this symbol on

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www.pu-magazine.com Just type some keywords in the search box on the top of the website.

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

We create better durability.

Together.

At Huntsman Polyurethanes, we believe that working in true collaboration with customers is the only way to solve complex problems and find the solutions that will deliver real innovation.

So, we strive with a passion and determination to build the deep understanding of our customers that’s required to get to the heart of their needs and establish lasting partnerships.

When it comes to creating better durability in critical structures such as bridges, we’ll work with you to produce tailored MDI-based coatings that provide enhanced structural integrity and protection against corrosion. Combine our knowledge of coatings with your expertise, and we’ll create better bridges… together.

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

www.huntsman.com/pu

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Evonik to build isophorone plants in Shanghai

Frimo and Schuler form “Composites Alliance”

Evonik Industries announced it will build world-scale plants for producing isophorone and isophorone diamine in Shanghai, China. The company is investing more than EUR 100 million in the plants, which are scheduled to go on stream in the first quarter of 2014. Construction work will begin in early 2012. For Evonik, which claims to be the world leader in isophorone chemistry,

At the Composites Europe fair, Schuler SMG GmbH & Co. KG and the Frimo Group GmbH have agreed on a “Composites Alliance”. The alliance will pool the know-how and experience of both companies for the processing of composite materials. In future, Frimo and Schuler will offer tailored turnkey solutions from a single source for the mass manufacturing of lightweight components. According to the compa-

the plants in Shanghai will be the first for isophorone and isophorone diamine in Asia. The company currently manufactures isophorone chemistry products in Mobile, AL, USA, as well as in Marl and Herne, Germany. Evonik distributes the products worldwide under the names Vestamin, Vestanat, V e s t a g o n , a n d online Vestasol.

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nies, customers will benefit from the extended possibilities of ‘onestop shopping’, such as fewer interfaces, better CAD connections and optimised processes.

The product spectrum ranges from pre-forming and pre-cutting to the actual forming process, e. g. for the manufacturing of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic parts or the processing of organo online sheets.

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Shell Chemicals increases production flexibility at Pernis

Foundation of Axson group

Shell Chemicals has recently completed a project to strengthen the flexibility of its polyol production facility in Europe. A direct result of this will be an immediate increase in Caradol CASE polyol capacity from the company’s site at Pernis in the Netherlands.

Modifications made to both the plant and process technology are enabling these polyols to be made on a continuous production line for the first time in Shell’s history. This is providing a boost in

A new group brings together BS Coatings, Revocoat and Axson Technologies. The new Axson Group specialises in solutions for design, creation, assembly, and protection in industrial transport, energy, water, sports and leisure, construction and infrastructure markets.

Axson group is currently strengthening its global presence with the construction of a new Revocoat plant in Kolomna, Russia, for the local automotive market, which

capacity, designed to enable the company’s Propylene Oxide and Derivatives business to respond quickly to increasing demand from customers across Europe, said Shell. Utilising continuous technology avoids interruptions in production due to batch changes, and achieves higher overall plant throughput. The continuous process technology also imparts some beneficial properties to the polyol including less odour and lower levels of VOCs.

Perstorp and PTT Global Chemical plan new JV for the PU industry Swedish speciality chemicals company Perstorp and PTT Global Chemical (PTT GC) of Thailand have announced plans to form a joint venture dedicated to the manufacturing and sales of TDI and aliphatic diisocyanates, IPDI, HDI and their derivatives. PTT GC will retain 51 % of the JV shares and Perstorp 49 %. The JV will include Perstorp’s business group Coating Additives with its manufacturing sites at Pont-de-Claix in France and Freeport in the USA.

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The JV plans to invest in new manufacturing capacities and facilities, further R & D as well as improving operations efficiency to strengthen competitiveness and increase market offerings.

Furthermore, Perstorp has appointed Innovia Solutions Ltd. as new distributor for HDI and IPDI monomers, Tolonate and E a s a q u a (formerly Rhodocoat) product ranges in the UK and online Ireland.

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will double the production capacity. Another step towards the strengthening of the group’s global presence is the acquisition of equity in Sipco (Saudi Industrial Paint Company) by BS Coatings. The joint-venture with the Saudi group Univest plans to develop Sipco’s industrial paints by introducing technologies for the production of BS Coatings’ pipelines under the Eurokote and Endoprene brands for the Middle Eastern market.

AkzoNobel invests in China AkzoNobel said it is planning to invest around EUR 60 million to increase the production capacity of its automotive and aerospace coatings business in China. As well as constructing a new production facility in Changzhou in the Jiangsu province, the company will build related warehousing, quality control laboratories, support facilities and offices on the new site. The project will increase capacity by around 25 million liters and the site is projected to be operational in early 2014. The new site will be the company’s 29th manufacturing

location in China. Furthermore, AkzoNobel has announced its intention to invest EUR 45 million in a new dicumyl peroxide (DCP) plant at its Ningbo site which will expand the company’s DCP capacity by more than 30 % to 25,000 t. Expected to be completed by mid-2014, it will be the 5th plant built on the Ningbo multi-site. Other products from the Ningbo site are chelates, ethylene amines, and ethylene oxide.

The total investment in the AkzoNobel’s Ningbo site announced to date is nearly EUR 370 million.

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

Technology and product news World’s first Trias 800 triple roller mill installed at ISL In January 2011, the world’s first Trias 800 triple roller mill was installed at ISL-Chemie GmbH & Co. KG in Kürten, Germany. According to the producer of colour pastes and lacquers for the plastics industry, the new triple roller technology enables the manufacture of a greater range of products. In addition, the automated machine control guarantees high reproducibility of product features, independent of operating staff, while the continuous automated production con-

Trias 800 triple roller mill at ISL

trol ensures consistent quality.

Furthermore, these new machines require less electricity and are more environmentally friendly than older models due to the use of an improved, closed-circulation cooling system with an internal heat exchanger.

After a successful first year in operation, ISL says the triple rollers function to its complete satisfaction and operate much more smoothly than the older models.

This considerably lessens noise exposure for the operators. Furthermore, optimised safety features also improve work safety. In the meantime, a further unit likewise developed by Bühler AG from Switzerland has been put into operation.

Waterproofing system for safer bridge decks BASF Pozzolith has launched a PU-based waterproofing system whose improved adhesion properties are said to help ensure safer bridge decks. The system, developed in Japan, is a modification of the established Conibridge System, which has been used successfully for more than 30 years in Europe and complies with the German Federal Institute of Road Affairs standard ZTVBEL-B Teil 3. In addition, the new system has achieved compliance with the national Nippon Ex-

pressway Company Ltd. (Nexco) waterproofing system standard for bridge decks as of July 2011.

According to BASF, the new Conibridge System reduces VOCs and does not contain heavy metals. It is a three-layer hybrid structure consisting of spray type PU waterproofing materials, a PU binder for improved adhesion, and a special modified asphalt base of pavement adhesive. This ensures waterproof performance and prevents cor-

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rosion in reinforcements, concrete peeling and cracks caused by rain, and chloride penetration or car vibrations, says the company. Thus, the system enables a longer life span for the structure. Moreover, when renovating

aged asphalt pavement, the pavement adhesive of the Conibridge System is remelted through heating and the waterproofing layer is maintained in good condition also contributing to a longer life cycle.

Water-based release agent for automotive interior components Huron Technologies, Inc. offers manufacturers of in-mould coated and flexible PU moulded products mould release agent 6981, a water-based release agent designed to help reduce processing costs and increase efficiency. According to the company, spray application of the product with a low solids output (between 25 – 45 g/min) results in more parts moulded per gallon, making moulding processes more cost effective. The release agent is also said to provide a consistently cleaner mould due to less build up on the mould sur-

face, allowing for extended mould cycles before cleaning.

Designed for use at mould temperatures from 21 – 62 °C, it provides a uniform low gloss appearance over the entire surface area, says the company.

Huron's release agent 6981 is designed for in-mould coated and flexible PU parts.

New surfactant for rigid PU foams Momentive Performance Materials Inc. has launched Niax silicone L-6891, a surfactant for resin-side addition in the manufacture of rigid PU foams. According to the company, the surfactant has been shown to be useful for improving insulation foams, particularly those used in refrigerators and cool-store applications. Testing has shown that the product can be used to pro-

vide very fine cells, good foam flow, even density distribution, and improved surface quality through significantly reduced void formation. The combined effect of fine cells and void reduction can help create foam with constantly low thermal conductivity in all areas of the foamed cabinet, thereby helping to improve the overall energy savings of the end product, says Momentive.

Isocyanate-free adhesive for the flexible packaging industry Henkel is presenting the firstever laminating adhesive that contains no free isocyanates:

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Liofol Fast One LA 1640-21.

The one-component PU laminating adhesive features a very fast

cure, combined with high initial bond strength. According to the company, with the new laminating adhesive, curing is substantially reduced to just a few days, compared to a curing time of up to two weeks with a conventional adhesive. Thus, Liofol Fast One enables packaging manufacturers to bundle printing, lamination and

cutting in one single step. With this adhesive, the formation of primary aromatic amines is avoided right from the beginning, says Henkel. Furthermore, it stays well within the specific migration limit (SML). The laminating adhesive is toxicologically safe in terms of Risk Phrase R40 and no R40 labelling is necessary.

TPU tactile flooring for public buildings and traffic facilities In cooperation with Bayer Mate- abrasion and scratch-resistant, rialScience, Andaluz Acessi- and is also resistant to chemicals bilidade company from São and cleaning agents. It also can Paulo, Brazil, has developed a be produced in virtually any colpersonal guidance system for our. Andaluz Acessibilidade sells floors. According to the two com- the tactile signage system under panies, it is easy to lay and pro- the name Tátil Fácil. The elevides anyone walking on it with ments are available with different tactile feedback for better orien- surface structures, shapes and tation. The system can be used, colours (for the vision-impaired e. g. in public buildings, in front and for normal-sighted people). of escalators, on railroad plat- The system is already being used forms, and next to The new tactile signage for floors is made of road crossings. The Desmopan TPU s y s t em i n vo l ves sticking signs or tiles to the floor, which although they are only a few millimeters high, can still be felt as people walk on them.

These tactile elements are made from Desmopan DP 3059D, a in various banks, shopTPU from BMS. Because of its ping centres, and properties, the material is well subway stations in online suited to this application. It is Brazil.

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TPU for heat resistant conveyor systems Breco Antriebstechnik Breher GmbH & Co. KG uses a TPU from Huntsman to produce heat resistant conveyor systems for the manufacture of ceramics and glass, including solar panel

sheets and car windshields. The decision follows a recommendation from distributor ChemiePlast.

Breco, based in Porta Westfalica, Germany, supplies poly-

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

urethane belt systems, pulleys and associated accessories for a wide range of industrial applications including timing belts and drive components for the automotive industry; conveyor belts for food, pharmaceutical and manufacturing companies; and baggage carousels for the transportation sector. When the company needed to create a conveyor belt for a customer in the ceramics industry, it turned to Chemie-Plast to help identify a polyurethane with a profile that could withstand exceptionally high temperatures. The solution had to be able to carry semifinished products through industrial kiln ovens operating at temperatures up to 130 °C, without any signs of melting or delamination.

Chemie-Plast recommended Irogran A 95 K 6977, a polycaprolactone, ether-based TPU. Capable of withstanding temperatures ranging from –40 °C to 130 °C, the material has a good compression set and is said to offer very good wear and hydrolysis resistance. It is also impervious to oils and grease.

The material was originally developed for hydraulic seals. In recent years it has found new applications, most specifically in automotive components such as bumpers and shock absorbers.

The use of the product in conveyor belts for ceramics manufacture takes this particular grade in a completely new direction, said Huntsman. online

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Perstorp launches new formula for thin UV curable hardcoat applications At China Coat Perstorp has launched Boltorn P501 for high quality and durable UV curable hardcoat applications. Perstorp said that it has achieved a big improvement in hardness for thin coatings, and with all the other advantages of very good substrate adhesion, wear resistance, and toughness, this is an ideal product for touch screens and a whole range of electronic devices.

Boltorn P501 is a dendritic polyol, which when acrylated shows a good balance of properties with regard to viscosity, reactivity, hardness vs. flexibility, and adhesion onto flexible substrates. The product has been custom designed to boost scratch resist-

ance and hardness of UV cured coatings while maintaining all the other properties of Boltorn P500.

This makes it an alternative to using DPHA in UV curable hardcoats.

Boltorn P501 maintains the low viscosity of Boltorn P500, which means it is significantly lower than DPHA, allowing easier application while reducing the need for reactive diluents or solvents.

In tests the hardness of Boltorn P501 is comparable to DPHA, but the adhesion to e. g. polycarbonate substrates has shown itself to be considerably better than DPHA. Scratch resistance tests have shown very similar results between Boltorn P501 and DPHA, says Perstorp.

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PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

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KraussMaffei names new CEO Effective from 1 January 2012, Jan Siebert will be new Chief Executive Officer of KraussMaffei AG. He will succeed Dr. Dietmar Straub, who is managing

People Jason Ding to replace Wolfgang Büchele as CEO of BorsodChem Effective 1 January 2012, Jason Ding, Chairman of the Board of BorsodChem Zrt., will assume responsibility as Chief Executive Officer of the company. Dr. Wolfgang Büchele, the current CEO and Member of the Board, will leave BorsodChem to become President and CEO of Kemira Oyj in Finland.

Büchele will resign as of 31 December 2011 after having suc-

Jason Ding

cessfully led BorsodChem since the end of 2008 through the financial crisis and the financial restructuring. Until the acquisition by Wanhua Industrial Group at the beginning of 2011, he was also Chairman of the Board of BorsodChem. After the acquisition he played a vital role in the integration of BorsodChem into the Wanhua Group.

Ding is a long time veteran in the polyurethane industry. In the past 30 years, he led the transformation of Yantai Wanhua from a small MDI factory to one of the top three isocyanates manufacturers in the world. He has been active as Chairman of the Board of BorsodChem since 1 February 2011 and will continue in this role. In addition, he also serves as Chairman of the Board of Yantai Wanhua and CEO of Wanhua Industrial Group, the controlling parent company of BorsodChem.

Azita Owlia appointed Vice President of Connell Brothers in North Asia Azita Owlia was hired by Connell Brothers, a division of Wilbur-Ellis Co. and one of the largest distributors of speciality chemicals and ingredients in Asia-Pacific, as Vice President in North Asia. In this newly created position, Owlia will oversee and expand the company’s business operations in North Asia, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. She will be based in Hong Kong.

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Owlia has more than 20 years of industry experience. In her most recent role with Bayer MaterialScience, she led a polyurethane and thermoplastic urethane business with over 850 employees and sales of more than USD 1 billion. She has also held various Vice President and management roles during her tenure with the company. online

the activities of KraussMaffei Group since April 2007. Straub leaves the company at his own request on 31 December 2011.

Siebert has worked for 18 years in international industrial companies. He has held various executive positions being responsible for corporate strategy, R & D, sales and marketing. Currently, he is President and CEO of GEA Heat Exchangers GmbH. Before joining the GEA Group, he was Member of the Executive Board at Deut- online sche Nickel AG.

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Jan Siebert

New management at Baulé UK Effective 1 October 2011, Steve Gormley has taken the position as General Manager of the UK subsidiary of the Baulé company. Prior, Gormley was Technical Director of the company and he has contributed in developing the product portfolio and business of Baulé UK. Baulé, a joint venture between

Bayer MaterialScience AG and Eximium gathering the cast elastomer operations of both companies, is established in the UK with a subsidiary in Cheshire created in July 1999. Today, Baulé UK markets and supports both machines and systems manufactured in France for the British market.

Lynn Knudtson elected President of the PFA Lynn Knudtson of Future Foam, Council Bluffs, IA, USA, was elected to serve as President of the Polyurethane Foam Association (PFA), the trade association of US flexible PU foam manufacturers

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and suppliers. His term began at the PFA Fall Business and Technical Session in Phoenix, AZ, in November. Knudtson has been a member of the PFA executive committee since 2008. Throughout the past 30 years, he has served in management positions with chemical manufacturers, independent laboratories, and regulatory compliance consultants. He manages regulatory compliance for Future Foam, a flexible PU foam manufacturer with five foam production facilities and fourteen foam fabrication sites in the USA online and Asia.

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Lynn Knudtson

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

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PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

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Corporate publications Polyurethane Amine Catalysts: Safe Handing Guidelines The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) has released updated guidelines on the use of amine catalysts in polyurethane foam manufacturing. The guidelines feature information on what users of amine catalysts should consider, including the following: potential health effects of amine catalysts, exposure guidelines, methods for exposure control, personal protective equipment, exposure monitoring, spills,

emergency response, and disposal. The guidelines are intended for polyurethane producers, workers and supervisory personnel who use amine catalysts to create PU foam with particular properties and characteristics.

The document, “Polyurethane Amine Catalysts: Safe Handing Guidelines,” is available under the “Free Resources” section of www.polyurethane.org.

According to CPI, a Spanish-language version will be available in the future.

Reviews Métodos Constructivos con Paneles Sandwich rolf Koschade, Huntsman Polyurethanes (ed.), Librería Santa Fe S.r.L., buenos Aires, 2011, 391 p., hardcover, USD 101.99, ISbN 978-987-26164-0-3 Huntsman Corporation recently published the new book Métodos Constructivos con Paneles Sandwich. The Spanish-language textbook is dedicated to advancing the use of sandwich panel construction in Latin American countries. Originally written and published in Europe in 2000, Huntsman Polyurethanes secured the rights in 2010 to translate the book into Spanish to help promote sandwich panels in Latin America. The book features architectural examples, along with

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tables, graphs and images of construction panel production, design and installation.

Authored by Rolf Koschade, the book addresses construction applications with factory-engineered sandwich panels. These panels consist of metallic facings with a foamed polyurethane core. The book takes the expertise and know-how of numerous experts, including sandwich panel manufacturers, architects, engineers and institutes, and makes it available to a broader audience.

The book addresses the following subjects within the sandwich panel industry: economic importance, system components of the largest manufacturers, manufacturing processes, materials used, planning and construction, structural properties, building

physics and standards, and regulations. The book also features many design examples highlighting the possible applications of sandwich panels, including commercial buildings, wall and roof sheeting, and cold storage construction.

Chemical Building Blocks from Renewables Marifaith Hackett, SrI consulting, IHS Inc., Menlo Park, 2011, PDF file, 160 p., USD 15,000 Driven in part by manufacturers seeking to create more sustainable products, bio (plant)-based feedstocks are beginning to challenge the dominance of fossil fuels as starting materials for chemicals, according to a new report from information and analysis provider IHS. The resulting chemicals are the building blocks of renewably sourced plastics, fibres, coatings and other everyday products. The report, entitled Chemical Building Blocks from Renewables – SRI Consulting Safe & Sustainable Chemicals Report, examines economic and market drivers for more than 20 emerging and established biobased chemicals. It describes technology developers, markets,

applications, and manufacturing processes (both biobased and conventional) for each chem- online ical.

+

More market studies: • Market Study: Fillers ceresana research, Konstanz, 2011, 323 p. (vol. 1), 705 p. (vol. 2), from EUr 1,895 • World Major Household Appliances Study 2822, The Freedonia Group, cleveland, 2011, 418 p., USD 6,300 • World Bioplastics Study 2823, The Freedonia Group, cleveland, 2011, 318 p., USD 6,100

Handbook of Bioplastics and Biocomposites Engineering Applications Srikanth Pilla (ed.), John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, and Scrivener Publishing LLc, Salem, 2011, 594 p., hardcover, EUr 169.00, ISbN 978-0-470-62607-8 The Handbook of Bioplastics and Biocomposites Engineering Applications includes 19 chapters, bringing together 40 scientists from academia and industry to report on current research results and applications in the field of bioplastics and bio-

composites. The book covers the following five main categories of applications: packaging, civil engineering, biomedical, automotive, and general engineering.

The majority of the chapters describes the properties, processing, characterisation, synthesis,

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

PARlS MARCH 27, 28, 29, 20l2 and applications of the bio-based and biodegradable polymers and composites, such as polylactic acid (PLA); polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB); vegetable oil, guar gum or starch-based plastics; biopolyethylene, chitosan, etc. In addition, the ways how to improve the

properties of bioplastics, polymer blends, and biocomposites by combining them with both synthetic and natural fillers and reinforcements, such as nanoclay, carbon nanotubes, and natural fibres (wood and plant fibres) are discussed.

Events

13

Porte de Versailles

lN EUROPE & lN THE WORLD

AERONAUTlCS

AUTOMOTlVE

AUTOMATlON

CARBON FlBER

WlND ENERGY

RECYCLlNG

SprayFoam Convention & Expo 2012 The Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) will host the 25th annual SprayFoam Convention & Expo from 30 January – 2 February 2012 in Dallas, TX, USA. The anniversary event features critical SPF instruction/training (30 – 31 January 2012) as well as an exhibition, the Contractors Industry Excellence Awards programme, dedicated networking events, and technical and customised breakout sessions (1 – 2 February 2012). The information sessions will focus on SPF safety, EPA recommendations on ventilation techniques, building codes, legislative updates, and industry market data, amongst other topics. The Contractors Industry Excellence Awards will be presented in the following five categories: Residential Wall, Commercial Wall, SPF Roof over 40,000 ft2, SPF Roof under 40,000 ft2, and Specialty Applications.

Contact:

TRADE SHOW & DEMO ZONE

lNNOVATION AWARDS & SHOWCASE

l.C.S. / FORUMS & CONFERENCES

TECHNlCAL SALES PRESENTATlONS

BUSlNESS MEETlNGS

JOB CENTRE

Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) · Lisa Smith Tel. +1 703 222-5817 · Fax +1 703 222-5816 E-mail lisasmith@sprayfoam.org · Internet www.sprayfoam.org

Plastindia 2012 The eighth international plastics exhibition and conference Plastindia is scheduled to take place from 1 – 6 February 2012 in New Delhi, India. According to the organiser Plastindia Foundation, the 2009 event was attended by 1,518 exhibitors on 77,604 m2 of floor space as well as approximately 130,000 visitors. The exhibition will cover, for example, raw materials, additives, colourants, fillers, processing machinery, ancillary equipment, moulds and dies, finished products, as well as quality control and testing equipment.

Contact: Plastindia Foundation · Tel. +91 22 26832911 · Fax +91 22 26845861 E-mail info@plastindia.org · Internet www.plastindia.org

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Medtec Europe 2012 The international trade fair for manufacturing and automation technology, materials and outsourcing in the European medical devices manufacturing industry Medtec Europe 2012 will be held from 13 – 15 March 2012 in Stuttgart, Germany. With its various speciality areas, the trade fair covers all segments of the medical technology industry, including: medical metals; automation, assembly and robotics; medical packaging; and medical plastics. The organiser UBM Canon expects about 900 exhibitors and more than 13,000 visitors. Medtec Europe will take place in parallel with the Southern German suppliers show Südtec, the contamination control and cleanroom products trade fair 3C Europe, the exhibition for rapid product development and manufacturing RapidWorld, as well as the medical electronics design conference and exhibition DesignMed Europe.

Contact: UBM Canon · Gregor Bischkopf Tel. +49 221 16847665 E-mail gregor.bischkopf@ubm.com · Internet www.medteceurope.com

Plastics in Automotive Engineering 2012

ally since 2004, the 2011 event featured 1,023 exhibiting companies from 30 countries on over 110,000 m2 of floor space and was attended by 50,514 trade visitors, according to the organisers Koelnmesse and China Foreign Trade Centre (Group).

Contact: Koelnmesse Co., Ltd. · Cindy Li Tel. +86 20 87552468-16 · Fax +86 20 87552970 E-mail c.li@koelnmesse.cn · Internet www.interzum-guangzhou.com

ASC 2012 Spring Convention & Expo The Adhesive and Sealant Council, Inc. (ASC) invites to the ASC 2012 Spring Convention & Expo, which is set to take place from 15 – 17 April 2012 in Denver, CO, USA. The event will feature a conference programme, networking events as well as an exposition of raw materials, equipment and service providers. The organiser is currently recruiting speakers for this event. Deadline for the submission of abstracts is 27 January 2012. In addition, the co-located two-day Waterborne Adhesives Short Course will be offered from 15 – 16 April 2012.

Contact:

The 36th international congress Plastics in Automotive Engineering will be organised by VDI Wissensforum in cooperation with VDI Society for Plastics Technologies from 21 – 22 March 2012 in Mannheim, Germany. This high quality event is widely recognised as “the” meeting-place for the automotive industry. It features a technical conference and a trade exhibition by raw material producers, manufacturers of plastic processing machines, plastics processors, and system suppliers. The conference provides a comprehensive overview of current developments in plastics at the German manufacturers of passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Car manufacturers, such as Audi, BMW, Daimler, Evobus, Ford, MAN, Opel, Porsche, Renault, and VW, will discuss which plastics and plastics-specific processing technologies have found their way into current component applications. In addition to exiting plenary lectures, next year’s event will take up the subject of illumination and plastics separately.

Contact: VDI Wissensforum GmbH Tel. +49 211 6214-201 · Fax +49 211 6214-154 E-mail wissensforum@vdi.de · Internet www.kunststoffe-im-auto.de

CIFM / interzum guangzhou 2012

Adhesive and Sealant Council, Inc. · Malinda Armstrong Tel. +1 301 986-9700 ext. 106 · Fax +1 301 986-9795 E-mail malinda.armstrong@ascouncil.org · Internet www.ascouncil.org

Feiplar Composites & Feipur 2012 The seventh edition of Feiplar Composites & Feipur, exhibition and congress on composites, polyurethane, and engineering plastics, will be held from 6 – 8 November 2012 in São Paulo, Brazil.

The organiser Group ArtSim Events Administrator Ltda. expects about 15,000 visitors from Latin America and exhibitors from more than 30 countries. According to Grupo ArtSim, the 2010 event was attended by more than 13,600 visitors and about 260 exhibitors.

In addition to a Design Excellence Awards programme, the 2012 event will feature a series of seminars on composites, PU and engineering plastics in the following areas of application: automotive, marine, harsh environments, flexible foams, thermal insulation, aerospace, civil building, recycling and renewable resource raw materials, and wind energy.

Contact: Group ArtSim Events Administrator Ltda.

Tel. +55 11 2899-6381

Asia’s largest and most comprehensive woodworking machinery, furniture production, and interior design trade fair, CIFM / interzum guangzhou will open from 27 – 30 March 2012 at the China Import and Export Fair Complex (Pazhou) in Guangzhou, China, in co-location with the China International Furniture Fair (CIFF). Held annu-

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E-mail consultoria@artsim.com.br · Internet www.feiplar.com.br

www.pu-magazine.com PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

NPE2012, the world’s largest plastics conference, exposition and technology exchange, blasts into Orlando, Florida USA this April to reshape the future of our industry! Showcasing more than 2,000 exhibitors, NPE is the only global event that allows you to: See large-scale, running machines in action Explore more than 2 million square feet of solutions for every segment of the plastics industry supply chain Discover new and emerging technologies among hundreds of on-site demos every day Meet 75,000 plastics professionals from more than 120 countries Access hundreds of timely programs, from business development to the latest technical advances Connect with the entire lifecycle of the plastics industry And much, much more!

REGISTER NOW AT NPE.ORG

Co-located at NPE2012:

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PUTech Eurasia 2011

porters to EU countries and its Asian and ME neighbours,” he added.

Istanbul, 17 – 20 November

The white goods industry is also growing and Turkey has become a production hub over the last few years, exporting high quantities to other countries. “Furthermore, there is a new trend to invest not only in production facilities but also in R & D competence centres. Companies like BSH and Indesit will develop new models in Turkey. There are a lot of well-educated young people in Turkey looking for work so technical staff will not be a problem,” Mirangels explained.

The second PUTech Eurasia exhibition continued to offer a useful window on the emerging markets of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. At this recent event more than 200 companies were represented in the two exhibition halls. Notable absences were Dow and Bayer, while Huntsman Polyurethanes & Performance Chemicals were represented by Turkish distributor UniGrup. Approximately two thirds of the exhibitors were domestic companies. Overseas exhibitors from as far away as Australia, the USA, Korea, and China were present as well as a strong contingent of German and Italian companies. The special trading agreement between Turkey and Iran encouraged many visitors from this fast growing market. Iran’s largest system house, Kaboodan Chemie Zarin Co., (KCC) had a large stand hosting may visitors from around the region. “Iran has a fast growing PU industry,” stated Ali Manoocheri, Managing Director, KCC. “We are also pleased that Karoon Ali Manoocheri, Managing Director, Kcc

Petrochemical has successfully started to produce TDI for our market”. Amongst the Turkish exhibitors there was a large number of system houses, some quite new, and most supplying a full range of systems including rigids, flexibles shoes, synthetic leather, cast elastomers, spray and polyurea.

Turkey expects to become the fifth or sixth largest PU market in the Europe, Middle East & African region (EMEA), producing some 300,000 t of PU in 2011. Estimates concerning the growth in production ranged from 8 – 30 % per year, with spray foam and polyurea coatings reported by exhibitors to be the fastest growing, rigid foam insulation products growing by 10 – 14 % per year and flexible foam at rates closer to 6 – 8 % per year. Growth for many products such as flexible foam, automotive components, appliances, shoes and luggage is due to the fast growing Turkish population but also from exports to neighbouring countries yet to establish a PU industry. The population is increasing by nearly 1 million per year.

“The automotive industry is also growing fast with more foreign investments announced for 2012, including Chinese companies such as Dong Feng Motor. The Hyundai Co. will also invest another USD 400 million over the next few years. We have a very broad product portfolio for the automotive industry, focusing on features like weight and noise reduction, cost efficiency, comfort, and aesthetics.

Production of metal-faced panels is well established in Turkey with 11 – 12 manufacturers operating continuous lines. New legislation was passed earlier this year that requires new buildings to meet a specified level of energy efficiency, and this will be applied also to existing buildings from 2017.

This may explain the interest in supplying spray foam among many of the system houses at the exhibition. The solar panel industry is also important in Turkey, using PU elastomers and rigid foam for insulation of hot water tanks. christian Mirangels, Managing Director, bASF Poliüretan

“Turkey is a very exciting market,” stated Christian Mirangels, Managing Director, BASF Poliüretan, during the exhibition.

“The latest forecasts for Turkey’s GDP growth in 2011 is 6.6 % and for 2012 suggests 2 – 3 % and PU always grows at least 3 – 4 % more. The good news is that growth is sustainable and should be steady for the next few years. The Turkish people are very keen on the consumption of new products, and Turkish companies are competitive ex-

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Confirming the significance of this legislation, Dr Wolfram Frank of Isopa, explained to an audience attending the workshop programme, “Insulation remains an important market driver, but mainly for renovation of existing building stock since the volume of new building represents only an estimated 1 – 2 % of the total building activity in many parts of Europe.” During the presentation, Frank also explained the importance of effective communication in market development. He demonstrated the role of Isopa in communicating the benefits of PU to the entire user chain, including politicians! He also introduced a new project to illustrate the benefits of PU to everyday life. Isopa has undertaken an exciting new project working with a building contractor to construct a passive house, in Brussels. It will use all available PU technology including that for insulation, furniture, appliances and so on. The house will eventually be leased by Isopa and rented to a real life family who will document their living experiences. The construction started a few months ago and on 25 November 2011 the roof has been installed. The progress can be followed through the Isopa website.

UniGrup, a distributor of many raw materials to the region’s PU industry, is now offering polyurea and PU coatings, as well as spray foam systems. Unipol has been blending polyols for some time but has recently started to produce polyurea coatings in-house.

“It is a small, but growing market in Turkey, however, there should be many opportunities here in areas such as sewage works and other publically funded construction projects,” Dr Wolfram Frank, Isopa

More than

PURe

technology …

Müge Pinar, Executive board Member, UniGrup

said Müge Pinar, Executive Board Member of UniGrup, explaining the company’s decision to expand production of these products.

“Next year we hope to finish the construction of a new 5,000 m2 factory and warehouse facility at the Kocaeli-Gebze Organised Chemical Park. This facility will help us to improve our customer service. We know that any sales without after sales service will be your last sale.” Even though there are no regulations or laws concerning safety and installation, UniGrup trains polyurea and spray foam contractors and follows up after installation. “The future looks good for Turkey, and after the last economic crisis the PU industry here is better prepared and has experience in crisis management,” she added.

Overall, the exhibitor experience was reported to be positive, with many being happy despite the lower than expected number of visitors. Organiser Artkim had made great efforts to improve on the first event in 2009 by firstly creating a PU only event and by featuring well constructed and informative stands and displays.

Better communication to promote the exhibition further afield is still needed but the event looks set to become an established part of the PU events calendar. A third event is planned for 14 – 17 November 2013, only two weeks after the major German K 2013 show. At the time of going to press, no official numbers were available, however an estimated 2,000 – 2,500 people are thought to have visited during the four days of the event. 

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

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BASF presents ambitious strategy to 2020 At a recent presentation held in Ludwigshafen, Germany, the bASF board of Executive Directors presented the company’s new strategic and financial long term goals as a leading player in the global chemical industry.

Demographic factors a driver BASF has consistently outperformed the global chemical industry, which according to the company experienced only a 3.0 % an­ nual growth in sales during the past decade, compared to the 7.8 % annual growth achieved by BASF. Unsurprisingly, much of this growth has come from emerging mar­ kets where BASF has always been an early market entrant. Plans for the next decade include deriving significant sales growth from innovation of products and solutions, a re­ duction in the volatility cycle of the business and the continued concept of Verbund.

Emerging markets are expected to represent 60 % of global chemical production by 2020 but only 45 % of sales as these markets be­ come cost effective centres for global manu­ facturing sites.

Investments are also considered an impor­ tant part of organic growth and include the MDI plant in Chongqing, a new TDI plant in Europe, and expansion of the Nanjing petro­ chemical facility as well as developments for other chemical products in emerging mar­ kets of Brazil, Bahrain, and other South American countries. Despite the high level of capital expenditure, the BASF management plans to enforce strict asset management and a high return on capital so as to retain the company’s solid A rating in the financial markets.

ing population. BASF presented data to sug­ gest that during the next ten years industrial and chemical industry growth will be greater than the growth of global GDP as chemicals help to provide sustainable solutions. In or­ der to create chemistry for a sustainable future BASF will benefit from its broad prod­ uct portfolio while continuing to add value to existing products, innovate to meet custom­ er needs, drive sustainability, and be the best team for the job. “More sustainability can only be achieved through innovation – and that is where chemistry plays an essen­ tial role,” said the Vice Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, Dr Martin Brudermüller. “In the future, sustainability will therefore be more strongly integrated into business decisions.”

BASF assumes that global GDP will grow at an average annual rate of 3 % until 2020, higher than the 2.5 % per year experienced between 2001 and 2010. Chemical produc­

tion is forecast to increase at an average annual rate of 4 % while industrial production will only grow at an annual rate of 2.4 % (BASF‘s assumptions are based upon the price of oil being USD 110 per barrel and 1 EUR = USD 1.4).

Based upon these assumptions and the new strategy, BASF has set itself ambitious tar­ gets, with sales growth from EUR 64 billion in 2010 to EUR 85 billion in 2015 creating an EBITA of EUR 15 billion, and sales of EUR 115 billion and EBITA of EUR 23 billion by 2020. The Executive Directors do antici­ pate periods of volatility during the next ten years, but Brudermüller states that these targets are achievable through organic growth, investment and acquisition, and tighter asset management.

The company’s product portfolio will be de­ veloped and expanded through new applica­ tions and sales of more functionalised prod­ ucts. As part of the strategic analysis, BASF has reviewed its current portfolio across four main sectors: Oil and Gas, Classic Chemi­ cals, Customised Products, and Functional­ ised Materials & Solutions. BASF announced that the Oil and Gas business will expand through exploration and production in core regions of the world, including Russia and the natural gas business will be grown fur­ ther in Europe. MDI investment in Chongqing

(F. l. t. r.): Dr Hans-Ulrich Engel (chief Financial Officer), Dr Kurt bock, and Dr Martin brudermüller at the “We create chemistry” strategy presentation.

Much of the growth forecast presented by the BASF teams relies upon the ability of chemicals to offer solutions to challenges of demographic changes throughout the world, including products for health and nutrition, crop protection, better use of resources, energy efficiency, and the provision of a bet­ ter quality of life for the world’s rapidly grow­

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and TDI investment in Europe are slated for the Classic Chemicals product group. The intermediates and chemicals derived from this group will then be developed into more functionalised materials, this includes the supply of PU systems. By 2020 Customised Products and Functionalised Materials & So­ lutions are expected to generate 70 % of sales.

New business from population demands The new Smart Forvision vehicle was pro­ vided as an example of how BASF plans to build on businesses on a cross­customer ba­ sis using technological competencies and customer know­how to create sustainable success using materials and technology from many different businesses. This project also illustrates the effects of being the best team.

Wind energy is expected to provide growth opportunities for a wide range of BASF prod­ ucts and technology, including epoxies, con­ crete chemicals, coatings, and hydraulic fluids. This industry is reported to be espe­ cially open­minded in becoming involved in innovation and co­operations with partner

companies. By 2020, BASF intends to gener­ ate EUR 300 billion of sales per year from this sector.

The water treatment business is also ex­ pected to experience strong growth in de­ mand for chemicals and membrane technol­ ogy to treat and purify water. By 2020, this sector is also expected to be worth EUR 20 billion in sales. BASF aims to gener­ ate annual EUR 800 million of sales per year from membranes, flocculants and other chemicals from this industry.

New battery business Two other examples of innovation and func­ tionalised products were provided: mem­ branes and batteries. BASF announced that it will create a new business unit called Batter­ ies. The electro­mobility market is expected to be worth EUR 20 billion by 2020, of which BASF aims to capture some EUR 500 million in sales, mainly of its lithium ion battery tech­ nology to cell manufacturers. The company has recently opened a state­of­the­art battery technology and development centre in the USA to develop this business through aca­ demic and industrial partnerships.

Special show at K 2013 takes up the theme of mobility The triennial international trade fair for plas­ tics and rubber, K 2013, will open its doors from 16 – 23 October 2013 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Under the motto “Plastics move the world”, a special show will present nu­ merous aspects of the general theme of mobility.

The special show at K 2013 will again be organised by the German plastics industry under the overall management of Plastics­

Europe Deutschland e. V. and Messe Düsseldorf.

It will focus on lightweight materials in the design of motor vehicles, aircraft and ships, electromobility as well as individual mobility and modern leisure behaviour. The spotlight will be on climate­compatible energy and transport strategies as well as on the chang­ es in the worlds of work and leisure thanks to mobile means of communication.

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

Innovation drives ambition As part of this ambitious strategy BASF aims to generate EUR 10 billion of its sales reve­ nue in 2015 from products that are less than five years old and a staggering EUR 30 bIl­ lion of sales revenue in 2020 from products that are ten years old or less. To support this development, approximately 3 % of sales revenues (excl. oil and gas) will be spent on R & D per year during the next decade.

Internal strength a bonus During a Q & A session, after the presenta­ tion, BASF was asked whether headcount would increase in order to achieve the latest financial targets. The management replied that headcount would increase within their operations in emerging markets. Headcount in North America is not expected to grow while there may be some slight increases in European numbers. “However, you should not underestimate the internal strength of our people,” stated Dr Kurt Bock, Chair­ man of the Board of Executive Directors, in response. 

Using multimedia, with the aid of selected exhibits, and in daily rounds of discussions involving experts from science and industry, the event will highlight the contributions to mobility made by plastic and rubber.

Messe Düsseldorf, the organiser of K 2013, announced it will send out the invitations to exhibitors at the beginning of 2012. Invited to participate are manufacturers of machines and equipment for the plastics and rubber industry, suppliers of raw materials and aux­ iliaries, producers of semi­finished products, technical parts and reinforced plastics, and service providers. The closing date for reg­ istration is 31 May 2012. 

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Boinowitz to lead Evonik’s Comfort & Insulation business With effect from 1 December 2011, Dr Tammo boinowitz has become Senior Vice President and General Manager of Evonik’s comfort & Insulation business. He succeeds Dr Georg burkhart who retires precisely 30 years and 30 days after joining what was then Th. Goldschmidt AG. Boinowitz has a PhD in physical chemistry and was hired by Burkhart in 1995 to join the company’s technical group, where he later became Head of Polyurethane Additives Prod­ uct & Application Development. In 2006, Boinowitz was posted to China to lead the BL’s Asian business as Business Director APAC. Evonik’s polyurethane involvement in Asia started more or less from scratch in the mid 1990ies with a small laboratory rented from a University in Shanghai. The local troops moved in their own labs and started production in 2002. Not only did he have cus­ tomer responsibilities across Asia Pacific, but Boinowitz also initiated cooperation with local manufacturers of raw materials and interme­ diates and was involved in upgrading and extending the production for silicone sur­ factants during his time in Shanghai. On re­ turn from China, he joined the Strategy Group at Evonik’s Corporate Headquarters in Essen, where he was involved in various strategic projects. The last one he worked on was the reevaluation of Evonik’s development strate­ gy for Asia with planning horizons of 2016 and long term views to 2020.

served as Head of the Comfort & Insulation business line.

“It has been my joy and pleasure to see our business grow, from a strong European base to a leading global supplier of polyurethane additives with competence centres and pro­ duction sites in the three major regions, Eu­ rope, NAFTA, and China. I’m proud of what we have accomplished as a team, in building a strong and sustainable business. I’m proud of our reputation in the industry which we have built over many years and which has been confirmed in a recent customer satis­ faction analysis,” Burkhart continued.

In 2008 shortly before the economic crisis, Evonik had recruited more R & D staff, but due to the successful implementation of its business model, no redundancies were need­ ed. The retention of staff proved to be huge­ ly beneficial during the unexpected and fast upturn in business that happened within 6 – 9 months of the crisis.

When considering the supply and demand situation for polyurethane additives Burk­ hart took the example of stannous octoate, widely used as a catalyst in flexible foam production. He explained that there are not so many producers of material that is of sufficient quality for PU production, there­ fore the foamers have to make sure that they work with suppliers which pay suffi­ cient attention to the sustainability of their production. Although the capital costs of investment are far lower for additive manu­ facture than for an isocyanate or polyol plant, the technology to produce silicone surfactants and many other additives is very complex and is an effective barrier to entering the business. Evonik is well placed with technical knowledge about how chang­ es in the chemical structures of surfactants influence the processing of a system and this remains a key issue in the company’s success and makes Evonik a preferred part­

Dr Georg burkhart

Dr Tammo boinowitz

“During my carreer I have had the privilege to build and sustain many strong working relationships with people within Evonik but also with our customers and suppliers. I had the opportunity to experience and to suc­ cessfully support a lot of technological changes in the polyurethane industry over a rather long period of time. Broadly speaking, the business has doubled every ten years, and even after the recession of 2009, when our business experienced unexpected growth we were able to meet customer de­ mands,” Burkhart explained.

Evonik’s products are essential for making all kinds of polyurethane foams. As there are quite different regional customer require­ ments the higher flexibility of a local produc­ tion allows to meet local needs, that may range from basic to sophisticated in a short time period, much better and faster.

Burkhart, who joined Th. Goldschmidt on 1 November 1981 in catalyst development, has held a series of positions in the technical development group until in 1986 he became Global Technical Director with the key role of expanding the company’s business horizons and creating a number of competence cen­ tres worldwide. From 2002 onwards he has

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ner for joint developments with its custom­ ers.

Especially for the surfactants he emphasised the importance of understanding the chem­ istry and the need for consistent quality of intermediates to make a consistent, reliable product. This is why Evonik produces poly­ ether in­house rather than outsourcing. “The combination of knowledge and resources also allows for greater freedom for product development in co­operation with individual customers,” stated Burkhart.

In the last ten years Evonik has worked hard to improve the environmental acceptability of its products. The company has been active in meeting many challenges including: VOC reduction and removal, developing additives for natural oil polyols, reducing odour, im­ proving FR performance, developing prod­

Bookshop

ucts suitable for new blowing agents while also constantly improving customer’s aware­ ness to EH & S. “Looking forward, uncertainty remains an issue but market fundamentals still look fine for future growth,” stated Boinowitz. “Poly­ urethane demand is driven by demographics, it is a high performance material, that has enormous versatility and a historical growth rate that is 2 – 3 % higher than GDP,” he ex­ plained. “The industry is better prepared for future market volatility with lower inventory levels, better capacity utilisation and greater flexibility. Evonik will continue to look for op­ portunities for new products that will meet our customer’s challenges while improving our overall competitiveness. We will consider further regional expansion and continue to develop our organisation at a local level over the coming years.”

Burkhart and Boinowitz were keen to share the results of a recent customer satisfaction survey, undertaken by Homberg & Partners, interviewing more than 1 000 respondents worldwide. In 2005, the company had under­ taken a similar exercise but expected that during the recent economic turmoil, the com­ pany’s perception in the industry might have changed. However, Evonik customers were reported to be just as satisfied, if not more satisfied, than before. Customers were very happy with the product quality, technical service and level of innovation offered by Evonik. The ability to offer solutions for PU customers in all parts of the world was also greatly appreciated. “As a conclusion of these results Evonik feels that its current business model has been justified, but of course there are areas where we have to improve,” stated Boinowitz and Burkhart. 

www.gupta­verlag.de

All About PolyurethAnes Since the first Polyurethanes book was published in 1987, and reprinted with updates in 1990, the world of polyurethanes has changed dramatically. This edition has been completely re-structured, re-written and enlarged by approximately 50 %. It provides a greater focus on the whole range of components used to produce polyurethanes, a more detailed analysis of environmental issues and extended views on the application of polyurethanes.

As with the previous editions, this book provides a comprehensive survey of these remarkable materials, again presented in a readable manner, and continues to provide both an easilyunderstood introduction for those with limited knowledge of chemistry as well as detailed coverage for the more chemically-minded.

David Randall, Steve Lee The Polyurethanes Book John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 1. Edition, 2003 494 pages, Hardcover, ISBN 978-0-47085041-1 EUR 279,00

Dr. Gupta Verlag · P. O. Box 10 41 25 · 40852 Ratingen/Germany · Tel. +49 2102 9345-0 · Fax +49 2102 9345-20 · info@gupta-verlag.de · www.gupta-verlag.de

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Bayer and Tongji University to collaborate in eco-construction and materials in China

tion, our students and the industry will get exposure to new and existing knowledge in the construction industry. The joint education and research effort to bring about innovative climate friendly constructions technology are in line with the strategic aim of the Tongji University and the government. The commitment and profound experience of Bayer in eco-construction and materials makes them an ideal partner for Tongji.”

bayer recently announced a further collaboration with Tongji University for the establishment of the bayer-Tongji Eco-construction & Material Academy, the first of its kind in the field of construction and architecture industries in china.

“We are very pleased to work with Tongji University on this new academy in order to enhance scientific knowledge about the use of innovative materials for sustainable solutions in the building construction market in China, while maintaining high quality and safety standards,” said Peter Vanacker, Member of the Executive Committee of Bayer MaterialScience (BMS).

“Tongji University is a leading university in the field of construction, architecture and material science and Bayer MaterialScience is among the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality materials with core competencies in the field of construction. By establishing the Bayer-Tongji Eco-Construction & Material Academy, we aim to create a precious platform to leverage resources from leaders in both industrial and academic areas to support China in achieving its energy and environmental targets.”

The Bayer-Tongji Eco-Construction & Material Academy, a total five-year investment of EUR 1.5 million, will be structured as a direct affiliate under Tongji’s College of Material Science & Engineering. Through this academy, BMS and Tongji University will make joint efforts to promote China’s sustainable construction through education, research and talent development projects.

content will be focused on energy efficiency, eco-construction and materials selection.

In addition, BMS and Tongji University will conduct joint R & D projects to address the challenges China is facing to promote ecoconstruction and materials. Talent development is key in all of Bayer’s partnerships with academic institutions, and will also be the case for the new academy at Tongji University: To cultivate talents for China’s construction industry, BMS will provide first-hand realworld internship opportunities for outstanding Tongji students. The academy will also provide support for students’ innovative projects, campaigns or initiatives in the field of eco-construction and materials.

“We believe science and education, as well as implementing high industry quality and safety standards, are crucial to promoting sustainable solutions for China’s construction industry,” said Dr Klaus Schaefer, President of BMS China. “By working closely with Tongji, we hope to contribute to building more climate-friendly buildings in China.”

Prof Zhou Zuyi, Chairman of Tongji University Council, said: “Through this collabora-

In China, the market for eco-friendly construction materials holds great potential, as China has surpassed the USA to become the largest construction market in the world. In China, buildings use more energy than iron, steel and cement industries combined. With China’s construction expenditures rising at 9.1 % per year through 2014, the saving potential in the building sector is huge in order to meet the country’s target on CO 2 emission and energy intensity per unit GDP set in its 12th Five Year Plan, which is set to reduce by 17 % and 16 % respectively from 2010 levels by 2015. As part of the 12th Five Year Plan, Shanghai targets to reduce CO2 emissions by 19 % and energy intensity by 18 % per unit GDP. To accomplish these progressive objectives, Shanghai will enforce high construction energy saving standards, build at least 10 million m2 of green buildings and establish low-carbon urban zones.

In view of this, Johannes M. Dietsch, President of Bayer Greater China Group, said: “It is our sincere wish that this academy can be a powerful talent incubator for China’s construction industry to help the nation accomplish the ambitious energy saving targets.” 

bayer-Tongji Eco-construction & Material Academy launch ceremony

The academy will provide regular classroom lectures and seminars about eco-construction and materials for students from Tongji University, as well as external industry players such as architects, developers and design institutes. With an aim to promote economical and sustainable construction materials and solutions, and enhance the industry’s quality and safety awareness, the training

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Rosehill Polymers: Pioneers in polymer innovation Innovators since it was founded in 1988 by the current chairman Michael Hopkinson, rosehill Polymers has expanded its operations to four sites in and around the town of Sowerby bridge, West yorkshire, UK. In typical yorkshire understated fashion rosehill continues to successfully innovate, design, develop, and commercialise products and technologies into the global market. The town of Sowerby bridge, once an industrial centre for textiles, is now home to one of the largest independent polyurethane system houses in Europe.

The company employs 74 staff and is supported by a worldwide network of distributors.

Since 2005 the company has increased its turnover from GbP 8.5 million to an anticipated GbP 21 million by the end of 2011. Dr Alex celik, former Sales Director and current Managing Director, is a driving force behind this expansion.

Innovation a keystone

Tailored approach to systems

Rosehill Polymers recognises that the use of effective R & D can lead to significant market advantage, whether it is in the development of new process machinery, laboratory equipment, chemical formulations or technologies. The entire team of engineers and chemists are highly motivated and actively encouraged to pursue and develop new ideas without delays often caused by complex management procedures. The size of the company allows it to operate in a flexible way, providing all employees the chance to influence the company’s future.

Being independent allows Rosehill access to a broad portfolio of raw materials from which it can develop specific products such as prepolymers for the CASE sector of the PU industry and for laminating adhesives.

Rosehill operates a continuous reactor with an annual capacity of 45 kt, making it one of Europe’s largest independent system houses. The continuous process allows customers complete flexibility in terms of order size. Rosehill also operates a number of batch reactors and has 1,700 t capacity tank farm.

Combined rubber and urethane technology Rosehill has continually developed its knowledge of urethane and rubber technologies for new binder and adhesive technology for applications in many end-use industries. The combination of these chemistries has led to the creation of higher performance products in terms of temperature, UV and moisture resistance. The use of complementary technology across the various divisions gives the company opportunities for highly cost effective expansion. The company also benefits from the fact that much of its process equipment has been created and designed by in-house engineers. The business now comprises of several divisions with products based upon shared technology and chemistry: • Rosehill Sports – produces wet pour rubber surfacing, binders, and adhesives for sports track and play areas, • Rosehill Rail – manufacturer and worldwide distributor of rubber rail crossing systems, • Rosehill Offshore – PU-based elastomeric systems used for pipeline coatings in the oil and gas industry, and • Rosehill Highways – manufacturer and worldwide distributor of rubber traffic calming devices.

rosehill produces low temperature stable MDI-based prepolymers.

The company produces binders for rebonded materials such as cork and rubber crumb and is currently working on new PU dispersion technology for rebond foam. Rosehill’s in-house engineers have also designed and built a continuous reactor production plant to manufacture MDI-based prepolymers. The reactor produces prepolymers that have a high degree of low temperature stability, capable of withstanding –27 °C, and improved mechanical properties when compared to batch manufactured prepolymers.

Environmentally friendly From an environmental perspective, Rosehill is one of the UK’s largest recyclers of rubber tyres. The rubber granulate is produced from

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various vehicle types. Production currently uses 3,000 t/y, equivalent to 600,000 tyres.

Rosehill’s products combine urethane and rubber technology to create products that offer UV, high and low temperature, and other environmental resistance. Many of the company’s technologies also contribute to energy saving through process improvements and cold cure technology.

Fantastic track record For more than 15 years, Rosehill has used PU binder chemistry in an ambient temperature crosslinking process to manufacture railway crossing panels from rubber granules made from recycled tyres, including aircraft tyres that contain kevlar. The two shot system uses state-of-the-art equipment, de-

signed in-house, to apply 400 t of pressure to the rubber granulate and PU binder mixture. Within only 25 min an individual panel is fully cured, completely stable, inert, and cool to the touch. In comparison, a traditional vulcanisation process uses far higher amounts of energy and requires a manufacturing time of several hours per panel. All panels are designed by Rosehill’s engineering team. Customers include UK Network Rail, Deutsche Bahn, SNCF, and railway companies in Australia, New Zealand, and Romania.

rail crossing in the UK, old panels were removed in 75 min and a full set of panels installed in less than 50 min. The panels were also put safely into place using a bespoke lifting system designed by Rosehill. Safe lifting pins lock into position and allow loads of up to 350 kg to be safely lifted avoiding damage to the panels and the risk of personal injury. Finally, the crossing panels can be marked with the company’s PU paint.

Saving time and reducing accidents

A quiet revolution is currently taking place in the global oil and gas industry due to technological advances in exploration, that allow oil to be extracted from ever deeper and progressively hotter wells. Pipeline coating

The 1.8 m rail crossing panels are quick to install and replace. During a recent trial at a

New developments in the pipeline

The company manufactures railway crossing panels from recycled rubber and PU binder.

During a recent trial, the railway crossing panels were put safely into place using a tailor-made lifting system.

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Polyurethane paint from rosehill was used to mark the railway crossing panels.

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products originally developed 25 – 30 years ago can no longer operate at these higher temperatures and greater depths. In response to new demands, Rosehill has developed new technologies combining chemically opposed raw materials to manufacture new “polymer alloy” systems which can be processed quickly and easily, perform at much lower depths, and provide protection at much higher temperatures of up to 160 °C. The company now offers a wide range of polymer systems including both solid and glass syntactic systems for line pipe coatings and field joints as well as for the manufacture of bend stiffeners and restrictors as VIV strakes.

under these conditions and has developed a 2K processable material with a fast gel time creating good green strength within 6 – 7 min.

Rosehill has used its knowledge of rubber and PU elastomers to produce a field joint protection system for the oil and gas industry. Field pipe joints are known to be vulnerable to damage from trawl boards in heavily fished waters, therefore superior protection is needed. The Fleximat system uses recycled rubber mats and a PU, MDI-based coating resin to offer protection from impacts of more than 16 kJ. This protection is much greater than the 7 kJ impact resistance offered by systems using PU rigid foam joint protection.

Playing safe

Hydrolysation is a major problem for all coated surfaces used at sea. Despite thorough surface treatment, cracks can form under the “hot wet” conditions experienced by a deep sea pipeline. Rosehill recognises that better adhesive performance of the coating chemistry can reduce coating failure

Rosehill has also developed a coating resin using a combination of PU and epoxy technology to create a new chemistry in the elastomeric top coating that is self repairing. The chemistry uses the breakdown products resulting from hydrolysation to reform and create another hybrid elastomer on the pipeline surface. As a result of these novel solutions, Rosehill is now recognised as a world leader within this high profile industry.

Five years ago Rosehill revolutionised the sports track and play surface industry by introducing a new rubber polymer into the market. Up to this point, the products used were not specifically designed for this market and tended to become brittle, have poor UV stability, and a shorter life expectancy.

Initially designed as an infill material for artificial grass pitches, Rosehill’s thermoplastic vulcanisate material now provides an attractive top layer for playgrounds and sports surfaces. The TPV uses a moisture curing PU binder to solve these problems. TPV offers much better colour consistency and superior UV stability than EPDM and colour coated SBR granules. It is currently available in a range of 24 standard colours and offers both architects and installers endless possibilities for creative design when planning

wet pour surfaces. A massive investment in a purpose-built, high capacity plant, designed and built by Rosehill engineers, ensures that the materials can be made on a continuous basis with compounding, peroxide vulcanisation, granulation, and packaging all in line. At the present time Rosehill is the only UK manufacturer of coloured granules.

Innovation at Rosehill has also created a TPV with sparkle, which is proving popular for use in theme parks.

Speedy acquisition Despite the difficult economic climate Rosehill has recently completed the acquisition of another local company, Ryburn Rubber, a specialist manufacturer of traffic calming devices from recycled rubber. This material is used in Rosehill’s railway crossing business, so the acquisition has created benefits of shared technology and economies of scale. The new acquisition has recently formed the basis of the new Highways division. Benefiting from existing Rosehill technology speed cushions can now be produced in a single piece and could even include TPV coloured granules to create a company logo, such as a supermarket or airport name.

Rosehill’s strategy continues to be based upon building as much knowledge and understanding of the company’s markets as possible, maintaining its flexibility in response to customer needs whilst continually looking for opportunities to diversify the business. 

rosehill’s thermoplastic vulcanisate plant

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M. Bogdan*

Honeywell Solstice liquid blowing agent introduced for global spray foam applications

show Solstice LBA to be a better blowing agent in many respects.

A low GWP blowing agent with all the benefits of HFCs For a blowing agent to be acceptable it needs certain properties, which are summarised in table 1. Solstice LBA meets all these criteria and exceeds several of them.

The paper summarised in the following article was originally presented at the center for the Polyurethanes Industry conference in September 2011. To review the full details of the paper and the corresponding presentation, please visit the resource center of the product website: www.honeywell-solsticelba.com.

The change is starting. Nations around the globe are now focusing on the task of reducing the use of high global warming materials.

The global spray foam industry is beginning the transition. Honeywell has officially introduced its liquid low global warming blowing agent, Solstice liquid blowing agent (LBA).

With a global warming potential (GWP) of <7, Solstice LBA is a superior choice for use in spray foam insulation with the potential to significantly reduce global warming. A replacement for liquid HFC blowing agents like 245fa and 365mfc, Solstice LBA is a costeffective solution to meet ever-increasing energy standards globally.

Honeywell has been developing blowing agents since the beginning, meeting both the environmental and technical challenges of the industry. It started with the introduction of trichlorofluoromethane, (CFC-11) in the mid-1950’s. This was followed with the introduction of the HCFCs, the most com-

mon being 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane, or 141b. Although conversion to 141b reduced the ozone depletion potential of blowing agents by 90 %, these materials were also earmarked for phaseout and HFC blowing agents were introduced. The most common of the HFCs was 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane, or 245fa. This material satisfied the requirements of ozone depletion regulation while, at the same time, retained the high performance and non-flammability required in many foam applications. Honeywell is now leading the development of fourth-generation fluorocarbon technology, anticipating low global warming potential requirements with Solstice LBA. Honeywell has explored the use of Solstice LBA in spray foam systems and it is an ideal replacement for 245fa. Compared to 245fa, which continues to be a product of choice in the global spray foam industry, initial small and large scale laboratory experiments, as well as a small scale field trial, 

Molecular weight

mary.bogdan@honeywell.com Senior Principal Scientist, Honeywell Fluorine Products Published with kind permission of cPI, center for the Polyurethanes Industry, Washington, Dc, USA Paper, Polyurethanes 2011 Technical conference, 26 – 28 September 2011, Nashville, TN, USA, cPI, center for the Polyurethanes Industry

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

Tab. 1: critical properties for blowing agents

Blowing agent physical properties Environmentally safe Low toxicity Low molecular weight Non-flammable Appropriate boiling point Blowing agent compatibility compatible & miscibility with other raw materials Foam processing compatible with foam manufacturing processes Foam quality Low thermal conductivity Provides small size cells Thermally stable No effect on polymer

Tab. 2: Liquid blowing agent comparative properties Solstice LBA

* Mary bogdan

Table 2 compares Solstice LBA to other commonly used spray foam blowing agents.

Solstice LBA has a lower molecular weight than 245fa and 365mfc, which means that for an equal molar substitution, 3 % less Solstice LBA can be used than 245fa. The boiling point of Solstice LBA is 24 % higher than 245fa, which has a significant impact on system vapor pressure and spray yield.

It is non-flammable and has no flame limit,

245fa

365mfc

141b

130

134

148

117

boiling point / °c/°F

19/66

15.3/59.5

40/104

32/90

Flashpoint / °c/°F

None

None

–27/16.6

None

LFL / UFL (Vol.-% in air)

None

None

3.6 – 13.3

7.6 – 17.7

ODP (1) Atmospheric life GWP, 100 years (2) VOc PEL (3)

~0

~0

~0

0.12

26 days

7.6 years

10.8 years

9.3 years

<7

1,030

794

725

No (pending exempt)

No (exempt)

No (exempt)

No (exempt)

300

300

1,000

500

No impact on ozone layer depletion and is commonly referred to as zero (Preliminary report: “Analyses of tcFP’s potential impact on atmospheric ozone.” Wang, Olsen, and Wuebbles, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana.

(2) 2007 Technical Summary. climate change 2007: The Physical Science basis. contribution of Working Group 1 to the Fourth Assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change (except where noted).

(3) Manufacturers’ literature except where noted (1)

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

potential for drum bulging during transportation, use and storage.

a critical consideration for spray foam applications, since the product is produced in the field. Finally, it meets environmental and toxicity requirements. Solstice LBA has a ~0 ODP and a GWP <7. It has an atmospheric life time of 26 days, and it is anticipated to be classified as VOC-exempt in the USA.

Since spray foam is manufactured on site, systems can be stored several months prior to use, often under non-ideal situations. It is critical to a contractor that the reactivity of a foam system is the same on the day he bought it as when it is used. The generic system recently tested showed equivalent reactivity when comparing the Solstice LBA system to the equivalent 245fa system when stored at 54 °C for four weeks or at room temperature for four months.

Higher solubility in polyols Solstice LBA offers higher solubility in polyols, significantly greater than what is seen with 245fa. The impact of this improved solubility and higher boiling point is most evident in the significant reduction in vapor pressure of polyol blends. Figure 1 shows the significant impact on the vapor of the system most recently studied. At 22 °C the Solstice LBA system vapor pressure was 59 % lower than what was found in an equivalent 245fa system. This will allow system manufacturers the opportunity to explore alternative packaging, while reducing the

180 160

Pressure / kPa

140

Spray foam application under varied environmental conditions In 2009 and 2010, Honyewell demonstrated that Solstice LBA systems could be processed through existing spray foam equipment, and that the foam produced showed a 4 – 6 % improvement in lambda and was equivalent on other foam properties. How-

245fa Solstice LBA

100

-31 %

80 60 40 20

-41 % -59 %

0 22

33 43 Temperature / °C

54

 Fig. 1: Impact of Solstice LbA on generic system vapor pressure

Application room temperature 16 °C 26 °C 33 °C comparison of Solstice LbA vs 245fa initial lambda

Solstice LbA 10 % better

Solstice LbA 7 % better

Solstice LbA 10 % better

comparison of Solstice LbA vs 245fa aged lambda

Solstice LbA 15 % better

Solstice LbA 7 % better

Solstice LbA 15 % better

 Tab. 3: Impact of application temperature on lambda

Room % relative humidity 30 % 52 % comparison of Solstice LbA vs 245fa initial lambda comparison of Solstice LbA vs 245fa aged lambda

Solstice LbA 10 % better

Solstice LbA 8 % better

 Tab. 4: Impact of %rH in Solstice LbA 15 % better Solstice LbA 15 % better application environment on lambda

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One of the greatest challenges in the application of spray foam is the varied environmental conditions (temperature and humidity) in which it must be applied. To be viable, a system must be robust enough to function across a wide range of conditions. In addition to the environmental conditions, the number of layers, of lifts, of foam applied in an application can vary depending on the insulation performance required for the application. If five centimeters of foam is required to meet building energy performance, it is often applied in a single lift. However, if larger foam thicknesses are required, it is applied in multiple lifts. This insures that excessive heat does not build up during the installation. As with environmental conditions, the number of lifts in a foam application can also impact foam quality and yield.

The focus of the recent study was to understand if the transition to Solstice LBA will impact the application of foam and the quality of foam produced with a wall foam formulation when: • the environmental conditions of both temperature (16 – 30 °C) and humidity were varied (30 – 50 % RH) and • the foam was sprayed in single and multiple lifts.

-26 %

120

ever, spray foam is applied under a variety of conditions, most of which are not those found in a traditional lab environment.

The samples for testing were sprayed using standard spray foam equipment, by a certified contractor onto 1.25 cm plywood. The foam sprayed was tested for density, closed cell content, compressive strength, dimensional stability and lambda.

The first test of the generic system was to determine if there was a loss in performance between the 245fa and the Solstice LBA system when the application environment varied from 16 – 30 °C. This temperature variance can be seen in a single day at a jobsite in the summer. Excellent foam was produced with both systems. The density of the foams was equivalent. However, the density variance was greater across the application range in the 245fa samples. This

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provides the potential for more consistency in yield across the application window. The Solstice LBA foam dimensional stability, compressive strength and closed cell content were found to be equivalent to 245fa foams. The most remarkable variance between the Solstice LBA and 245fa foams was seen in the lambda values. Table 3 shows the improvement seen in lambda of the Solstice LBA foams. Under certain conditions the reduction in lambda was as great at 15 %.

The next great challenge after temperature in any spray foam environment is humidity.

This can have a significant impact on foam quality and yield. The generic Solstice LBA and the 245fa system were applied at 30 % and 50 % RH. The Solstice LBA foams were found to have more consistent density, dimensional stability, compressive strength than the 245fa foams. Again, the greatest improvement seen was in lambda (tab. 4).

The final test of foam application is in the number of layers applied. The generic systems were applied in a single and double lifts to see if the foam quality remained acceptable. The application was done at 26 °C and 36 % RH. The Solstice LBA foams were equivalent in all foam properties tested to the 245fa foam when multiple lifts were applied.

However, the true test of a blowing agent in a spray foam system is not only in the advantages it provides to formulating or the quality foam produced, but also the ability to spray it under a variety of field conditions. In addition to providing excellent formulating advantages and producing superior quality foam, Solstice LBA is comparable or better than 245fa in several key processing characteristics:

Conclusion

• can be processed through existing equipment, • can be processed through a wider application window, • provides comparable properties in multiple lift applications, and • is applicable under a wide range of environmental conditions.

Solstice LBA is an ideal replacement for 245fa. It meets the critical criteria for a blowing agent in its physical and environmental properties as well foam application and foam properties. It provides significant advantages to both the formulator and applicator. Solstice LBA foams have: • better initial and aged thermal insulation properties and • better foam dimensional stability.

Call for papers: CPI 2012 Polyurethanes Technical Conference The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) of the American Chemistry Council has issued a call for papers and posters to be presented at the 2012 Polyurethanes Technical Conference, scheduled for 24 – 26 September 2012, at the Omni Hotel in Atlanta, GA, USA. Paper abstracts are due 1 February 2012, and poster abstracts are due 22 August 2012. Submission instructions, guidelines for development of papers and tem-

plates can be found on CPI’s website www.polyurethane.org.

At the conference, paper and poster presenters will have the opportunity to reach hundreds of leaders and innovators in the polyurethane field. The conference’s technical presentations are a fixture of the annual event, which drew nearly 800 attendees in 2011. At the conclusion of the conference, awards will be presented to recognise outstanding papers and posters in each category.

Honeywell is in the process of commercializing this new high performance, low-globalwarming potential blowing agent. 

Papers and posters may address innovations and developments involving polyurethane chemistry or uses, including new polyurethane products or applications; raw material or additive innovations; or breakthroughs in equipment design or operation.

Papers and posters also may focus on issues associated with the manufacture, use, handling, transportation, disposal, and endof-life of polyurethanes, as well as health, environmental and product stewardship issues. Regulatory and legislative topics, codes and standards developments are also welcome as paper and poster topics. 

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J. Gao, J. Cao*

Grade B1 (not easily flammable) rigid spray polyurethane foam rigid PU foam is an excellent insulation material with low thermal conductivity, good heat resistance, good aging resistance and excellent adhesion to other materials. Therefore, it has become widely used in the field of thermal insulation in recent years. compared with other types of rigid PU foam, spray rigid PU foam has advantages of ease of use, high energy efficiency, seamless application, easy maintenance and excellent thermal insulation as well as being suitable as an air barrier. The material is also widely applied in such fields as thermal insulation for external wall of building, cold storage and industrial workshops.

In 2005, the Ministry of construction in china, established a group to improve energy conservation which promoted the application of PU materials in construction to help achieve the energy-saving target of 50 % as early as possible. With the deepening urbanisation process, more and more high-rise buildings are appearing in various cities across china, and corresponding flame retardant requirements for materials used in the construction of high-rise buildings for thermal insulation materials are also becoming more stringent. In 2009, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural Development issued document no. 46 “Interim Provisions of External Thermal Insulation System of civil building and Fire Prevention for Decoration of External Wall” [1], which requires that for certain civil high-rise buildings whose height is more than 24 m but less than 50 m, the burning behavior of the thermal insulation material used in the external wall shall be no less than grade b1. In the case of public buildings the roof base materials should have a fire resistance no less than 1 hour and the combustibility of the thermal insulation material shall be no less than grade b1, to ensure the safety of the general public. To meet the requirements of high-rise buildings in terms of both thermal insulation and flame-retardant properties, bayer has developed the grade b1 (not easily flammable) spray PU foam.

1. R & D challenges to meet technical standards 1.1 Flame-retardant standards and technical difficulties in realising flame-retardant targets Currently, the classification method in GB 8624-1997 Classification for Burning Be-

* Jianwu Gao jianwu.gao@bayer.com Head of Application Development for PU Insulation Material Jingming cao jingming.cao@bayer.com Senior Development Specialist for PU Insulation Material Polymer research and Development center (PrDc) bayer MaterialScience, Shanghai, china

additive. However, since rigid PU spray foam formulations are limited to isocyanate: polyol (1:1 by volume) due to current spray equipment, it is very difficult to improve the flameretardant property by increasing the isocyanate index to produce PIR. Therefore, grade B1 material can only be achieved by using specific raw materials.

The grade B1 flame retardant test is mainly conducted according to GB 8625 test method of difficult flammability for building materials [4], GB 8626 test method of flammability for building materials and GB 8627 test method for density of smoke from the burning or decomposition of building materials. In the flame-retardant test furnace of GB 8625, four samples of material of length of 1,000 mm, width of 190 mm and certain thickness were placed on the specimen support and then put into the combustion chamber (fig. 1). The combustion gas, composed of 35 l/min methane and 17.5 l/min air, was ignited and observations recorded. The burning test time is 10 min.

Figure 2 shows the combustion chamber for flame retardancy test and the sample after burning for 10 min.

Fig. 1: 

haviour of Building Materials [2] is mainly used for the burning behaviour of building materials. It is the non-equivalent adoption of German Standard DIN 4102-1 [3] after slight revision and widely cited in other relevant standards. The classification method divides building materials into grade A (non-combustible), grade B1 (not easily flammable), grade B2 (flammable) and grade B3 (easily flammable).

According to relevant Chinese and international scientific research information, PU foam can reach up to grade B1 which is the highest flame retardant requirements for organic material. By adjusting the ratio of isocyanate to polyol in the PU foam formulation; to achieve a high isocyanate index, a large quantity of PIR flame-retardant structures can be produced during the reaction in the presence of specific catalyst. Meanwhile, grade B1 can also be achieved through the use of a certain amount of flame retardant

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combustion chamber for flame retardancy test Gb 8625

Light measuring sector

Thermo elements for exhaust gases Samples

Burner

Air supply [600 m3/h; (23±3) °C]

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1.2 Physical property standards and technical difficulties in achieving the physical property objective GB 50404-2007 Technical Code for Rigid Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Waterproof Engineering determines the physical property of spray rigid PU foam used for external wall and roofs, which are the quality inspection standards used in most Chinese provinces. Since grade B1 materials have higher flammability requirements, large quantities of flame retardant must be used. However, the plasticity of most flame retardants causes a negative effect on the physical property of spray rigid PU foam, making it difficult to achieve the required physical properties. If conventional polyether polyol is used in the product formulation, although the physical property of the foam can be effectively improved, it is difficult to achieve grade B1. Finding the balance between the flame-retardant and physical properties is the key for developing grade B1 flame-retardant spray rigid PU foam.

2. Design ideas and R & D process The combustion process of rigid PU foam is similar to that of most general polymeric materials. There are three necessary conditions for the combustion process – heat, oxygen and flammable material. One or all of these three conditions must be removed to prevent burning, alternatively the foam plastic must be 

Fig. 2: Samples after burning in Gb 8625 test

isolated from these three conditions. Flameretardant methods can be divided into nonflammable gas generation method; flammable gas dilution method, oxygen isolation method through the formation of a protective layer on the surface of plastic foam, inhibition method of generation of flammable gas and or improving the heat resistance of plastic foam.

According to above methods for rigid PU foam, following methods are mainly used to improve its flame-retardant property.

2.1 Addition of reactive flame retardants containing phosphorus, halogen and nitrogen On the current market, most reactive flame retardant compositions contain such flameretardant elements as phosphorus, bromine, chlorine, and nitrogen, have certain functionalities and can be introduced into the backbone of the molecular structure of a polymer after reaction, which makes the flame-retardant effect of rigid foam become more durable. Compared with liquid additive flame retardants, reactive flame retardants improve the physical property of spray rigid PU foam.

Lots of experiments show that, some of the reactive flame-retardant compositions have poor storage stability and are not suitable to be added into mixed polyols. The higher the viscosity of a formulation using a reactive flame retardant makes it difficult to use in a 

2.2 Addition of liquid flame retardant into the system Although there are many types of additive liquid flame retardants, the types of liquid flame retardants that can be used for PU foam are very limited. Among them, TCPP, TCEP, TDCPP and DMMP are widely used in various rigid PU foam materials. Although TCPP and TDCPP show excellent flame-retardant effect, they seriously affect the physical properties of spray rigid PU foam, especially in the case of excessive dosage. Even though the flameretardant effect of TCEP is better than that of TCPP, it has poor storage stability in the blended polyol and releases acidic substances that can affect the efficiency of tertiary amine catalyst and reduce foam quality. Since

Tab. 1: Test results of physical property of baymer grade b1 rigid PU spray foam series Test method

BJ3-5615 (45 kg/m3)

48BA003 (55 kg/m3)

Unit

Gb/T 6343

46.5

57.5

kg/m3

Thermal conductivity (22.5 °c)

Gb 3399

20.39

21.00

mW/m·K

ratio of porosity of closed pore

Gb/T 10799

96.2

96.8

Vol.-%

compressive strength (10 % deformation)

Gb/T 8813

0.22

0.36

MPa

Dimensional stability (30 °c, 48 h)

Gb/T 8811

–0.12

0.08

%

Dimensional stability (70 °c, 48 h)

Gb/T 8811

0.54

0.36

%

Item Density of foam core



Tab. 2: Flame-retardant property of baymer grade b1 rigid PU spray foam series Test method

Specification

Minimum remaining length / mm

Gb/T 8625-2005

>0

380

450

Qualified

Average remaining length / mm

Gb/T 8625-2005

>150

398

457

Qualified

Average maximum temperature of flue gas / °c

Gb/T 8625-2005

<200

125

196

Qualified

Height of burning flame / mm

Gb/T 8626-2007

<150

<150

<150

Qualified

Smoke density

Gb/T 8627-2007

<75

73

51

Qualified

Item

356

spray PU system. The use of some reactive flame retardants can also cause a brittle surface to the rigid foam, which leads to a reduction in the adhesive strength of spray PU foam to a substrate. This ultimately affects the construction quality of the sprayed foam.

Most foams using reactive flame retardants generate a large quantity of smoke during combustion making it difficult for the foam to pass a smoke density test. Meanwhile, the price of a reactive flame retardant composition is high and selection of raw materials is narrow. In general, reactive flame-retardant polyol is not the best choice.

BJ3-5615 48BA003 Conclusion (45 kg/m3) (55 kg/m3)

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

DMMP is a non-halogen, high-phosphate liquid flame retardant, it has a better flame-retardant effect. However, it is harmful to the human body, so some European countries have restricted its use in rigid PU foam. Therefore, Bayer has banned the use of this flame retardant in any PU product with consideration from the view of health.

2.3 Introduction of FRs with specific flame-retardant effect, such as PIR and phenyl structure.

The typical ratio of isocyanate:polyol for general, dual-component rigid PU spray equipment is 1:1 by volume, and it is very difficult to improve the flame-retardant property of spray PU foam by increasing isocyanate index and introducing PIR flame retardant structure. Aromatic polyester polyol contains a phenyl structure, therefore, rigid PU foam containing it shows better heat and burning resistance than those of ordinary polyether polyols. Aromatic polyester polyols are divided into two types with the phenyl structure in an adjacent position and contrapuntal position. The aromatic polyol with adjacent position structure has regular structure, therefore its flame-retardant effect is better than that of contrapuntal position aromatic polyol and is suitable for introduction into the rigid spray PU foam formulation.

Comparing above three methods, it is difficult to achieve the burning behavior of grade B1 and simultaneous compliance with the p h y s i c a l p ro p e r t y re q u i re m e n t s o f GB 50404. However, after comprehensive comparison and testing of formulations, using a special aromatic polyester polyol and composite flame retardant, a rigid spray PU foam was created that simultaneously 

fulfils the requirements of both flame retardancy and physical properties.

3. Research and development results After a large number of repeated tests, a 45 kg/m3 density, grade B1 flame-retardant spray rigid PU foam has been successfully developed at first, using Desmodur 44V20L as component A – isocyanate and Baymer BJ3-5615I as component B – blended polyol.

Based on this, Baymer rigid PU spray 48BA003 with an excellent level of flame retardancy, that is suitable for application to the roof has been successfully developed. The physical property data of of Baymer BJ35615I (45 kg/m3) and Baymer 48BA003 (55 kg/m3) of rigid PU spray foam system show that, the product can fully meet the requirements of physical property in GB 50404.

Two products have respectively passed the flame retardant test for grade B1 by the National Center for Quality Supervision and Testing of Fire Building Materials and Shanghai Jianke Technical Assessment of Construction Co., Ltd., and meet the requirements of the Interim Provisions of External Thermal Insulation System of Civil Building and Fire Prevention for Decoration of External Wall.

4. non-combustible grade A thermal insulation system based on grade B1 rigid PU spray foam The thermal insulation system for external wall uses Baymer BJ3-5615I and Desmodur 44V20L grade B1 rigid PU spray foam system as the core material and is made from double-

Tab. 3: Test results of grade A non-combustible material based on external thermal wall made from grade b1 SPF.

Item

Inspection method

Technical Inspection specification result

Conclusion

Minimum remaining length / mm

Gb/T 8625-2005

≥200

420

Qualified

Average remaining length / mm

Gb/T 8625-2005

≥350

504

Qualified

Average maximum temperature of flue gas / °c

Gb/T 8625-2005

≤125

124

Qualified

Smoke density

Gb/T 8627-2007

≤15

6

Qualified

calorific value / per MJ/m2

Gb/T 14402-2007

≤4.2

2.1

Qualified

Heat release / MJ/m2

Gb/T 14403-1993

≤16.8

3.1

Qualified

Smoke toxicity (Lco) / mg/l

Gb/T 20285-2006

≥25

25.0

Qualified

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

side peripheral glass fibre mesh cement mortar of thickness 5 mm. It has successfully passed the test for grade A non-flammable material (GB 8624-1997) of the National Center for Quality Supervision and Testing of Fire Building Materials. The results show that, Baymer BJ3-5615I grade B1 flame-retardant spray rigid PU foam is the core material. The external wall thermal insulation system made from composite fiberglass mesh and cement mortar can completely reach the burning behavior required for non-combustible grade A in GB 8624-1997; this can usually only be achieved by inorganic material.

5. Summary and conclusion Baymer BJ3-5615I (45 kg/m3) and Baymer 48BA003 (55 kg/m3), grade B1 (not easily flammable) rigid PU spray foam products have generally the same physical property of grade B2 products with the same density.

Meanwhile, it has better flame-retardant properties and greater potential for application due to the increasingly higher requirement of current building material standards relating to the flame retardancy of thermal insulation material used in China. Currently, the product has been commercialised and is widely used by customers in thermal insulation for external walls of buildings and roofs.

6. References [1] Interim Provision of External Thermal Insulation System of Civil Building and Fire Prevention for Decoration of External Wall, G.T.Z. [2009] No. 46 [2] GB 8624-1997 Classification for Burning Behavior of Building Materials [3] DIN 4102 (1998) part 1, Classification of Building Materials Requirements and Testing [4] GB 8625-1988 Building Materials Flame-retardant Test Method [5] PU Foam Plastics, Zhu Lvmin, Liu Yijun, Chemical Industry Press (3rd Edition) 2005 [6] Bayer Polyurethane Business Group Insulation, Bayer Technical Information Files, Version 092004 

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P. Ashford, A. Vetter*

Trends in the selection of next generation blowing agents – An international view

XIX/6) to phase-out the use of HCFCs in the foam sector no later than 2030, with the bulk of consumption of HCFC-141b being addressed prior to 2015. This focus was based on the “worst first” principle and reflects its relatively high ozone depletion potential (ODP) of 0.11. Applications being covered by Decision XIX/6 include both rigid insulation foams and integral skin foams (including those used for shoe soles).

When the third generation of blowing agents was introduced at the time of the HcFc phase-out, many were predicting a period of stability with respect to blowing agent selection. However, the growing pressure on high global warming potential substances such as saturated HFcs as well as a continuing drive for optimal thermal performance of insulating foams has created demand for a further generation of blowing agents. These are now emerging, but there are extreme time pressures on commercialisation which are created by the desire to leapfrog third generation blowing agents in developing countries, as Decision XIX/6 is enacted under the Montreal Protocol.

The information expressed in this article provides a policy neutral overview of the selection of next generation blowing agents within a changing regulatory landscape. Any views expressed are those solely of the authors and, by association their employer. They are not intended to represent the views of any advisory body under the Montreal Protocol with which either of the authors may be associated at the time of writing.

1. Plotting the blowing agent generations There have been a number of ways of mapping the various blowing agent transitions that have resulted from efforts to phase out the use of ozone depleting substances. For domestic appliances, figure 1 provides a basic outline.

Across the rigid foam insulation market, the use of hydrocarbons has become well-established as the dominant blowing agent choice, as shown in figure 2. The on-going use of

Saturated HFCs with relatively high GWPs have become established as alternatives to HCFCs in a number of key applications in developed countries where HCFC phase-out has already occurred. Amongst those applications are PU appliances, principally in North America, PU spray foam and extruded polystyrene (XPS). The major reasons for the selection of these HFCs have been optimal thermal performance, product fire performance and/or process safety. At this point in time, the Montreal Protocol has no jurisdiction over the on-going use patterns for HFCs in these applications. This is making it difficult for the parties of the protocol to insist that developing countries, being funded un-

HCFCs until 2014, and beyond, illustrates the growing use of HCFCs in developing countries and is the subject of a decision of the Montreal Protocol in 2007 (Decision

CFC-11

50 % reduce CFC-11

HCFC 141b

c-pentane HFC 134a

Fig. 1:  Evolution of blowing agents for domestic appliances (courtesy of Huntsman Polyurethanes)

HFC 245fa

Cyclo/iso-pentane

c-pentane/LBHC

300,000

* Paul Ashford

250,000

paul@calebgroup.net Consumption / t

Arnie Vetter caleb Management Services Limited, Tormarton, badminton, Gloucestershire, UK

200,000

Total HCs Total HFCs Total HCFCs Total CFCs

150,000 100,000

Published with kind permission of cPI, center for the Polyurethanes Industry, Washington, Dc, USA Paper, Polyurethanes 2011 Technical conference, 26 – 28 September 2011, Nashville, TN, USA, cPI, center for the Polyurethanes Industry

358

Fig. 2:  Predicted rise in blowing agent use in rigid foams – post 2000 (Source: IPcc SrOc 2005)

50,000 0

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 Year

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

ODS they replace. The relationships for some of the most widely used fluorinated blowing agents today are illustrated in figure 3. This has meant that transitions out of ODS use have tended to create a level of climate benefit irrespective of the choice of blowing agent. This is not to avoid the fact that further benefits could be gained from choosing blowing agents with even lower GWPs (e. g. hydrocarbons or CO2). However, there are other factors to consider.

der the Multilateral Fund, adopt technologies under Decision XIX/6 that avoid these HFCs. There have been attempts over recent years to introduce an amendment to the Montreal Protocol in order to seek a phase-down of the use of HFCs globally, but these as yet have not met with consensus across the parties. If such an initiative were to eventually succeed, it would also require a further technology transition in developed countries for those products currently reliant on saturated HFCs. However, predicting the precise impacts of individual technology transitions can be difficult.

A number of fluorinated chemical uses are associated with energy efficiency benefits as highlighted in the previous section. Blowing agents are an obvious example of materials that contribute to energy efficiency through their respective thermal conductivities and resulting contributions to the thermal performance of the foams. The degree to which this factor is important depends on the application, with some applications (e. g. appliances) being very sensitive, while other applications can either compensate by greater thicknesses of foam or are already commit-

2. Interface between ozone de­ pletion and climate change As noted in the previous section a number of substitutes for ozone depleting substances (ODS) have relatively high global warming potentials (GWPs). However, despite this fact the substitutes often have GWPs that are lower than, or at least comparable with, the

12,000

CFCs HCFCs HFCs Carbon dioxide

Global warming potential

10,000 8,000

ted to greater thicknesses in order to achieve other performance characteristics.

A good example of this would be steel-faced panels, where the thickness (and density) of the foam provides an integral component of the overall product’s strength and rigidity.

Usually, the minimum thickness is defined by these properties rather than by thermal considerations.

In addition, the climate benefit arising from energy savings will be dependent on the carbon intensity of the electricity or other fuels used. Therefore, impacts in Brazil, where there is a high component of hydro-electric power, will be lower than equivalent energy savings in China, where coal-fired power stations still predominate.

Finally, the mere action of avoiding further ozone depletion, and thereby contributing to the recovery of the ozone layer, contributes to climate change because stratospheric ozone itself is a potent greenhouse gas. This interlinkage is complex and is discussed most comprehensively within the IPCC/TEAP Special Report on Ozone and Climate (SROC) [1].

3. Methods of quantifying climate impact

6,000 4,000 2,000 0

12

C-

CF

14

-1

C CF

13

-1

C CF

Blowing agent direct GWP 7.2 %

11

C-

CF

HC

2b

14

FC

22

C-

F HC

1b

14

FC

ea

27

2 C-

H HF HC Blowing agent

4a

13

FC

HF

fc

fa

45

2 C-

C

HF

5m

6 -3

2a

15

FC

CO

2

H

 Fig. 3: GWP of various fluorinated blowing agents (Source: Various IPcc assessments)

Refrigerant direct GWP 0.4 %

Already it is clear that quantifying the climate impact of a proposed technology change can be a complex and inexact science. One of the compounding factors is that technology transitions take place at the manufacturing enterprise level, but the savings in terms of direct emissions of greenhouse gases and indirect emissions from energy sources are dependent on both the application and its location. Since these factors will not be known in their entirety at the time when technology transition is being contemplated, the overall climate impact of a transition can, at best, only be estimated.

A number of approaches to quantify the climate impact of technology transitions have been considered. These include:

Power plant emissions 92.4 %

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

 Fig. 4: refrigerator TEWI contributors (typical for HFc products in the USA)

1) Lifecycle approaches based on direct emissions only

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2) Lifecycle approaches based on both direct and indirect (energy related) emissions 3) Hybrid approaches such as “Functional Unit” and “Climate Indicator” models The problem with using approaches identified under bullet (1) is that they take no account whatsoever of the energy component of climate impact. For most insulation products, this can be very significant, as illustrated by the example of a domestic refrigerator in figure 4.

However, proponents of the approach highlight that energy efficiency is separately regulated in most instances and that, in comparative studies, the energy component cancels out. This is a powerful argument for most insulation applications where space is not a significant constraint and designs can accommodate alternative solutions.

Moving to option (2), there are at least three possible methodologies for including all factors influencing the climate impact of a technology transition. These are: a) A full lifecycle assessment according to ISO 14040 (or similar) b) A Total Equivalent Warming Impact (TEWI) analysis c) A determination of Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP)

climate impact associated with it before scaling up to enterprise level. The secretariat of the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol commissioned some significant work on this approach in order to seek to meet the provisions of Decision XIX/6 which: “…encourages parties to promote the selection of alternatives to HcFcs that minimize environmental impacts, in particular impacts on climate, as well as meeting other health, safety and economic considerations” and “…to agree that the Executive committee [of the Multilateral Fund], when developing and applying funding criteria for projects and programmes […] gives priority to cost-effective projects and programmes which focus interalia on: Substances and alternatives that minimize other impacts on the environment, including on the climate, taking into account global warming potential, energy use and other relevant factors.”

Here the issue of energy use is introduced and, in theory, at least should be part of the consideration. That said, it has been particularly difficult to bring Montreal Protocol parties into an agreement over this type of methodology. At one stage the Climate Indicator was demoted to a ranking tool, but still it has not found favour with the parties.

These are essentially variations on a theme, with ISO 140440 being the most comprehensive. However, TEWI and LCCP focus more specifically on the impact of high GWP gases, with LCCP being the more comprehensive of the two. The main issue with all three methods is that they focus on individual installations and it is very difficult to scale them up to address enterprise-level assessments.

The ultimate consequence is that decisionmaking process has reverted to option (1) – i. e. based on direct emissions only. This approach has been coupled loosely with funding strategies that are elucidated further in the later section of financing.

The third category is the hybrid approach which seeks to provide a compromise route between the two options. This type of approach has either been called the functional unit approach or the climate indicator. The intent is to typify a cross-section of the activity of an enterprise and to assess the

While the approach to measuring the climate impact of transitions has been under debate, the technological choices for various foam products and processes have also been evolving. There have been a number of candidates put forward as alternatives to HCFCs including:

360

4. Technology choices are not stationary

• Hydrocarbons (both pre-blended and third stream additions) • Methyl formate • Methylal • Optimised water blown foams (with and without formic acid) • Saturated HFC blends with hydrocarbons • Unsaturated HFCs or hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) One of the complications in assessing all of these options for developing country use is that experience has been very limited to date in developed countries – primarily because of the use of high GWP HFCs. Enterprises in developing countries are therefore being asked to leapfrog high GWP solutions and move directly to low GWP counterparts without the assurance of developed country experience that they have grown used to with earlier transitions. Moreover, there has been limited interest from the major polyurethane chemical suppliers and systems houses to embrace some of these technologies. In an effort to fill the gap, the implementing agencies under the Montreal Protocol (World Bank, UNDP, UNIDO, GIZ and others) have sought to carry out pilot projects to increase experience and, thereby, levels of confidence. Several of these are still in progress, but whether they will be sufficient to support transition decisions is still not clear.

Meanwhile, there is a growing level of interest in both developed and developing countries with respect to unsaturated HFCs (HFOs). As a group, these molecules display all of the advantages associated with high GWP HFCs, but with a GWP typically less than 10. Table 1 illustrates the properties of a selection of these.

It can be seen that these materials cover both liquid and gaseous blowing agent applications which creates the possibility that all of the existing high GWP HFC applications could be covered by them. Interestingly, it is also emerging that some short-lived unsaturated HCFCs may be among them. At first sight this may seem a contradiction to the purposes of the Montreal Protocol, but we need to be mindful that other short-lived chlorinated compounds such as methylene chloride and

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

2-chloropropane have continued to find use throughout the ODS phase-out. One of the challenges that short-lived compounds create is the need to determine the nature of breakdown products. This is something that is exercising all of the potential producers and arguments surrounding tri-fluoro acetic acid (TFA) are being addressed at this time.

The other two challenges for uptake of these compounds are “impact on system price” and availability – both in terms of timing and geography. Generally, the increasing promise of these substances, particularly in terms of their improved thermal performance, is encouraging companies to invest sooner than previously thought, with commercialization

time-lines now being discussed for commercial quantities as early as the second half of 2012 for those not already commercialised.

5. Making the right selection for spray foam and other applications

A focus on “system cost” rather than “cost per kg” of blowing agent is expected to be important, because the absolute cost of these molecules is likely to be significantly greater than existing blowing agents. Suppliers would need to be able to demonstrate that savings can be achieved in overall systems costs through lower thicknesses, blending with other blowing agents and, perhaps, density benefits. These are all factors that will need to be demonstrated on a caseby-case basis and will require the industry to be versatile in its approach.

A recent UNEP Foam Sourcebook [2] published in 2010, assessed the blowing agents available against the requirements of each a number of criteria, several of which would be vital to the PU spray foam sector (tab. 2).

 Tab. 1: Unsaturated HFcs (HFOs) HFO­1234ze

FEA­1100

HBA­2

AFA­L1

trans-cF3cH = cHF cis-cF3-cH = cH-cF3 trans-cF3cH = cHcI

chemical formula

Undisclosed

Molecular weight

114

164

~130

Undisclosed

boiling point / °c

–19

32

19

10.0 < T < 30.0

Gas conductivity / mW/mK @ 10 °c Flammable limits in air / vol.-% TLV or OEL / ppm (USA)

13.0

10.7

Not reported

9

None to 28 °c

None

None

None

Unpublished

500 (OEL)

300 (OEL)

Undisclosed

GWP (100 years time horizon) Key producers

6

8.9

<7

<15

Honeywell

DuPont

Honeywell

Arkema

 Tab. 2: comparison of blowing agents options for spray foam [2] Blowing agent criterion

HCFC­141b

Hydro­ carbons

Saturated HFCs

Unsaturated HFCs (HFOs)

Methyl formate

CO2 (water) +++

Flammability

++

+

+++

++/+++

+/++

boiling point (processing)

++

++/+++

++/+++

++/+++

++

++

+++

++

+++

+++

++

N/A

Gas thermal conductivity

++

+/++

++/+++

++/+++

++

+

Permeability through cell

+/++

++

+++

+++

+/++

+

Insolubility in cured matrix

++

++/+++

+++

+++

++

++

boiling point

++

++/+++

++/+++

++/+++

++

+++

blowing efficiency

++

+++

++

++

+++

+++

Solubility in formulation

Ozone depletion potential

+

+++

+++

+++

+++

+++

Global warming potential

+/++

++/+++

+

++/+++

+++

++/+++

+++ Good; ++ Fair; + Poor

 Tab. 3: Economic criteria for choice of blowing agents [2] Blowing agent criterion

HCFC­141b

Hydro­ carbons

Saturated HFCs

Unsaturated HFCs (HFOs)

Methyl formate

CO2 (water)

Investment costs

+

+++

+

+

+/++

+

Operating costs

++

+

++/+++

+++

+/++

++/+++

Widespread availability

++

++

+/++

+

+/++

+++

Potential for bA blends

++

++/+++

+++

++

++

+++

+++ High; ++ Medium; + Low

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

The same publication also assessed the economic factors to be considered (tab. 3).

In seeking to summarise the overall selection considerations, Caleb developed a flowchart (fig. 5) In conclusion, the cost and availability of some alternatives could still gravitate against their selection in the highly cost sensitive insulation foam sector. However, the degree to which this occurs depends to a large degree on market acceptance, system costs and flexibility in transition strategy. This latter point is particularly important where the new products are not available in time to meet the strict phase-out requirements of Decision XIX/6, as represented in each of the country-level HCFC Phase-out Management Plans (HPMPs). It remains to be seen whether initial transitions to high GWP solutions would be accepted as interim solutions to avoid substantial investment costs which could be unjustified for many of the really small enterprises in developing countries and, if so, how would the subsequent transition be funded and policed.

6. Financing the transition – developing and developed country perspectives.

The final consideration to be made in planning a technology transition is: “How will this be funded?” For enterprises in developing countries, the option of being funded through the Multilateral Fund exists. However, this option comes with particular constraints in respect to multinational shareholdings and also costs that will be covered. The fund secretariat applies a strict threshold, calculated from a formula based

361

on incremental capital costs (ICC) and incremental operating costs (IOCs). IOCs are only eligible for a limited period after the completion of a project, so technologies that potentially involve high IOCs (e. g. those based on HFOs) will be burdensome once the IOC support lapses. This will not be the case if the “system costs” are ultimately competitive with current technologies.

To further promote the adoption of low GWP solutions, the executive committee has sanctioned a 25 % increase in threshold limits for transitions involving these technologies. This is not seen as likely to offset the incremental costs completely in all cases, but certainly provides an additional technology signal.

In practice, a number of HPMPs are being negotiated at national level. This tends to make the allocation of funds to individual projects a slightly artificial process. However, it is clear that promotion of low GWP solutions has been a significant bargaining tool in these negotiations. At the 64th meeting of the executive committee in July 2011, the most significant HPMP of them all was agreed with China. This amounted to USD 265 million, with approximately 40 % going to the insulation foam sector. A combination of various hydrocarbon technologies, together carbon dioxide (water) blown technologies for the less technically demanding applications, has been agreed upon in this instance.

In developed countries, there was some hope that transitions from existing high GWP technologies such as HFCs to lower GWP technologies such as hydrocarbons or unsaturated HFCs (HFOs) could attract carbon finance. However, there is some evidence to suggest that the requirement for a precise quantification of avoided emissions, as documented earlier in this paper, is likely to make such an approach unmanageable in practice. However, the prospect does still make it worthwhile to pursue a more robust methodology for climate impact assessment where circumstances allow.

362

7. Conclusions

appropriate technical solution is not yet available locally but could be implemented as a subsequent “drop-in”.

• It seems unlikely that further transitions from high GWP HFCs in developed countries can be financed through quantified emissions reductions, but some climatebased incentive might still be appropriate.

From Caleb’s perspective, the following conclusions can be drawn from this review: • Assessing the climate impact of technology transitions in the foam sector continues to be a significant challenge and will only ever be an approximation to reality.

• The emergence of credible alternatives with similar thermal properties to HCFCs and high GWP HFCs means that the decision process can now rightly revert to a discussion over direct emissions.

• There are still a number of technical, logis tical and economic questions to be answered concerning some of the emerging technologies.

• Pressures to leapfrog high GWP technologies would be supported by greater levels of information and assurance.

• Some may yet argue for the acceptance of a two-step transition where the most

8. References [1] IPCC/TEAP 2005. “Safeguarding the Ozone Layer and the Global Climate System: Issues related to Hydrofluorocarbons and Perfluorocarbons” United Nations Environment Programme, World Meteorological Organisation.

[2] UNEP Foam Sourcebook 2010 “Guidance on the Process for Selecting Alternatives to HCFCs in Foams” United Nations Environment Programme 

Commission further pilot/demonstration trials to establish status of candidate technologies.

Start

Yes

No

Can the project be delayed pending further development and the country still meet ozone obligations?

Is proven technology available today to phase-out current ODS usage?

Yes

No

Technical

Does this technology reflect the best environmental option, particularly for climate?

No

Yes

What would be the preferred choice for climate and why is it not being chosen?

Cost

Is there a cost penalty associated with the choice of this technology?

Yes

No

Is the cost-effectiveness of additional carbon savings No attractive when compared with other climate options?

Yes

Confirm technology selection and implement, together with an assessment of climate impact arising.

Yes

Is a co-funding source available which can deliver parallel to the MLF? No

Yes

Should it be done irrespective of cost?

No Revert to sub-optimal climate technology with prospect of further transition later. Assess climate impact of sub-optimal transition.

Fig. 5: Flowchart



PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

Non-hazardous “ultra-green” cleaning agent from Bio8 british company bio8 Ltd., based in chesterfield, has recently launched a safe and environmentally acceptable alternative to solvents such as NMP, NEP, and methylene chloride, for use as a cleaning agent for polyurethane processing equipment.

Envii EN705 is based upon naturally derived solvents, and has evolved from other applications in different industry sectors.

“We came across the application in the PU industry by accident and did not realise the safety issues currently faced when cleaning equipment,” stated Andrew Hiron, Director, Bio8 Ltd.

sulation. According to the company, the product is even being used by a leading sports equipment supplier to clean golf ball moulds.

While Envii EN705 can be easily and safely handled, it is powerful enough to even clean polyurea spray equipment where there has been a build-up of several layers formed during coating procedures, says Bio8.

The product has already undergone successful trials and is now being used by major polyurethane processing customers in the UK and Europe, including leading flexible and rigid foamers, system houses, and spray foamers.

Envii EN705 follows the same industry practice of soaking equipment and parts. The product ruptures the bonds in many polymeric compounds, softening it and allowing it to be removed easily with a cloth, stiff brush, paint scraper or compressed air. Recommended cleaning times are generally overnight although equipment used for polyurea coatings typically requires 48 h. Envii EN705 also has the advantage of being used cold, unlike NMP which in some cases is heated to 120 – 150 °C. The photos illustrate the results.

Envii EN705 can be used to clean mixing heads, injectors heads, ball valves, fittings, rotor mixers, spray guns and other parts as well as moulds used for all types of polyurethane material including cured PU elastomers, cured isocyanate, PU adhesives, and spray foam inSpray gun before...

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

The product is also available as a coatable gel or a liquid, for use in dip tanks. It is “ultra-green”, non-hazardous and suitable for safe handling and disposal. The cleaner is readily biodegradable overcoming many disposal issues. Spent cleaner should be disposed of as industrial effluent because of the polyurethane content, but users have reported a GBP 200 – 300 saving per 200 l drum, compared to the disposal costs of typical solvents used for cleaning, according to Bio8. The product is available in 20 l and 200 l drums as well as in 1,000 l IBCs. “EN705 is naturally more expensive than NMP and methylene chloride, but when the reduction in waste disposal costs and benefits of safety and environmental issues are taken into account, we estimate that the product is cost neutral or at most has a small cost premium,” suggested Hiron. The material costs around GBP 200 per 20 l drum but can be used many times over.

Bio8 has also developed another cleaning product that can replace acetone that is used for cleaning off phenolic resin foam liquids. 

...and after cleaning with Envii EN705

363

P. Wiggins, T. Burris, S. Lane, T. Pe, D. Le*

New developments in aliphatic polyurea coatings

DMTDA (dimethylthiotoluenediamine) or E90 (N,N’-di-(3,3’-dimethylbutyl-2-butyl)-1,6-diaminohexane) can be used to slow down the reaction with MDI [4].

Two component spray polyurea systems are fast reacting and provide quick return-to-service coatings. Aromatic polyurea coatings have good physical properties but discolor upon exposure to UV light due to the aromatic content. Some of these aromatic systems have been coated with an aliphatic topcoat to provide the desired color stability. Spray aliphatic polyurea coatings do not discolor upon UV exposure due to the absence of aromatic content, but react rapidly making it difficult to formulate a robust coating system. Ethacure 90 (E90) curative is a versatile new aliphatic curative having moderate cure speed, allowing the formulation of robust fully aliphatic spray polyurea coatings. New aliphatic polyurea spray coatings based on HDI and E90 have very good physical properties, comparable to commercial aromatic offerings. The moisture transmission rate through these new aliphatic coatings is 2 – 2.5 times lower than aromatic systems. This improved moisture barrier performance allows coating application at nominally half the thickness typically used in aromatic systems.

Albemarle Corporation has shown that a new secondary aliphatic diamine (E90) can be used to produce aliphatic polyurea coatings with IPDI prepolymers [5]. This work presented here details improved spray polyurea coatings using E90 and HDI polyisocyanates. TSCA registration in the US of E90 was completed in February 2011, and the remaining global registrations are underway.

2. Experimental 2.1 Materials

1. Introduction Polyurea spray coatings offer the end user a two-component solventless system [1]. They are fast reacting which allows a quick return to service. The iso side is an isocyanate pre-

* Paul Wiggins Thalan burris Albemarle corporation, Process Development center, baton rouge, LA, USA Sam Lane sam.lane@albemarle.com business Development Manager, Albemarle corporation, baton rouge, LA, USA

polymer. The resin side contains a curative providing the hard segment and high molecular weight polyetheramines for the soft segment. Hybrid polyurea-polyurethane systems are made by fully or partially replacing the polyetheramines with a polyol and catalyst.

The standard aromatic polyurea system with DETDA (diethyltoluenediamine) produces a coating that develops good properties quickly. Initial coatings with 4,4’-MDI systems cured very fast and did not allow time to give a level smooth surface, producing a surface with an “orange peel” texture. It has been revealed that aromatic systems with high 2,4-MDI content impart steric hindrance to reduce the rate and produce smoother surfaces [2, 3]. Other chain extenders like BMDA (N,N’-di(secbutyl)-methylenedianiline),

Terry Pe Line-X Protective coatings, Santa Ana, cA, USA Dustin Le Horn, La Mirada, cA, USA Published with kind permission of cPI, center for the Polyurethanes Industry, Washington, Dc, USA Paper, Polyurethanes 2011 Technical conference, 26 – 28 September 2011, Nashville, TN, USA, cPI, center for the Polyurethanes Industry

364

Tab. 1: Materials



The raw materials used in these experiments are listed in table 1.

2.2 Procedure Resin-side components were weighed to give the proper index and provide a volumetric mix ratio of 1:1. Typically 200 g of resin-side were prepared. A centrifugal mixer (Speedmixer DAC600) was used to mix the components. The iso-side and resinside were poured into a dual cartridge syringe (EA- 400-11) that was equipped with a static mixer (24-element from Cammda Corp.) with an air spray nozzle. The systems were loaded into a Mixpac DP-40085-1 pneumatic dispensing gun and sprayed onto a stainless steel plate sprayed with mold release agent. The gel time was measured by determining the time that the

Material

Description

HDI

Aliphatic polyisocyanate based on hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI)

PEA D-2000

2 000 mol. wt. Polyetheramine

PEA D-400

400 mol. wt. Polyetheramine

E90

N,N’-di-(3,3’-dimethylbutyl-2-butyl)-1,6-diaminohexane

IPDA

Isophorone diamine

Aliphatic A

3-[[3-[[(2-cyanoethyl)amino]methyl]-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohexyl]amino]propanenitrile

Aliphatic b

N,N’-di-(isopropyl)isophorone diamine

Aliphatic c

bis(N-secbutylaminocyclohexyl)methane

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

material no longer flowed when spray on a vertical surface. Samples were cured for two weeks at room temperature before physical properties were measured according to ASTM procedures: • • • • •



Tensile strength: ASTM D412-06 Elongation: ASTM D412-06 Modulus: ASTM D412-06 Tear strength: ASTM D624-00 Water vapor transmission rate: ASTM E96-05 Tab. 2: HDI-based formulations prepared based on E90 as well as three other secondary aliphatic diamines 1

Formulation 2 3

3. Results and discussion 3.1 Systems with HDI isocyanates



1

Formulation 2 3

4

Iso-side / wt.-%

100

100

100

100

77.4

–

–

–

Resin-side / wt.-%

Aliphatic c

–

92.4

–

–

E90

Aliphatic b

–

–

63.5

–

Aliphatic A

–

–

–

66.2

PEA D-400

–

–

–

–

IPDA

PEA D-2000

17.6

12.6

31.5

28.8

TiO2

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

Gel time / s

20

3

5

2

E90

HDI 19.4 % NcO

100

100

100

100

72.3

63.3

59.1

54.6

PEA D-400

–

–

–

–

PEA D-2000

22.7

32.0

34.2

36.5

0

4.7

6.8

8.9

TiO2

5.0

0

0

0

Index

1.10

1.10

1.10

1.10

24

10

19

11

Gel time / s

Thickness / mils

57

47

59

38

Thickness / mils

54

50

67

79

Hardness / Shore A

95

93

95

97

Hardness / Shore A

93

95

97

92

Tensile strength / psi 5,890 5,010 2,310 4,310

Tensile strength / psi 4,260 3,530 3,880 2,860

Elongation / %

Elongation / %



Another aliphatic primary amine that was found to be effective for adjusting the system cure speed was PEA D-400. Table 4 shows that increasing levels of PEA D-400 could be used to adjust the system gel time from 20 s down to less than 2 s in a smooth, predicable manner. Adding the PEA D-400 to the resin side formulation increases the polyetheramine level on the resin side of the formulation, providing additional soft segment in the formulation. The structure of the HDI polyisocyanate provides the system with crosslinking, which results in low elonga-

Physical properties

Physical properties

Tear strength / pli

The slower cure rate (longer gel times) for E90 can be used to provide formulation flexibility. For example, faster reacting primary aliphatic amines like IPDA (cure speed of primary amines > secondary amines), can be added into the resin side to adjust the system gel time to the speed desired for the formulation (tab. 3).

Tab. 3: Adjustment of the system gel time by IPDA

4

Resin-side / wt.-%

The gel time with E90 is 4 – 10 times longer than the gel times of the other secondary diamines. This resulted in significantly improved processing and flow through the spray equipment with the E90-based formulation. The % elongation in these formulations, however, is low for a thick film polyurea coating.

Previously information generated with E90 and aliphatic isocyanates was done with IPDI-based prepolymers [5]. HDI polyisocyanates, however, are also widely used in aliphatic polyurea coating systems. This work investigates the ease of formulation and performance characteristics of aliphatic polyurea coatings based on E90 and HDI isocyanates. Table 2 shows HDI-based formulations prepared based on E90 as well

Iso-side / wt.-% HDI 19.4 % NcO

as three other secondary aliphatic diamines.

5

5

16

5

550

520

520

550

Tear strength / pli

5

8

7

13

660

650

660

620

Tab. 4: Adjustment of the system gel time

by PEA D-400 1

Formulation 2 3

1

2

100

100

Formulation 3 4

5

6

100

100

Iso-side / wt.-%

4

Iso-side / wt.-%

HDI 19.4 % NcO

100

100

100

100

100

100

Resin-side / wt.-% E90

55.7

51.5

47.1

47.6

45.7

43.9

77.4

57.6

50.9

45.4

PEA D-400

12.1

12.0

11.9

17.6

23.4

23.4

PEA D-400

–

30.7

41.1

49.6

PEA D-2000

27.6

29.8

32.1

23.3

20.2

21.2

PEA D-2000

17.6

6.7

3.0

–

IPDA

4.6

6.7

8.8

6.5

5.6

6.5

TiO2

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

TiO2

–

–

–

5.0

5.0

5.0

Index

1.05

1.05

1.05

1.05

Index

1.10

1.10

1.10

1.10

1.10

1.10

20

14

6

<2

24

19

14

8

7

<6 105

HDI 19.4 % NcO Resin-side / wt.-% E90

Gel time / s

Gel time / s

Physical properties

Physical properties

Thickness / mils

57

44

78

42

Thickness / mils

42

93

75

69

82

Hardness / Shore A

95

93

95

94

Hardness / Shore A

99

97

97

94

94

95

2,450

2,940

2,560

1,920

1,910

2,260

Tensile strength / psi 5,890 3,250 2,070 2,540 Elongation / % Tear strength / pli

5

16

28

88

550

760

590

280

Tab. 5:  Tensile strength / psi Adjustment of the system Elongation / % gel time by a combination Tear strength / pli of IPDA and PEA D-400

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

13

18

56

68

83

90

680

670

660

520

430

460

365

tions. The addition of PEA D-400 into the formulation, however, countered this effect leading to increasingly higher elongations (albeit with declining tensile strengths).

The effects of adding a combination of IPDA and PEA D-400 in the formulation is shown in table 5. Using both PEA D-400 and IPDA in the resin-side of the formulation gives significant latitude to make many changes to the formulation and still maintain the 1:1 volume ratio with the iso-side.

3.2 Comparative study of new aliphatic technology vs. typical aromatic systems The vast majority of spray polyurea coating systems in commercial use today are aromatic-based. The isocyanate used is almost exclusively MDI and the main curative used is the aromatic diamine DETDA. These aromatic coatings have excellent physical properties and a long successful track record in the field. However, the UV/color stability of these systems is poor, due to the aromatic content of the system. In order to provide improved color stability in these aromatic systems, a thin (3 – 5 mil) aliphatic topcoat can be applied on top of the thick (80 – 125 mils typically) aromatic polyurea basecoat. These topcoats are usually poly aspartic ester-based in this two coat system. One drawback however of the aliphatic topcoat solution is that the topcoat can be worn off in high abrasion environments. This leads to exposure of the underlying aromatic coating to UV light, leading to rapid discoloration of the coat-

To compare the performance of the new E90-based spray aliphatic system vs. typical spray aromatic systems currently in use, samples of three systems with varying coating thicknesses were prepared: System 1: MDI-based spray aromatic coating System 2: MDI-based spray aromatic coating with aliphatic (polyaspartic) topcoat System 3: HDI-based spray aliphatic coating cured with E90 3.3 Water vapor transmission rate The water vapor transmission (WVT) rate was measured following ASTM E 96-05 section 12 – procedure B – water method at 23 °C. The analysis was performed by a third party laboratory (Intertek) using a blind test methodology. Several thicknesses of each of the three systems were tested in order to understand the effect of coating thickness on performance. The cup design was a Thwing Albert Model 68-1 Mechanical Seal Vapometer. All water vapor transmission rate tests were done in triplicate and the results presented in table 6 are the average of three results.

y = 32.25x R2 = 0.98

-0.84

1.5

Aliphatic Aromatic with topcoat Aromatic

1.0

0.5

0.0

366

y = 12.79x-0.84 R2 = 0.95 0

20

40

y = 33.87x-0.91 R2 = 0.90 60

80 100 Thickness / mil

120

140

 Ratio of water vapor transmission rate

2.0



160

Tab. 6: Water vapor transmission rates Thickness / mil

Water vapor transmission rate / perms

Aromatic

32.1

1.70

Aromatic

49.3

1.20

Aromatic

73.9

0.85

Aromatic

101.3

0.73

Aromatic

132.7

0.48

Aromatic with topcoat

43.8

1.00

Aromatic with topcoat

62.4

0.80

Aromatic with topcoat

75.6

0.73

Aromatic with topcoat

104.3

0.59

Aromatic with topcoat

142.0

0.32

Aliphatic

42.3

0.55

Aliphatic

63.7

0.40

Aliphatic

66.4

0.34

Aliphatic

88.1

0.30

Sample ID

Figure 1 shows a graph of the water vapor transmission rates as a function of coating thickness. The aromatic system had the highest water vapor transmission rate of the three systems, thus providing the poorest moisture

Fig. 1: Water vapor transmission rates of aliphatic, aromatic and aromatic/topcoat systems

Water vapor transmission rate / perms



barrier properties. The aromatic system with the aliphatic topcoat provided improved properties over the aromatic system alone. The WVT rates of the top-coated system were typically 20 % lower than the aromatic system. The aliphatic system provided the best moisture barrier properties of the three systems, having significantly lower water vapor transmission rates than either of the aromatic systems. The WVT rate of the aliphatic system was 45 – 50 % of the WVT rate of the aromatic system with topcoat, and was 40 % of the WVT rate of the aromatic system (fig. 2).

This ratio was surprisingly constant throughout the range of thicknesses measured.

Therefore, the aliphatic polyurea coating system consistently provided 2 – 2.5 times better moisture barrier protection than aromatic systems of the same thickness. Or said another

ing. A fully aliphatic polyurea coating has no aromatic content so does not suffer from this drawback.

Fig. 2: relative water vapor transmission rates of aliphatic vs aromatic systems 100 %

Aliphatic/aromatic ratio Aliphatic/aromatic with topcoat ratio

90 % 80 % 70 % 60 % 50 % 40 % 30 % 20 % 10 % 0%

30

40

50

60

70 80 Thickness / mil

90

100

110

120

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

coatings systems were also measured.

These results are tabulated below in table 7. The aliphatic system showed similar tensile strength, elongation, and impact resistance to the aromatic systems. The aliphatic system had higher hardness and higher tear strength than the aromatic systems. The abrasion loss of the aliphatic system was higher than the aromatic system, although significantly lower than the aromatic system with topcoat. Presumably this high observed abrasion rate of the topcoated aromatic system is due to the relatively rapid removal of the topcoat under abrasive conditions.

(perhaps more practically relevant) way, one can get the same level of waterproofing performance using a thinner aliphatic coating.

For example, to reach a WVT rate of 0.55 perms, the aromatic system requires a 125 mil thickness, the aromatic with topcoat system requires a 94 mil thickness, while the aliphatic system requires a 42 mil thickness (fig. 3).

3.4 Coating physical properties In addition to the water vapor transmission rates, other physical properties of the three 

Fig. 3: required coating thickness to achieve low moisture vapor transmission rate (0.55 perms)

Coating thickness required / mil

120

The new commercial aliphatic diamine E90 has a slow enough cure rate that it allows one to formulate fully-aliphatic, UV/color stable, spray polyurea coatings with HDI polyisocyanates. The moderate cure rate of E90 allows the incorporation of high levels (>20 %) of both PEA D-400 and PEA D-2000 in the formulation, which results in higher elongations. These new E90-HDI-based coatings have very good physical properties, comparable to commercial aromatic offerings. The moisture transmission rate through

100 80 60 40 20

Aliphatic

Aromatic with topcoat

5. Conversions If you need to convert the data given in this paper into SI units please use the following conversion table: Convert from

4. Conclusions

140

0

the aliphatic system is 2 – 2.5 times lower than aromatic systems. This improved moisture barrier performance allows application of the aliphatic coating at thicknesses nominally half that typically used in aromatic systems.

Aromatic

1.

Tab. 7: Physical Properties of Aliphatic vs. Aromatic Systems Thickness / mil

Abrasion loss Tensile / mg strength / psi

Elongation /%

Tear strength Impact force / pli / ft-lb/in

Hardness / Shore D

Aliphatic system 42

22.2

2,270

99

772

40

59 – 62

64

23.1

2,110

85

731

56

59 – 62

66

26.6

2,180

77

744

64

59 – 62

88

27.7

2,170

109

722

72

59 – 62

44

62.1

1,510

76

514

32

51 – 53

62

71.7

1,690

82

519

48

51 – 53

76

75.9

1,700

97

578

64

49 – 52

104

84.6

1,760

89

554

88

47 – 52

142

70.8

1,830

87

546

184

47 – 50

3.

Aromatic with topcoat

4.

Aromatic system 32

3.6

2,200

103

494

40

47 – 50

49

5.2

2,050

110

494

56

48 – 51

74

11.0

2,100

115

522

104

47 – 51

101

10.7

2,120

102

500

120

47 – 51

133

20.0

2,260

114

540

192

47 – 51

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

To get mm

mil

0.0254

psi

6.89476

kPa

pli

175.127

N/m

ft-lb/in

53.3786

N

perm

5.72 x 10-8

g/(s·m²)

6. References

2. 

Multiply by

5.

Primeaux II, D. J., “Spray Polyurea Versatile High Performance Elastomer for the Polyurethane Industry”, presented at the 32nd Annual Polyurethane Technical/Marketing Conference, 1 – 4 October 1989.

Perez Jr., A. and Johnston, J. A., “Performance and Processing Enhancements of Aromatic Polyurea Elastomer Systems Prepared from High 2,4’-MDI Isocyanates”, presented at the Polyurethanes 2000 Conference, 8 – 11 October 2000.

Marc Broekaert, “Polyurea spray coatings, The technology and latest developments”, Polyurethanes for high performance coatings II, EEC, Berlin, 14 – 15 March 2002.

Brown, W. R. and Wiggins, P. L., “Novel Chain-extenders for Polyurea Spray Coatings”, presented at Polyurethanes 2007 Conference, 24 – 26 September 2007.

Brown, W. R. and Schreiber, P., “New Aliphatic Curing Technology”, presented at the PDA 2009 Annual Conference. 

367

L. Zhu, W. Xu*

Improvement of mechanical properties of biomedical silk powder/PU blend film by plasma treatment Silk fiber is a natural protein fiber that has been widely used as a high quality textile material. In order to make full use of staple fibers that can not be spun, a novel utiliza­ tion of silk is in powder form [1]. This ‘silk fibroin’ powder keeps the original natural properties of silk without destroying its microstructure. It has already found utility in cosmetic materials, functional foods, bio­ technological and biomedical products [2].

Polyurethane is a polymer that is strong, hardwearing, tear resistant, flexible, oil re­ sistant, and blood compatible. The produc­ tion of polymer/protein hybrids as biomateri­ als is a promising method, because it can combine the functional properties of natural macromolecules with controllable structures and properties of synthetic polymers. The silk fibroin/PU blend film can be employed as scaffold materials for tissue engineering, such as artificial blood vessels [3, 4]. How­ ever, owing to the different surface chemis­ tries of silk fibroin powder and PU, interfacial bonding between them is very weak.

amide (DMF) for 3 h to mix. We then succes­ sively degassed the solution in vacuum, cast it on a glass plate at room temperature and dried it in an oven at 80 °C for 24 h to re­ move the residual DMF. We obtained films with a thickness of about 0.6 – 0.9 mm.

gen, radicals, UV photons and ions with polymers surface, plasma treatment can change only the uppermost atomic layers of a material surface without interfering the bulk properties. In addition, the plasma proc­ ess itself is environmentally friendly, involving no chemicals. Research shows that plasma treatment can tailor the surface interactions between a matrix and its reinforcement [5].

We used a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma device to modify the surface of silk fibroin powder. We chose a discharge power of 50 W and varied the length of treatment between 1 and 5 min. After plasma treat­ ment, we stirred a 4 : 6 mass ratio mixture of silk fibroin powder and PU in dimethylform­

We used a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to analyze the surface morphology of a cross­section of silk fibroin powder/PU blend film. We found that the surface of blend film from the untreated powder was uneven and had some cavities (fig. 1a). Most of the silk fibroin powders were deposited on the film surface. After plasma treatment, there was less powder on the film surface, indicat­ ing that more powder might be blended with PU inside the film (fig. 1b). We also examined the cross­section morphology of blend films (fig. 2). It can be seen that the plasma­treat­ ed powder/PU film had a denser cross­sec­ tion than untreated film.

We measured the mechanical properties of untreated and plasma­treated silk fibroin powder/PU blend films (fig. 3). Treating the powder for up to 2 min increased the tensile

Fig. 1: 

SEM photographs of the surface of the blend films. a) From untreated powder; b) From powder treated for 2 min

Fig. 2: 

SEM photographs of cross-sections of the blend films. a) From untreated powder; b) From powder treated for 2 min

In recent years, surface modification by plasma treatment has become markedly more popular. Plasma is a gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized.

Depending on the interactions of atomic oxy­

* Dr. Lu Zhu zhu_lv@126.com Prof. Weilin Xu Department of Textile and Material, Wuhan Textile University, People’s republic of china Published with kind permission of Society of Plastics Engineers, Newtown, cT, USA

368

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

strength of the blend film but longer treat­ ment reduced it again. The initial increase might be attributed to the increased interfa­ cial adhesion of the powder to the PU by plasma etching of the powder surface. How­ ever, intensive plasma treatment of long duration would destroy the bulk of the pow­ der and degrade it. This could lead to the reduction of the tensile strength in blend films. Interestingly, after plasma treatment, the fracture strain of the blend film was raised by 9 – 26 %, while its modulus clearly decreased (fig. 3b and 3c). This implies that after plasma treatment, the increased surface area and polar functionalities of silk fibroin powder offer an improved interfacial bonding with PU. In summary, we have successfully improved both the tensile strength and fracture strain 

of blend film by treating powder with plasma for no longer than 2 min. However, it is not­ ed that longer treatment time would destroy the powder bulk, leading to a decreased ten­ sile strength of the blend film. Because thrombosis still occurs when the silk fibroin powder/PU blend films are used in artificial blood vessels of a small diameter, we will explore plasma assisted methods to en­ hance the blood compatibility of blend film.

References [1] W. Xu, G. Ke, X. Peng, Studies on the effects of the enzymatic treatment on silk fine powder, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 101, p. 2967, 2006 [2] Y. Kawahara, M. Shioya, A. Takaku, Effects of non­formaldehyde finishing

process on dyeing and mechanical properties of cotton fabrics, Am. Dyest. Rep. 85, p. 88, 1996 [3] H. Liu, W. Xu, H. Zou, G. Ke, W. Li, C. Ouyang, Feasibility of wet spinning of silk­inspired polyurethane elastic biofiber, Mater. Lett. 62, p. 1949, 2008 [4] X.­Y. Liu, C.­C. Zhang, W.­L. Xu, C.­X. Ouyang, Controlled release of heparin from blended polyurethane and silk fibroin film, Mater. Lett. 63, p. 263, 2009 [5] S. Luo, W. J. V. Ooij, Surface modi­ fication of textile fibers for an im­ provement of adhesion to polymeric matrices: a review, J. Adhesion Sci. Technol. 16, p. 1715, 2002



Fig. 3: Mechanical properties of untreated and plasma-treated blend films. a) Tensile strength; b) Fracture strain; c) Modulus

500

0.8 0.6 0.4

300 200 100

0.2 0.0

400

Modulus / MPa

1.0 Fracture strain / %

Tensile strength / MPa

1.2

0

1

2 3 4 Treatment time / min

0

5

a

! n o i t n e t t A

0

1

2 3 4 Treatment time / min

5

1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0

0

1

2 3 4 Treatment time / min

b

5

c

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369

V. Niebel, S. Seehausen, M. Kemper, M. Raina, T. Gries*

Ultrasonic welding of polyurethane-coated flexible materials

PA 6.6 fabric is visible as well as the polyurethane coating in the lower half. The coating has a thickness between 97 μm and 122 μm.

2. Ultrasonic technology

In a study at the Institut für Textiltechnik of the rWTH Aachen University polyurethanecoated nylon fabrics as well as thermoplastic polyurethane in sheet form were joined by ultrasonic welding. Different welding parameters were varied in experimental studies to determine the influence of these parameters on the seam tensile strength. The ultrasonic welding technology enables high seam tensile strength. However, the material has a high influence on the achievable seam tensile strength.

The coating can cost-effectively be applied to 2D textile during the production process.

Consequently, a subsequent joining process is necessary to create a final three-dimensional product. Therefore the joining process is one of the most important processes during textile production.

In a project at the Institut für Textiltechnik of the RWTH Aachen University, Germany, air chambers made of polyurethane-coated nylon 6.6 fabric (PA 6.6 – PU) were produced for medical application. Furthermore, an active anti-decubitus system was developed

Figure 1 shows a cross section of the used PA 6.6 – PU material with a coating thickness of 0.2 mm. In the upper half, the

To generate ultrasonic waves the reverse piezoelectric effect of piezoelectric crystals is used. By applying different potentials at the opposite crystal surfaces the thickness of the crystal changes. The crystal deforms with the same frequency as the applied voltage oscillates in ultrasonic frequency. The crystal releases this mechanical energy to the surrounding, creating a mechanical ultra-

Polyamide fabric

Fig. 1:  cross-section of the polyurethane-coated nylon 6.6 fabric

PU coating

* Dipl.-Ing. Volker Niebel

122 µm

Many textiles are coated to achieve special properties such as non-stickiness, impermeability against fluids, optical appearance or non-fouling. On the basis of hygienic requirements in the medical and health care systems, such coatings have a high potential for use in this sector as well.

that relies on patient feedback for decubitus prophylaxis and therapy. The developed system consists of special cell geometry and a close-loop control. Additionally, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) was used as reference material for the manufacturing of the air chambers. Ultrasonic welding was the chosen production technique.

97 µm

1. Introduction

Ultrasound is a mechanical wave motion, which propagates periodically in a medium.

The sonic sound waves can not be heard by humans at frequencies above 16 kHz. These waves are inserted into the coated textile by a vibrating sonotrode. An anvil at the opposite site of the sonotrode reflects these waves. The necessary melting heat is generated by dissipation of the mechanical vibrations [1, 2].

Thickness of the PU coating

100 µm

Pressure

volker.niebel@ita.rwth-aachen.de Stephan Seehausen,

Voltage

Maximilian Kemper,

Pressure

M. Tech. Mohit A. raina, Pressure

Univ. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Thomas Gries, Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA), rWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

370

Fig. 2: Schematic diagram of the reverse piezoelectric effect

 Sound

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

sonic wave. Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the inverse piezoelectric effect [1, 3, 4].

The sonotrode and the anvil are formed as a wheel for textile welding applications.

Thus, continuous welding of textiles is possible. The energy of ultrasound waves is converted into heat within the gap between the sonotrode and the anvil. In figure 3 the principle of ultrasonic welding technology in a continuous process is shown schematically [1, 2].

3. Experiments Various machine parameters of the ultrasonic welding machine were varied to study their influence on the weld properties of the PA 6.6 – PU fabric as well as the TPU fabric.

Maximum seam tensile strength Fmax was

chosen as the main seam property and measured in accordance with DIN EN ISO 13935-1 at the institute. The parameters were varied in factorial designed experiments. All samples were welded by the Rotorsonic V4E of Nucleus GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany. The material, the anvil tool design, the applied welding pressure and the welding energy were identified as influencing factors on the maximum seam tensile strength Fmax of an ultrasonic welded seam.

The described materials PA 6.6 – PU and TPU were used for the experiments. The welding energy, defined as the applied heat capacity into the material, can be set (between 1 W and 100 W) in the machine. The necessary welding energy for each material is determined by preliminary tests. High or low welding energy would cause seams with insufficient properties. The PU-coated PA 6.6 was welded at the side of the PU.

Anvil Textiles

Direction of production

Welding seam

Sonotrode

Inserted sound waves

 Fig. 3: Principle of continuous ultrasonic welding

 Fig. 4: cut & seal anvil tool (left) and standard anvil tool (right)

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

Two different anvil tools were selected for the production of the welded seams. A socalled “cut & seal” anvil tool as well as a standard anvil tool was used. For the production of the anti-decubitus system the standard anvil tool is necessary. The cut & seal anvil tool can simultaneously cut and seal the material. Besides the seams created by the cut & seal anvil tool are small allowing visually appealing seams. In figure 4 the cut & seal anvil tool and the standard anvil tool with diamond pattern is shown.

The applied welding pressure is given in percentage by the ultrasonic welding machine.

Therefore 0 % of applied pressure indicates an absolute force of 60 N, 100 % of an absolute force of 350 N. Since all possible interactions of the varied parameters need to be considered, a factorial design of experiment was chosen. By a full factorial experimental design, all possible combinations of the influencing parameters and their interaction with each other were recorded. For all influencing factors, two levels have been set – a minimum value and maximum value. In this type of experiments with two stages a linear relationship between the parameter values is assumed.

A non-linear relationship between the parameters of the minimum and maximum values is not determined by this test method. This test method rather detects the most important influencing factors in a time efficient way. For all influencing factors (minimum and a maximum value) two levels were determined. In table 1 the factorial design of the experiment for the ultrasonic welding is shown. For each sample series five specimens were produced and the mean of all samples calculated [5].

The samples were produced in accordance to the standard DIN EN ISO 13935-1. This standard is valid for seam tensile tests in fabrics and garments. To reduce the effort during sample preparation, a rectangular geometry was selected. The samples have a width of 50 mm and a height of 175 mm [6].

371

Figure 5 shows all sample series that allow a comparison of the material influence on the seam tensile strength. The respective pairs Ai and Bi are shown according to the legend.

When comparing each sample pair it can be observed, that the influence of the material on the seam tensile strength F max is high. The PA 6.6 – PU has always a significantly higher seam tensile strength Fmax than the pure TPU material. The maximum difference is about ΔFmax = 400 N. This represents an increase of about 400 % in comparison to the weaker thermoplastic polyurethane.

proximately 3.5 times higher than that of TPU. One possible reason may be the different tensile strengths of the pure materials.

The weld ability of a reinforced fabric material may also be better than that of pure polyurethane.

The anvil tool, welding energy as well as the applied welding pressure all show only a minor influence on the seam strength. Figure 8 shows the exact percentage distribution of the investigated factors.

In figure 6 the mean maximum seam tensile strengths of all samples are presented along with their confidence intervals. The sample series Ai and Bi (i. e. samples with the same material) show no significant difference. It is, therefore, clearly evident that the material has the greatest influence on the maximum seam tensile strength Fmax.

The influences of welding power and applied welding pressure are not significant. It can also be stated by figure 6 that there is no significant difference caused by different kind of anvil tools.

Figure 7 shows a generated cut & seal seam. Through this type of anvil tool very thin and firm weld seams were generated.

The seam tensile strengths F max of those cut & seal seams show slightly elevated values than the seam tensile strength Fmax made by the standard tool. Thus, very solid and visually inconsiderable welds were produced.

The percentage was determined using the mean values of maximum seam tensile strength Fmax of all factors. The differences in mean values of the individual seam tensile strength Fmax values for each influencing factor are calculated to the sum – 100 %. The percentage influence of each factor can be determined by dividing the sum with the individual influence of the factor.

The material clearly has the greatest influence with 82 %. Anvil tool and welding en-

600 Mean value of the maximum tensile strength Fmax / N

4. Results and discussion

Fig. 5:  Sample series comparing material influence 

A1 with B1 A2 with B2 A3 with B3 A4 with B4 A5 with B5 A6 with B6 A7 with B7 A8 with B8

500

400

300

200

100

0

PA 6.6 - PU

TPU Material

Tab. 1: Factorial design of experiment for the ultrasonic welding of coated materials

SampleID

Parameter

Number of samples

Material

Anvil tool

Weld energy

Welding pressure

A1

PA 6.6 – PU

cut & seal

25 W

25 %

5

A2

PA 6.6 – PU

cut & seal

25 W

20 %

5

A3

PA 6.6 – PU

cut & seal

20 W

25 %

5

A4

PA 6.6 – PU

cut & seal

20 W

20 %

5

b1

TPU

cut & seal

22 W

15 %

5

b2

TPU

cut & seal

22 W

10 %

5

b3

TPU

cut & seal

20 W

15 %

5

b4

TPU

cut & seal

20 W

10 %

5

A5

PA 6.6 – PU

Standard

40 W

99 %

5

5. Summary

A6

PA 6.6 – PU

Standard

40 W

80 %

5

A7

PA 6.6 – PU

Standard

30 W

99 %

5

The material has the main influence on the seam tensile strength of ultrasonic welded coated materials. Welded seams of the PA 6.6 – PU fail at a significantly higher level than the seams of pure TPU. The maximum seam tensile strength of PA 6.6 – PU are ap-

A8

PA 6.6 – PU

Standard

30 W

80 %

5

b5

TPU

Standard

33 W

35 %

5

b6

TPU

Standard

33 W

30 %

5

b7

TPU

Standard

30 W

35 %

5

b8

TPU

Standard

30 W

30 %

372

Total sample number

5 80

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

ergy show a similar small influence with 10 % and 7 % respectively. The influence of applied welding pressure with 1 % is negligible.

GmbH, Hydrotechnik electronics GmbH as well as Priv. Universität Witten-Herdecke GmbH.

6. Acknowledgement We would like to express our gratitude to the Bundesministerium für Wirschaft und Technologie (BMWi) for supporting the research project KF2497107FO0 „Entwicklung eines aufgrund der Patientenlagererfassung geregelten Druckluft-Anti-Dekubitussystems“. Furthermore we would like to thank our co-operation partners AirMedPlus

Maximum tensile strength Fmax / N

700

TPU

500 400 300 200

[1] Bäckmann, R.: Direkte Schweißtechniken: Ultraschall und Hochfrequenz, Textil Veredelung 38 (2003), H. 5/6, p. 20 – 23 [2] Gries, T.; Klopp, K: Füge- und Oberflächentechnologie für Textilien – Verfahren und Anwendungen, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Verlag, 2007 [3] Eichler, H. J.; Kronfeldt, H.-D.; Sahm, J.: Das Neue Physikalische Grundpraktikum, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Verlag 2006 [4] Lutz, H.: Ultraschallfibel Innere Medizin, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Verlag, 2007 [5] Ament, Ch.: Eine Einführung in die statistische Versuchsplanung, Universität Bremen, 2001 [6] DIN EN ISO 13935-1: Zugversuche an Nähten in textilen Flächengebilden und Konfektionstextilien

100 0



PA 6.6 - PU

600

7. References

A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 Sample series

Fig. 7: cross-section of a produced cut & seal seam

Cut & seal seam

 Fig. 6: Overview of all sample series 

Welded textiles

500 µm

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12



Fig. 8: Overview of influencing factors in percentage

Anvil tool 10 %

Weld energy 7%

Welding pressure 1%

Material influence 82 %

373

Fast curing epoxy, PU and PA solutions for lightweight composites To show its commitment to the growing importance of lightweight design in the automotive industry, in mid-2011 bASF established a lightweight composites team. The group focuses on the development of marketable materials and technologies that are suitable for manufacturing fibre-reinforced parts for automotive applications. The team can draw on the company’s broad product portfolio and know-how of the three different plastic matrix systems polyurethane, epoxy, and polyamide. More metal can be replaced only through use of lightweight yet strong composite materials and parts, and in this way – regardless of the propulsion system in the vehicle – reduce energy consumption and cO2 emissions even further.

The processing technology behind the new materials is Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM), which can be used to produce large and complex composite components in a single press-form operation. This involves placing multilayer fibre structures in a heated mould that is mounted in a press. A liquid resin is then injected into the mould, wetting the fibres completely and then curing in a controlled manner. In the newly established RTM laboratory in Ludwigshafen and at polyurethane research in Lemförde, Germany, the company is working on the chemical and technical challenges posed by the new matrix solutions.

In addition to the mechanical performance of the finished fibre-reinforced composite part, good flow characteristics and, above all, a short curing time of the resin components represent the primary challenges with all three material systems. The company already offers solutions on the basis of epoxy and polyurethane systems under the brand names Baxxodur and Elastolit R, respectively. Epoxy resin systems from BASF are in use today for the rotor blades of wind turbines. Both solutions employ novel curing mechanisms: thanks to their low initial viscosity, they impregnate the fibre structures very well and then cure within only a few minutes. Thus they address one of the problems that previously represented an obstacle to the use of composites in automobile production. They are self-releasing and can be processed on existing high- as well as low-pressure equipment. Moreover, the new polyamide systems that are currently under de-

374

velopment can be welded easily and also recycled as thermoplastics. The company is devoting significant effort on accelerated curing of the three plastic matrix systems, and thus a further shortening of the cycle time.

Endless fibres for structural components Structural chassis or body components can be manufactured only from composite materials based on endless carbon or glass fibres, and require fibre contents of about 65 wt.-%. Endless fibres are already in use today in aircraft and wind power applications, in plant construction, in prototype construction and in short-run automotive applications. Carbon fibres impart very high stiffness as a reinforcing material and are thus of special interest. To interact with application engineers and end users at an early stage, BASF has recently become a member of Carbon Composites e. V. (CCeV), a competence network for carbon fibres and

fibre-reinforced composite technology that was established in 2007 and now has more than 120 members. In addition to the performance of a reinforcing material, price and availability are important for rapid introduction of matrix systems to the market. Glass fibres show great potential here: The limits of their mechanical strength have not yet been reached by far.

Multimaterial systems The overall system consisting of plastic matrix and fibre reinforcement must be processable on a reliable basis and readily adoptable for high-volume production. Compared to conventional metal components, they will contribute to a weight reduction of about 50 %. Established technologies that embed metal inserts or endless fibre-reinforced thermoplastic mats and UD tape (unidirectional fibre reinforcement) in plastic complement the new approach. In addition, endless fibrereinforced skin layers can be combined with lightweight foam cores to yield sandwich structures with good specific part stiffness and good insulating characteristics in combination with low weight. The PU foam systems developed for such parts by BASF are characterised by high compressive strength and temperature resistance in conjunction with a low density. At the same time, the company is expanding the capabilities of Ultrasim, its now universal computer simulation tool, the objective being the ability to predict the behaviour of complex endless fibre-reinforced composites as well. 

Endless fibre-reinforced composites make it possible to develop parts that are very light and very strong at the same time and provide an efficient way to combine metal, fibre reinforcement, and plastic.

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

From the fifth PDA Europe conference “Polyurea is taking off!”

To its annual meeting (14 – 17 November 2011) the Polyurea Development Association Europe invited it members and guests to The Hague at the Dutch coast. Stephan rindfleisch, who has been President of the association for the past 12 months, welcomed more than 100 participants from 17 countries. As in previous years, the first day was dedicated to educational courses with the main focus on the ever relevant problem of surface preparation, followed by a two-day conference with a total of 13 presentations. An exhibition and a spray demo outside the hotel with equipment from Gama belgium and raw materials from bASF completed the programme. At the general meeting romuald bartczak, Flexguard, was elected new President.

The conference programme was a mix of presentations focusing on developments on the raw material side, lively discussions concerning national and international regulatory issues, and various case studies. Geert Dries, Huntsman Performance Products, introduced new Jeffamine amine and Jefflink diamine building blocks for improving abrasion resistance, reduced water absorption, broader formulation window, and an increase in processing latitude. Ethacure 90 is Albemarle’s new slow aliphatic diamine for formulators, allowing the formulation of robust fully aliphatic spray polyurea systems, as Sam Lane explained in his talk. Steven Reinstadtler from Bayer talked about the benefits of polyaspartic gelcoats for the refurbishments of waterpark equipment as a replacement for the traditional site-applied polyester gelcoats. The polyaspartic gelcoats deliver an improved weatherability, lower odour and VOCs and an improved scratch, chip, and crack resistance. Above all, they allow a fast return-to-service.

Dr Inga Hohberg, Deutsche Bauchemie, and Jürgen Magner, Kiwa Polymer Institut, focused their speeches on regulatory issues for the application of polyurea as waterproofing material, a topic that provoked a lively discussion. Magner pointed out, that the application of polyurea materials in waterproofings bridge decks has not grown significantly in the last few decades. According to Magner, this is because polyurea, as high performance material has to compete, with cheaper, technically more moderate alternatives like bituminous sheets or other liquid applied waterproofing kits.

Gianni Farina, Zetagi, presented case studies for the application of polyurea as corrosion protection for a steel bridge, as flooring in a wine bottling factory, and as protection coating for composite façade panels in an architectural project of Zaha Hadid in Milan.

The use of coating systems in civil engineering practice at BASF sites was presented by Dr Eberhard Klüber. For roof coatings polyurea, as well as bituminous felts/sheetings are used. Klüber pointed out that in spite of the excellent properties of polyurea, the well-known bituminous materials are customary in the German construction industry.

In his entertaining speech Dudley J. Primeaux, Primeaux Associates LLC, documented the successful relining of the Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant in Australia. It became necessary, because the initial – improperly applied – coating failed. Teodoro Du Marteau, N.T.E., showed polyurea coated polystyrene statues for recreational areas and promotion projects. The protection of park decks with polyurea was the focus

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

of the presentation by Cees Moorman, BASF Polyurethanes. Dr Thomas Moch, Panadur, gave an overview of the ColorForm process. This technology, introduced at K 2010, allows the creation of high gloss and scratch-resistant surfaces with an aliphatic polyurea.

Besides the conference programme there was another important topic: the strategy of PDA Europe in the light of the decision of PDA in the United States to move away from the exclusive focus on polyurea and to include basically all isocyanate-based coating technologies in the organisation. In contrast to this, PDA Europe has already declared to keep the focus on polyurea only. Stephan Rindfleisch, Graco, underlined this decision: “We still see a demand in Europe for a specific polyurea-oriented organisation which promotes the benefits of the polyurea technology and its manifold application areas. In our geographical region we still have tasks to fulfill to get this unique technology widely established. In addition there is also a need to establish polyurea as a new material in the manifold European and national regulations and norms, a prerequisite to obtain the required certificates for the diverse applications.”

To successfully promote polyurea applications the association needs a broad membership base which gathers all participants on the market from raw material producers, formulators, spray equipment builders, consultants and distributors, applicators to owners, architects and engineers under one roof. In his talk “How can PDA Europe help to make your polyurea business more successful?” Marc Broekaert, Huntsman, gave an outline of the activities and aims of PDA Europe and enthusiastically described the benefits of a membership. 

PDA Europe at UTECH Europe 2012 PDA Europe will be holding a half-day session (19 April) at UTECH Europe 2012 in Maastricht with speakers from Albemarle, BASF, Bayer MaterialScience, Huntsman, Nitroil, Panadur, and Sika.

375

Update on the global TPU market From IAL consultants comes an update of their Global Overview of the Thermoplastic Polyurethane Market report. It describes the TPU industry as a highly fragmented industry which is relatively mature in the Western Hemisphere while strong growth prospects remain in South East Asia. According to the study, global production of TPU is expected to increase by 5.6 % per year between 2010 and 2015. The largest increase will be seen in Asia with 7.9 % growth per year. Asia is the largest TPU market in the world. The production is mainly concentrated in china and Taiwan, where there are approximately 30 major manufacturers. The Asian region leads the global TPU production with 225,610 t produced in 2010, thereby accounting for almost 60 % of the world demand of 378,550 t. often used in special applications where they outperform any other material.

The versatility of TPUs continues to drive investment in their development and commercialisation around the world. The growth of the Asian market and cheaper manufacturing costs has resulted in many Western companies increasing their presence in the Asian continent, especially mainland China. The IAL analysts expect this trend to continue in the future, with more footwear and engineering operations moving to lower labour costs countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. The major use of elastomeric fibres in all types of clothing, footwear, and especially in the area of sportswear, means that TPU applications will move more into higher value-added areas.

China’s market is growing at almost 10 % per year because it still delivers several TPU grades to customers across the Asia-Pacific region, whereas other emerging markets, such as Malaysia and Vietnam, are enhancing their domestic production. In Europe, the Russian automotive industry is emerging as one of the most competitive and dynamic in the world. Government initiatives and incentives are filliping the industry and attracting the foreign players, with new opportunities for TPU. On the other hand, the decline of the automotive sector during the recession in both Eastern and Western Europe has put more pressure on those governments that have tried to help their automakers as the economic crisis continues to hurt the region’s motor industry.

On the consumption side, TPUs represent a relatively mature market and continue to face strong competition from other thermoplastic elastomers, especially TPOs in film and sheet use. The main advantage that other thermoplastic elastomers have over TPU is their more competitive price. Therefore TPUs are

Wire&cable 8%

Hose/tubing 10 %

As a result of some Asian economies benefiting from the transfer of manufacturing operations from more mature economies, growth in the Asian TPU market is placed at 8.2 % per year, due to the booming housing market and the largest footwear industry in the world. PVC, rubber and metal replacement are continuing to boost the market and this is expected to continue in the future.

Overall demand has been driven by the partial recovery in the automotive and insulation material industries. After three quarters of growth in 2010, the outlook for 2011 is one of stabilisaonline tion.

+

The price of the market study is EUR 3,500.

Contact: ial@brg.co.uk

The global demand for TPU is expected to increase by 5.9 % annually until 2015; how-

Global TPU consumption by end use, 2010 (%) Medical 3%

ever growth forecasts for the global TPU markets vary considerably depending on the region. Projected growth for the EMEA markets is placed at about 2.5 % per year over the period 2010 – 2015 whereas in the Americas this is seen at around 1.9 % per year. Nevertheless, South American economies remain buoyant, especially Brazil, where consumer demand is growing fast and much hope rests upon the Football World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. In both of these regions a further contraction of the footwear sector is foreseen, while the automotive sector is expected to grow steadily.



Global TPU production by region, 2010 (%)

Automotive 11 %

EMEA 24 %

Construction 10 %

Asia/Pacific 58 % Footwear 30 %

Source: IAL Consultants

376

Amerikas 18 %

Engineering 28 %

Source: IAL Consultants

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

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378

KlÜckner polyPUR Chemie GmbH Vinckeweg 15 ¡ 47119 Duisburg ¡ Germany Phone: +49 (0) 203 50039-0 ¡ Fax: -39 info@polyPUR.de ¡ www.polyPUR.de

Pourable compounds Casting resins

Im Mßhlenfeld 5 31008 ELZE ¡ Germany Phone 00 49 / 50 68 / 925 - 0 Fax 00 49 / 50 68 / 925 - 25 Email info@ISO-ELEKTRA.de Internet www.ISO-ELEKTRA.de

PU MAGAZINE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; VOL. 8, NO. 6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

Suppliers list

Raw materials Pourable compounds Casting resins

RAMPF Giessharze GmbH & Co. KG AlbstraĂ&#x;e 37 D-72661 Grafenberg T +49 (0) 7123 9342 - 0 F +49 (0) 7123 9342 - 2444 E info@rampf-giessharze.de www.rampf-giessharze.de

Sonderhoff Chemicals GmbH Richard-Byrd-StraĂ&#x;e 26 50829 KĂśln¡Germany Tel +49 221 95685-0¡Fax +49 221 95685-599 info@sonderhoff.com¡www.sonderhoff.com

PU systems

PU systems

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PUR Foam Systems PUR Slab Stock Foam Technogel Max-Näder-Str. 15*37115 Duderstadt*GER Phone +49 (0) 5527/848-0 Fax +49 (0) 5527/848-1823 Internet: www.ottobock-kunststoff.de email: kusto@ottobock.de

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RAMPF Giessharze GmbH & Co. KG AlbstraĂ&#x;e 37 D-72661 Grafenberg T +49 (0) 7123 9342 - 0 F +49 (0) 7123 9342 - 2444 E info@rampf-giessharze.de www.rampf-giessharze.de

www.erapol.com.au

Kuraray Europe GmbH BU Elastomer Hoechst Industrial Park Building F821, Room 314 65926 Frankfurt am Main / Germany www.kuraray.eu www.kuraray.co.jp phone: +49 69 305 35849 fax: +49 69 305 35656

Sonderhoff Chemicals GmbH Richard-Byrd-StraĂ&#x;e 26 50829 KĂśln¡Germany Tel +49 221 95685-0¡Fax +49 221 95685-599 info@sonderhoff.com¡www.sonderhoff.com

PU systems

46 avenue des Allobroges BP 116 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 26103 ROMANS CEDEX â&#x20AC;&#x201C; France Tel. +33 4 75 72 72 75 ¡ Fax +33 4 75 02 11 73 E-Mail info@baule.com Internet www.baule.com

OCF â&#x20AC;&#x201C; PU & SPU Sealants and adhesives â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2KPU Systems Den Braven Group Denariusstraat 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4903 RC Oosterhout (NB) - NL P.O. Box 194 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4900 AD Oosterhout (NB) - NL Phone: +31 (0) 162 491000 Fax: +31 (0) 162 451217 Internet: www.denbraven.nl E-Mail: info@denbraven.nl

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LACKFA Isolierstoff GmbH + Co. KG IndustriestraĂ&#x;e 2 25462 Rellingen ¡ Germany Phone: +49 4101 3916-0 Fax: +49 4101 3916-16 Email: info@lackfa.com - www.lackfa.com

PUR-Systems GmbH & Co. KG Werner-von-Siemens-StraĂ&#x;e 22 49124 GeorgsmarienhĂźtte ¡ Germany Phone +49 (0) 54 01 83 55-0 Fax +49 (0) 54 01 83 55-83 Internet: www.pursystems.de Email: info@pursystems.de

Station Road ¡ Birch Vale ¡ High Peak ¡ SK22 1BR, UK Tel. +44 (0)1663 748004

Fax +44 (0)1663 746605 www.dowhyperlast.com

PU MAGAZINE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; VOL. 8, NO. 6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

Zelu-Chemie GmbH Robert Boschstr. 8 71711 Murr a. d. Murr Germany

ď&#x192;ź Formulated PUR systems ď&#x192;ź Adhesives technology Phone: +49 7144 8257 0 Fax: +49 7144 8257 30 Email: info@zelu.de www.zelu.de

379

Suppliers list

Raw materials

Machines

Stabilisers, Catalysts, Release agents Other auxiliary agents

Gear pumps

Evonik Industries AG

MANUFACTURING OF MIXING AND DOSING MACHINERY ulitsa Gvardeyskaya 190, Tsurupinsk, Khersonskaya oblast, 75101, Ukraine Telephone: +380 67 553-95-79 E-mail: info@osv.com.ua Internet: www.osv.com.ua

Low pressure metering and mixing machines

â&#x20AC;˘ Zahnraddosierpumpen Gear Metering Pumps Antriebseinheiten â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘Drive Units with mit Zahnraddosierpumpen Gear Metering Pumps Mahr Metering Systems GmbH Carl-Mahr-Str. 1, D-37073 Goettingen, Germany Phone: +49 (0) 551 70 73 0 Fax: +49 (0) 551 70 73 417 MahrMeteringSystems@Mahr.de Mahr.com

46 avenue des Allobroges BP 116 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 26103 ROMANS CEDEX â&#x20AC;&#x201C; France Tel. +33 4 75 72 72 75 ¡ Fax +33 4 75 02 11 73 E-Mail info@baule.com Internet www.baule.com

Goldschmidtstrasse 100 45127 Essen ¡ Germany Phone: +49-201-173-2466 polyurethane@evonik.com www.evonik.com/polyurethane-additives

Flow measurement System house & blowing agent supplier

Foam Supplies, Inc. 4387 N. Rider Trail Earth City, MO 63045 Phone +1 (800) 325-4875 toll free Fax +1 (314) 344-3331 Email: tkeske@foamsupplies.com www.foamsupplies.com www.ecomatesystems.com

Zweigniederlassung der Oerlikon Textile GmbH & Co. KG Geschäftsbereich Pumpen Leverkuser StraĂ&#x;e 65 ¡ 42897 Remscheid ¡ Germany Phone +49 (0)21 91 67-1814 ¡ Fax +49 (0)21 91 67-1794 pumpsales@barmag.de ¡ www.pumpen.barmag.de

Kracht GmbH Gewerbestrasse 20 58791 Werdohl, Germany fon: +49 (0)2392/935 0 fax: +49 (0)2392/935 209 mail: info@kracht.eu web: www.kracht.eu

High pressure heat exchangers and static mixers

RAMPF Dosiertechnik GmbH & Co. KG RĂśmerallee 14 D-78658 Zimmern o.R. T +49 (0) 741 2902 - 0 F +49 (0) 741 2902 - 2100 E info@rampf-dosiertechnik.de www.rampf-dosiertechnik.de

High precision ďŹ&#x201A;ow measurement

TPU

VSE Volumentechnik GmbH HĂśnnestr. 49 58809 Neuenrade / Germany Phone +49 (0) 23 94 / 6 16 30 Fax +49 (0) 23 94 / 6 16 33

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High pressure metering and mixing machines

www.vse-ďŹ&#x201A;ow.com info@vse-ďŹ&#x201A;ow.com

46 avenue des Allobroges - BP 116 26 103 ROMANS sur ISERE - France

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Graco Ohio Inc. 8400 Port Jackson Ave NW North Canton, Ohio 44720 USA Phone: +1 800 367 4767 gusmer-decker@graco.com www.gusmer-decker.com

Graco Ohio Inc. 8400 Port Jackson Ave NW North Canton, Ohio 44720 USA Phone: +1 800 367 4767 gusmer-decker@graco.com www.gusmer-decker.com

Tel.: +33 4 76 85 97 04 Fax : +33 4 76 85 97 07 polyurethane@secmer.com www.secmer.com

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380

POLYCRAFT GMBH HEATING HOSES for PUR/POLYUREA SPRAY GRACOÂŽ-GUSMERÂŽ-GAMAÂŽ Tel.: 0049 (0)6106.23341 E-mail: info@polycraft.de www.polycraft.de

Sonderhoff Engineering GmbH AllgäustraĂ&#x;e 3 6912 HĂśrbranz¡Austria Tel +43 5573 82991¡Fax +43 5573 82946 info@sonderhoff.com¡www.sonderhoff.com

PU MAGAZINE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; VOL. 8, NO. 6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

Suppliers list

Machines Processing machines

LACKFA Isolierstoff GmbH + Co. KG Industriestraße 2 25462 Rellingen · Germany Phone: +49 4101 3916-0 Fax: +49 4101 3916-16 Email: info@lackfa.com - www.lackfa.com

PU processing machinery, plants & moulds

PU processing machinery, plants & moulds

Tank farm, IBC-Station High pressure dosing machine Plant construction Industrie-System-Technik Woitzel Wickingweg 23a D-49479 Ibbenbüren Tel: 05451 - 45 081 Fax: 05451 - 970 347 E-Mail: ist@woitzel.com

PURe Competence Engineering Tooling Tool Carriers Rotary Tables Overhead Conveyors Mix-/Metering Machines Spray/Mix Heads Service

www.frimo.com

CASTING, SPRAYING, BONDING, FOAMING

FRIMO Lotte GmbH Phone: +49 (0) 5404 886 - 0 info.lotte@frimo.com

Hennecke GmbH Birlinghovener Str. 30 53754 Sankt Augustin, Germany Tel: +49-2241-339-0 Fax: +49-2241-339204 E-mail: hennecke@hennecke.com Internet: www.hennecke.com

Plant construction Screw pumps

KRAL AG, Bildgasse 40 Industrie Nord, 6890 Lustenau, Austria Tel.: +43 / 5577 / 8 66 44-0 Fax: +43 / 5577 / 8 84 33 www.kral.at, E-Mail: info@kral.at

High precision dosing and metering pumps Customer specific sub-systems

Phone +49 (0) 23 32 / 55 86 - 0 Fax +49 (0) 23 32 / 55 86 31

SAIP S.R.L. Via Bressanella, 13 22044 Romanò di Inverigo (C0) Italy infosaip@saipequipment.it · www.saipequipment.it Tel. +39 031 605762 · Fax +39 031 606934

PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

H & S Anlagentechnik GmbH Sandstraße 19, 27232 Sulingen, Germany Phone +49 4271 1011 · Fax +49 4271 2576 E-mail: info@hs-anlagentechnik.de www.hs-anlagentechnik.de

Transfer gear pumps

Beinlich Pumpen GmbH Gewerbestr. 29 58285 Gevelsberg / Germany

POLYTEC EMC ENGINEERING GmbH & Co KG Kiesstrasse 12 A-4614 Marchtrenk / AUSTRIA Tel.: +43-(0) 72 43 - 53 9 52 Fax: +43-(0) 72 43 - 53 4 51- 405 e-mail: office@polytec-emc.com www.polytec-industrial.com

Storage tank systems · Blending stations · System houses · Reactors and process technology for prepolymers and synthetic polyols

www.beinlich-pumps.com info@beinlich-pumps.com

Kracht GmbH Gewerbestrasse 20 58791 Werdohl, Germany fon: +49 (0)2392/935 0 fax: +49 (0)2392/935 209 mail: info@kracht.eu web: www.kracht.eu

THE FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS STORAGE TANKS PRODUCT HANDLING PROCESSING FACILITIES DISCHARGING UNITS PROCESS AUTOMATION RENEWABLE ENERGIES

Hans-Jürgen Keil Anlagenbau GmbH & Co. KG Zum Welplager Moor 8 49163 Bohmte-Hunteburg, Germany Tel.: +49 5475 9200-0 Fax: +49 5475 9200-190 Wwww.keil-anlagenbau.de

381

Publication information & contacts

Services Elastomers, polyurethanes, TPE – development, testing, failure analysis

Dr. Joop Koster Chemin Chantemerle, 26 CH-1260 Nyon Tel. fix/fax + 41-22-3617960 Tel. mob. + 41-79-2020035 jkoster@iprolink.ch

•

Contact: Dr Markus Grass +49 (0) 62 01 80 51 23 markus.grass@freudenberg.de

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Testing, calculation, analysis, development, consultancy, sampling

•

Failure analysis Contact: Dr Kurt Marchetti +49 (0) 62 01 80 50 28 kurt.marchetti@freudenberg.de

Freudenberg Forschungsdienste KG 69465 Weinheim / Germany www.forschungsdienste.de

Testing Flow meter Kracht GmbH Gewerbestrasse 20 58791 Werdohl, Germany fon: +49 (0)2392/935 0 fax: +49 (0)2392/935 209 mail: info@kracht.eu web: www.kracht.eu

KRAL AG, Bildgasse 40 Industrie Nord, 6890 Lustenau, Austria Tel.: +43 / 5577 / 8 66 44-0 Fax: +43 / 5577 / 8 84 33 www.kral.at, E-Mail: info@kral.at

End products Flow meter

Contract gasketing

High precision flow measurement VSE Volumentechnik GmbH Hönnestr. 49 58809 Neuenrade / Germany Phone +49 (0) 23 94 / 6 16 30 Fax +49 (0) 23 94 / 6 16 33

Sonderhoff Services GmbH Mathias-Brüggen-Str. 126-128 50829 Köln·Germany Tel +49 221 956526-0·Fax +49 221 956526-39 info@sonderhoff.com·www.sonderhoff.com

www.vse-flow.com info@vse-flow.com

Publication information & contacts Publisher Dr. Heinz B. P. Gupta

Advertisement Tel. +49 2102 9345-14

Address Dr. Gupta Verlag Am Stadion 3b, 40878 Ratingen, Germany VAT No. DE 157894980

Subscription Tel. +49 2102 9345-12

Postal address P. O. Box 10 41 25, 40852 Ratingen, Germany Tel. Fax

+49 2102 9345-0 +49 2102 9345-20

E-mail info@gupta-verlag.de Internet http://www.pu-magazine.com Editors Dipl.-Chem. Frank A. Gupta (Editor-in-Chief) Angela Austin Jiri Drobny Paul Farkas Dr. Heinz B. P. Gupta Dipl.-Biol. Markus Linden Dr. Stephanie Waschbüsch Editorial secretary Tel. +49 2102 9345-0

382

Layout Ulrich Gewehr Frequency of publication 6 issues / year Post distribution no. 66226 ISSN 1864-5534 Bank accounts Postbank Essen Sort code 360 100 43 Acct. no. 516158-431 IBAN DE51 3601 0043 0516 1584 31 BIC PBNKDEFF Deutsche Bank Sort code 300 700 24 Acct. no. 470 71 70 IBAN DE43 3007 0024 0470 7170 00 BIC DEUTDEDBDUE Sparkasse H · R · V BLZ 334 500 00 Kto.-Nr. 42 122 309 IBAN DE56 3345 0000 0042 1223 09 BIC WELADED1VEL

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PU MAGAZINE – VOL. 8, NO. 6 – DEcEMbEr/JANUAry 2011/12

Save the Date

Indianapolis, Indiana May 8-10, 2012 American Coatings ConferenCe May 7-9, 2012 www.american-coatings-show.com

”Comfort is so overrated.“ Well, we don’t think so. We think we all deserve it. Actually we continuously develop new products which help you to innovate foams providing ever better comfort properties. Used in our cars’ seats and headrests, or for noise, vibration, and shock absorbing parts. Feeling comfortable is more than having a convenient seat it is also about feeling safe. We know the formula for comfort.

Because we understand products’ needs.

Do you speak foam? We do.

Evonik Industries AG Essen, Germany phone +49 201 173-2229 fax +49 201 173-1991 polyurethane@evonik.com www.evonik.com/polyurethane-additives