VATIS UPDATE Article

Honeywell, the United States, has announced that one of its low global warming potential (GWP) materials is being incorporated into a new solution for producing foam used in applications ranging from office furniture armrests to padded cushions for rollercoasters. Honeywell’s low GWP Solstice® Liquid Blowing Agent (LBA) is being used in new foam systems developed by The Dow Chemical Company, the United States, to make integral skin (I-Skin) foam.

Blowing agents are critical for foam systems because they cause the foam to expand properly, significantly impact the foam’s performance, and make it easier to manufacture. Solstice LBA was developed as an ultra-low GWP replacement for a range of hydrofluorocarbon, or HFC, blowing agents that are being phased out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce the use of high GWP materials. Use of HFC blowing agents in I-Skin polyurethane foam applications will be banned in the U.S. beginning Jan. 1, 2017.

I-Skin foam is composed of a two-part polyurethane system: a flexible, lightweight foam core encased in a thick outer “skin” that is created in a single molding process. Tests of Dow’s new polyurethane solutions, VORALUX™ for furniture and SPECFLEX™ for custom molding, demonstrated superior results for a variety of Shore A hardness levels, a critical quality measure.