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Honeywell developing low-GWP liquid blowing agent for foam insulation
MATERIALS
for various pipe processes, offering the potential of lowering overall tin content, and therefore providing cost savings, while maintaining quality, Arkema says. In addition, these new stabilizers can be substituted for other stabilizer products without altering process conditions, the company claims. Thermolite 130 and Thermolite 135 tin stabilizers provide high performance and consistent stabilization, Arkema says. The switch to a single stabilizer can lower inventory costs and reduce blending errors, giving additional savings. Thermolite 130 and Thermolite 135 tin stabilizers are well suited for extrusion of electrical conduit and telephone ducts. The company reports that both new stabilizer grades have also achieved NSF and PPI provisional approval for potable water applications. ‘Arkema’s R&D continues to develop products that can be used effectively, efficiently and offered at competitive pricing’, says Jim McAliney, general manager, PVC Additives, at Arkema’s Functional Additives business. ‘At a time when the costs of energy and raw materials continue to be volatile, I think the rigid PVC industry will welcome products like Thermolite 130 tin stabilizer and Thermolite 135 tin stabilizer that can help keep their costs down while improving their processes’, McAliney concludes. Contact: Arkema Inc, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Tel: +1 215 419 7000, Web: www.arkema-inc.com or www.additives-arkema.com
Honeywell developing low-GWP liquid blowing agent for foam insulation
H
oneywell reports that it is developing a new blowing agent with low global warming potential (GWP) for energy-efficient polyurethane foam insulation. The non-flammable liquid blowing agent will provide customers with an alternative to hydrocarbons and traditional hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and assist customers in reducing the overall environmental impact of foam, the company says. Honeywell expects the blowing agent will offer performance benefits comparable to those of other fluorocarbons, but with a low GWP that is less than 15. In addition, the blowing agent will have an atmospheric lifetime of just
June 2009
a few days. These properties are expected to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment while also providing the foam with high insulation performance, dimensional stability and compressive strength. The company expects the product to be available in limited sample quantities for customers later this year. According to Rene Mueller, managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Honeywell Fluorine Products, the new product is another example of how the company’s expanding low-GWP product portfolio is both meeting customers’ needs and providing superior environmental performance. ‘Honeywell is committed to building on its strong history of innovation to meet new challenges’, Mueller says. The announcement was made at the recent UTECH Europe event held in Maastricht (see also p. 4–5). Blowing agents allow polyurethane foam to expand and provide many of the foam’s key performance characteristics, including its high R-value, which is the measure of insulating capability. Fluorinated blowing agents provide the highest degree of thermal insulation for polyurethane foams. Honeywell is a recognized innovator in high-performance blowing agent technology for closed-cell foam insulation. In 2006, the company introduced its low-GWP portfolio, which is based on hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) technology. Last year, it commercialized HFO-1234ze, a low-GWP gaseous blowing agent for one-component foam in Europe [ADPO, O December 2008]. Contact: Honeywell Specialty Materials, Morristown, NJ, USA. Tel: +1 973 455 2000, Web: www.honeywell.com
Shepherd Color launches FDA-approved chromium-free black pigment
C
incinnati-based Shepherd Color Co is introducing a new chromium-free, high-temperature, high-performance mineral pigment, Black 20F944. The new black is suitable for use in engineering plastics, coatings and ceramics and is approved for indirect food contact use by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Jet black in colour, Black 20F944 (CI Pigment Black 26) is a manganese ferrite black spinel. It is intended for
Additives for Polymers
3
for various pipe processes, offering the potential of lowering overall tin content, and therefore providing cost savings, while maintaining quality, Arkema says. In addition, these new stabilizers can be substituted for other stabilizer products without altering process conditions, the company claims. Thermolite 130 and Thermolite 135 tin stabilizers provide high performance and consistent stabilization, Arkema says. The switch to a single stabilizer can lower inventory costs and reduce blending errors, giving additional savings. Thermolite 130 and Thermolite 135 tin stabilizers are well suited for extrusion of electrical conduit and telephone ducts. The company reports that both new stabilizer grades have also achieved NSF and PPI provisional approval for potable water applications. ‘Arkema’s R&D continues to develop products that can be used effectively, efficiently and offered at competitive pricing’, says Jim McAliney, general manager, PVC Additives, at Arkema’s Functional Additives business. ‘At a time when the costs of energy and raw materials continue to be volatile, I think the rigid PVC industry will welcome products like Thermolite 130 tin stabilizer and Thermolite 135 tin stabilizer that can help keep their costs down while improving their processes’, McAliney concludes. Contact: Arkema Inc, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Tel: +1 215 419 7000, Web: www.arkema-inc.com or www.additives-arkema.com
Honeywell developing low-GWP liquid blowing agent for foam insulation
H
oneywell reports that it is developing a new blowing agent with low global warming potential (GWP) for energy-efficient polyurethane foam insulation. The non-flammable liquid blowing agent will provide customers with an alternative to hydrocarbons and traditional hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and assist customers in reducing the overall environmental impact of foam, the company says. Honeywell expects the blowing agent will offer performance benefits comparable to those of other fluorocarbons, but with a low GWP that is less than 15. In addition, the blowing agent will have an atmospheric lifetime of just
June 2009
a few days. These properties are expected to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment while also providing the foam with high insulation performance, dimensional stability and compressive strength. The company expects the product to be available in limited sample quantities for customers later this year. According to Rene Mueller, managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Honeywell Fluorine Products, the new product is another example of how the company’s expanding low-GWP product portfolio is both meeting customers’ needs and providing superior environmental performance. ‘Honeywell is committed to building on its strong history of innovation to meet new challenges’, Mueller says. The announcement was made at the recent UTECH Europe event held in Maastricht (see also p. 4–5). Blowing agents allow polyurethane foam to expand and provide many of the foam’s key performance characteristics, including its high R-value, which is the measure of insulating capability. Fluorinated blowing agents provide the highest degree of thermal insulation for polyurethane foams. Honeywell is a recognized innovator in high-performance blowing agent technology for closed-cell foam insulation. In 2006, the company introduced its low-GWP portfolio, which is based on hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) technology. Last year, it commercialized HFO-1234ze, a low-GWP gaseous blowing agent for one-component foam in Europe [ADPO, O December 2008]. Contact: Honeywell Specialty Materials, Morristown, NJ, USA. Tel: +1 973 455 2000, Web: www.honeywell.com
Shepherd Color launches FDA-approved chromium-free black pigment
C
incinnati-based Shepherd Color Co is introducing a new chromium-free, high-temperature, high-performance mineral pigment, Black 20F944. The new black is suitable for use in engineering plastics, coatings and ceramics and is approved for indirect food contact use by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Jet black in colour, Black 20F944 (CI Pigment Black 26) is a manganese ferrite black spinel. It is intended for
Additives for Polymers
3