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have been asked by the editor of the “Polyurethanes Today” to write a few lines on “Safety, Health and Environment”- SHE an important subject of discussion across all industries. For the P.U. Industry like many other chemical industries this subject is even more relevant.

Polyurethane is a versatile material that gets utilized in a number of applications.

The Industry is interested in growing the market, for which there is a huge potential in India. The per capita consumption in India is negligible as compared to other developing and developed countries. While we work towards growing this market, we should simultaneously work on creating a totally incident free work area.

Key points relating to Safety, Health and Environment to be taken into consideration while planning a new facility or project in the P.U. domain.

• At the design stage of the factory or Layout of plant itself, care should be taken to ensure that proper and adequate provisions and standards are inbuilt for a safe working environment.

• Use of fire proof lighting at relevant areas shall farther ensure compliance to safety measures.

• Isocynates leakage/spill handling equipment and regular training to employees on its use is strongly recommended.

• Fresh water points/showers need to be installed near P.U. raw material facility for washing of eyes/exposed areas in case of contact with P.U. raw material.

• Mock drills should be conducted to familiarize employees on handling an emergency situation.

• Adequate equipment when installed to measure the environment standards/ control procedures at processing plants assists in avoidance of any incident.

• Standard and approved personal protective equipments, such as gloves, protective clothing and eyewear/ goggles should be used while processing is done.

• Storage of containers and material handling- drums and containers need to be disposed to approved vendors after systematic cleaning.

Polyurethane being such a versatile material, the IPUA is working closely with the Government of India to promote its use and introduce regulations for the use of P.U as insulation in buildings both residential and commercial, for saving energy and greening the planet.

Further, applications of P.U products in road transport, through weight reduction also contributes to reduction in the level of consumption of energy.

The IPUA is committed to environmental protection and are working towards decreasing Global warming, the impact of processing on climatic change and depletion of the protective atmospheric ozone layer. The association is working on eliminating blowing agents like HCFC that contribute to Global warming.

Through the IPUA, I would like to urge you all too proactively take measures to avoid accidents and aim at a totally ACCIDENT FREE WORK AREA. I recommend that we continually educate the processing and application fraternity on the importance of implementing standard safety, health & environment protection procedures with efficient control measures.

I would request all our fraternity to share their experiences with us through this magazine on measures taken to educate and train the employees and ensure that the safety precautions are adhered to. We should work together for the growth of the P.U. market in India, with safety as a prime concern.

Best Wishes, Mr. Rohit Relan

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Life is for Living If each day you’d return, To your children and wife.

To the ones you should value, The most in your life.

You should always remember, With each risk that you take.

It’s not only your life, And your health that’s at stake.

Consider the burden You’d place on your wife.

If you should get killed, Or crippled for life.

But - Maybe you’re lucky, Or fate’s on your side.

You might be the reason, A friend of yours died.

And stop and just think, For you might be the one.

That gets buried tomorrow, For something he’s done.

It’s quite easy to say, It won’t happen to me.

But you’ll find the statistics, In no way agree.

If we’re taking chances, Then we’re acting like fools.

For we’re risking Too Much, When we break SAFETY RULES! – Don Merrell

Safety – a word common enough, but with a world of a meaning encompassed

in it! Reams of paper could be used to extol its importance – which in itself will lead to ‘overkill’ & therefore to it being treated as an ‘unnecessary add on’ to one’s already overflowing cup! People then tend to disregard instructions given for a safe conduct of one’s work processes; to take shortcuts and risks. The poem above, though elementary, conveys the message succinctly.

Announcement: 1. I must bring to your notice, that we have been following a pattern in our magazine issues of late, by basing them on various theme topics like – Energy Saving / Sustainability / the current issue being on: Safety. We are planning future issues on: Energy Efficiency in White goods Industries + Footwear.

Anyone wishing to insert special write-ups / articles / advertisements… is requested to contact Mr. Ramamurthy: admin@pu-india.org 2. We also plan to introduce a “Q&A Section” – whereby, our members can interact with Industry Experts & Technologists through our magazine. They can send in their questions once again to Mr. Ramamurthy [admin@pu-india.org], and he will forward to the appropriate expert for a response. We will carry this interaction in the appropriately announced theme issue.

Sincerely,

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PUBLISHED BY THE INDIAN POLYURETHANES ASSOCIATION

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Committee Member’s Message .................. 3

EDITOR

MRS. MEDHA BHUTA

Editorial .............................................. 4

EDITORIAL TEAM

MR. RAMAMURTHY - SECRETARY IPUA MR. GOVIND GUPTA - DOW MR. PRAVIN MAHAJAN - BASF MR. PRANAV MEHTA - HONEYWELL

Credits + Contents ............................... 5 Industry Updates ................................... 6

COMPILATION & SELECTION

DR. MAHESH GOPALASAMUDRAM MR. G. ANAND

International News ............................... 10

DESIGN CONCEPT

Product News ....................................... 15

GRAPHIC DESIGN & LAYOUT

Interview .............................................. 18

MR. MUKESH BHUTA RED SKY DESIGNS

Technical Updates .................................. 20

PRODUCTION & EXECUTION MR. RAMAMURTHY

Technical Article .................................. 24

IPUA OFFICE BEARERS

Environment & Safety ........................... 36

CHAIRMAN MR. RAHUL GAUTAM 0120 4162 220/4162 200 rahul@sheelafoam.com

VICE CHAIRMAN DR. G. MAHESH 9122 67934904 maheshgn@dow.com Mr. MUKESH BHUTA 022 2768 0303/0404 mbhuta@expandedinc.co.in TREASURER MR. GIAN JAIN

011 2724 6907/4237 6465 gcjain@karefoam.com

SECRETARY GENERAL MR. K. RAMAMURTHY 044 2499 5923 admin@pu-india.org

ramamurthy_k2@dataone.in IPUA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS MR. JAGANNATH SARANGAPAN +9140 23704551/3 jagannath@ufoam.com MR. G. ANAND +9122 2778 7396 anand_g@huntsman.com MR. MANDAR JOSHI +9122 6791 7420 mandar.joshi@basf.com MR. DEEPAK T. MEHTA +9179 2630 4652/3/4/5 deepakmehta@tirupatifoam.com MR. M. G. BOHRA +9144 2595 2001/2 mgb@amulpolycure.com MR. H. S. KOCHAR +91120 4080000 kochar@pfeda.com MR. S. RAJESH T. BHARGAVA +912642 247160/61/62 rtbhargava@gnfc.in MR. RABINDRA JHAJHARIA +91332229 8904/2229 5496 multiwynfoams@multiwynfoams.com MR. PRANAYA PRADHAN +9731303238 pranaya.pradhan@shell.com MR. SANJAY SANGHI +91224005 9350/51/52/53/54/55sanjay.sanghi@momentive.com MR. VINOD VORA +9122 413 5141/5889 vnvora@aromaticagencies.com MR. ASHWINI K. SEHGAL +91120 4031000 aksehgal@saanglobal.com MR. ROMESH MADAN +9111 41613643/44/45 rmadan@goodiesons.com MR. ROHIT RELAN +91124 2341258 rohitgrp@ndf.vsnl.net.in MR.AJAY DURRANI +91120 3921199 ajay.durrani@bayer.com MR RAVI MUTHUKRISHNAN +9144 25942830 mravi@manalipetro.com PERMANENT INVITEE & SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE IPUA MR G RAMACHANDRAN +91 44 24345738 PERMANENT INVITEE MR. SAMIR ARORA

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IPUA Ventures ...................................... 41 Economic Update ................................... 42 Previews & Reports ............................... 49 Events & Trends ................................... 54

indramu123@gmail.com

011 26912375/26917758/26831850 samira@airtelmail.in sam@sam3.in

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Momentive Performance Materials Expands Manufacturing Operations In India

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LBANY, N.Y., February 29, 2012 – Momentive Performance Materials Inc., a leading global provider of silicones and advanced materials, today announced the expansion of its manufacturing facility and application development center in Chennai, India. Spanning more than 15 acres the state-of-the-art facility, which opened in 2009, focuses on manufacturing high-end specialty silicones to serve the growing needs of customers in India, the Middle East and South Asia.

“This investment represents a major step forward in our ability to grow the silicones business in India,” said,” Craig O. Morrison, CEO Momentive.

“India is one of the world’s fastest growing regions for automotive, construction, telecom and energy.

Chennai, in particular, is developing into a significant center for multiple industries.”

“Over the years we have stayed on course in realizing our vision of building Momentive into a best-inclass specialty chemicals and materials company in the region by combining global technology, application development, manufacturing and service capabilities with outstanding products and services,” said V.P. N a l i a n , M a n a g i n g D i r e c t o r, Momentive Performance Materials India. “This expansion will bring some of the most sophisticated technology and manufac turing processes that Momentive has developed worldwide to the Chennai facility and considerably enhance our ability to serve customers across the region.”

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innov ation and f inding ne w oppor tunitie s to e xpand our technology platforms into this region,” said,” Dr. Eric Thaler, Chief Technology Officer, Momentive Performance Materials. “This expansion will allow for commercialization of a number of specialty silicone branded products, such as Magnasoft* and Silsoft* additives for personal care and textile applications, Silwet* products for agricultural use, Niax*additives for polyurethane foam, and SilFORT* hardcoats for automotive lighting and glazing.”

Inc. is a global leader in silicones and advanced materials, with a 70+ year heritage of being first to market with performance applications for major industries that support and improve everyday life. The company delivers science-based solutions, by linking custom technology platforms to opportunities for customers.

Momentive Performance Materials Inc. is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Momentive Performance Materials Holdings LLC. Additional information is available at www. momentive.com.

The expansion of the Chennai facility, along with the opening of a regional headquarters and global research and development center in Bangalore later this year, is part of Momentive’s long-standing commitment to India and the surrounding regions.

Additionally, the Chennai facility has been designated to become a zero-discharge plant, underscoring Momentive’s commitment to sustainability. Local Momentive employees will participate in training programs on running the plant efficiently and in compliance with the highest safety standards.

About Momentive

F or more information ab out Momentive Performance Materials solutions in India, the Middle East and South Asia, please call 800.295.2392 in North America (+1 614 986 2495 everywhere else), email 4information@momentive.com or visit www.momentive.com.

About Momentive Performance Materials Inc. Momentive Performance Materials

Momentive Performance Materials Holdings LLC is the ultimate parent company of Momentive Performance Materials Inc. and Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc. (collectively, “Momentive”). Momentive is a global leader in specialty chemicals and materials, with a broad range of advanced specialty products that help industrial and consumer companies support and improve everyday life. The company uses its technology portfolio to deliver tailored solutions to meet the diverse needs of its customers around the world. Momentive was formed in October 2010 through the combination of entities that indirectly owned Momentive Performance Materials Inc. and Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc. The capital structures and legal entity structures of both Momentive Performance Materials Inc. and Momentive Specialt y Chemicals Inc. (formerly known as Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc.), and their respective subsidiaries and direct parent companies, remain J

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separate. Momentive Performance Materials Inc. and Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc. file separate financial and other reports with the

Securities and Exchange Commission.

Momentive is controlled by investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, LLC . Additional

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information about Momentive and its products is available at www. momentive.com.

BASF to invest in new chemical production site in Dahej, India w INR 1000 crores investment to include production facilities for polyurethanes, care chemicals and polymer dispersions for coatings and paper w Supports growth of crucial local industries including appliances, footwear, automotive, construction, coatings, paper and home and personal care w Advanced design conserves energy and resources w Start of production planned for 2014

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umbai, India – April 11, 2012 – BASF India Limited will invest INR 1000 crores to set up a new chemical production site at the Dahej Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR), located on the west coast of India in Gujarat.

The new site will be an integrated hub for polyurethane manufacturing and will also house production facilities for care chemicals and polymer dispersions for coatings and paper. With this new production site, BASF aims to ensure local supply for growing markets and industries such as appliances, footwear, automotive, construction, adhesives, architectural coatings, paper and personal care.

The start of production is planned for 2014. The project will be financed by BASF India Limited through internal accruals and loans.

“With its robust local industries,

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India is set to become a pillar of growth in Asia Pacific. The country’s changing demographic profile and the resulting need for improved quality of life are driving increasing market demand. With the new manufacturing facility, we will be able to serve our customers better by developing solutions that meet their individual needs as well as strengthen their competitive advantage,” said Dr. Martin Brudermueller, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of BASF SE, responsible for Asia Pacific.

“The Dahej site complements the existing manufacturing set-up of BASF in India and will support and contribute to the growth of the Indian chemical industry,” said Mr. Prasad Chandran, Chairman and Managing Director, BASF India Limited. “The location offers excellent investment conditions and a favorable business environment due to the proximity to raw materials as well as customers.

With this new project, we expect to grow our businesses in the important northern and western regions of India”, he added.

The site will employ more than 250 people at full capacity, primarily in operations. With shared infrastructure and state-of-the-art production systems, the site will also provide resource efficient BASF technologies for the conservation of energy and water. The site’s advanced design takes advantage of the latest technologies from BASF facilities around the world and ensures safe and responsible operations.

The inte gr ate d p olyurethane facility will produce Elastollan® TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane), Cellasto® NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) parts and Polyurethane Systems, which is supported by new production facilities for important precursors, comprising Polyetherols p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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and Polyesterols plants as well as an MDI splitter.

The care chemicals facility at the new Dahej site will produce surfactants largely for home and personal care.

These surfactants will also add value to formulation technology applications including agrochemicals, textiles and emulsion polymerisation. With BASF’s global growth strategy for its care chemicals business, the Dahej site adds to BASF’s production footprint in one of the fastest growing emerging markets.

The polymer dispersions facility at the site will produce Acronal® and Styrofan®, key ingredients for architectural coatings, adhesives, and construction, Styronal® and Basonal® for paper coating and Basoplast® for sizing. The plant will predominantly serve customers located in the northern and western parts of India.

BASF currently produces dispersions at an existing plant in Mangalore.

About BASF in India For more than a century, BASF has been partnering India‘s progress with its vast knowledge in the field of chemistry and high quality products that cater to a wide range of industries. As a dependable partner to stakeholders, BASF offers innovative, hi-tech and safe solutions.

BASF in India is currently engaged in the business of manufacturing & marketing of Styropor®, tanning agents, leather chemicals and auxiliaries, crop protection chemicals, textile chemicals, dispersions and specialty chemicals, performance plastic s, automotive and coil coatings, construction chemicals and polyurethane systems. BASF is also involved in marketing a wide range of intermediates, catalysts and other chemicals for life sciences, chemical and allied industries in India.

About BASF

antai Wanhua Polyurethanes of China inaugurated their Indian subsidiary Wanhua International India Pvt Ltd at Mumbai on the 12th March 2012 at Meluha Hotel, Hiranandani Gardens, Powai.

The brief but compact ceremony was attended by leading players in the Indian Polyurethane Industry and also the Trade & Commercial Attache of the China Govt.

Mr Ivan Zhu the Managing Director of Wanhua International India welcomed the gathering.

Mr Wenping Zhang – Marketing Dept & International Business Dept of Yantai Wanhau Polyurethanes explained the rationale behind establishing the Indian subsidiary and stressed that Customer J

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company: The Chemical Company.

Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success, social responsibility and environmental protection. Through science and innovation we enable our customers in almost all industries to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and system solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring healthy food and nutrition and helping to improve the quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF posted sales of about €73.5 billion in 2011 and had more than 111,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical

WANHUA INAUGURATION

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Confidence and Support is what has mad Yantai Wanhua a global player in the Polyurethanes business worldwide.

He thanked the Indian fraternity for their support so far when they were just having a liason office and said that the Indian Subsidiary would ensure that the customer services would be improved further and the business would grow along with the Indian Pu industry.

Mr Lianxue Yan – Manager, Emerging Market Areas explained in detail of how Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes has grown from a 10ktpa producer of Isocyanates in 1983 to become the third largest global producer of Di Isocyanates. With the acquisition of Borsod Chem of Hungary – the present total capacity of Yantai Wanhua now stands at 1040ktpa of MDI and 250ktpa of TDI. He also outlined the plans of Yantai Wanhua to become

a total chemical company instead of only a polyurethane diisocyanate producer and that they are expanding into MTBE, PO, NPG Etc in the new Technology park adjacent to their present site. He also stressed that Yantai Wanhua was doing innovative research in their labs in Beijing. The secret of Yantai Wanhua’s success story is their commitment for innovation and customer service.

Mr Mukesh Bhuta Vice Chairman IPUA welcomed Wanhua International India into the polyurethane fraternity in India and stressed that the IPUA would always welcome initiatives to grow and strengthen the Indian PU industry and looked forward to Wanhua actively contributing to quality growth in all the segments.

Mr Ravi Muthukrishnan, MD of Manali Petrochemical and Ex Com Member of IPUA unveiled the logo of Wanhua India. p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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China’s high-speed building boom A 30-storey hotel in Changsha went up in two weeks. Some question the safety in that, but the builder defends its methods.

By Jonathan Kaiman, Los Angeles Times Reporting from Changsha, China

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n early December, Liu Zhangning was tending her c abbage patch when she saw a tall yellow construction crane in the distance. At night, the work lights made it seem like day.

Fifteen days later, a 30-story hotel towered over her village on the outskirts of the city like a glass and steel obelisk.

“I couldn’t really believe it,” Liu said.

“They built that thing in under a month.”

A time-lapse video of the project in Changsha, which shows the pref abric ate d building being assembled on site, has racked up more than 5 million views on YouTube and left Western architects speechless.

“I’ve never seen a project go up this fast,” said Ryan Smith, an expert on prefabricated architecture at the University of Utah.

In other countries, the most advanced prefab construction methods can reduce building times by a third to half, Smith said. The builders of the Changsha hotel did better, knocking one-half to two-thirds off the normal schedule.

“It’s unfathomable,” Smith said.

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boom in China, where an exodus from the countryside to the cities has swelled the urban population by almost 400 million since 1990.

“Incredible speed also means incredible risk,” he said. “But only time will tell how serious the risk is.”

Skylines are peppered with cranes.

Smog-choked streets echo with the pounding of jackhammers.

Residential high-rises sprout like weeds in the plains between major cities, creating an endless sprawl along the country’s east coast.

The Chinese company behind the Changsha hotel, Broad Sustainable Building, says it cuts no corners on safety. To the contrary, it says, its methods will make China’s construction boom safer, cheaper and more environmentally friendly.

The breakneck pace of construction reflects a societal urge to catch up as fast as possible to the developed world after decades of scarcity under Mao Tse-tung, said Zhang Li, a Beijing architect.

In promotional literature, Broad boasts that its technology is “the most profound innovation in human history” and that construction on a third of the world’s new buildings will be done this way “in the near future.”

The focus on fast construction took root during the economic reforms of the early 1980s, Zhang said. Prefabrication methods, well established elsewhere but just catching on in China, have magnified it.

Raising a 30-story tower in two weeks is possible because most of the work is done in a factory and the foundation has been laid ahead of time. China’s abundance of workers also helps.

But a job done quickly is not always a job done well. Zhang said that in their race to the finish line, many Chinese construction companies skimp on the meticulous reviews and inspections that make projects in the West drag on for years.

The hotel, called T-30, looms over dilapidated concrete homes interspersed with piles of garbage and rows of cabbages and leeks.

Dogs and chickens run through muddy alleyways.

In mid-January, a month after the building’s announced completion, its interior was a hive of activity. Many of the 500 rooms were finished, with made beds and white sofas.

In others, wires protruded from unfinished walls. Paint-splattered workers hauled wooden planks past a grand piano in the pristine marble lobby.

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employees, is about 400 yards from the cavernous white factory where its components were manufactured.

The headquarters of the parent company, Broad Group, is a 90minute drive away.

“This is the tallest building in this county, and it’s also the fastestbuilt,” said Rong Shengli, one of the building’s planners, looking over the rural sprawl from a helicopter pad on the hotel’s roof. “Next we’re going to build a 50-story building, then a 100story one & then a 150-story one. And they’re all going to go up fast.”

The time-lapse video provides a glimpse of how the hotel was made.

Workers in blue jumpsuits are seen assembling “main boards,” the building blocks of Broad’s structures 13-by-50-foot slabs containing ventilation shafts, water pipes, electric wiring and lighting fixtures sandwiched between ready-made floors and ceilings.

A counter at the bottom of the screen ticks off the hours as the boards are loaded onto a truck and delivered to the construction site. A crane then stacks them up like blocks.

Workers bolt in pylons and piece together staircases; the glass and steel exterior rolls up onto the frame like a gleaming carpet.

At 360 hours, the ticker stops.

Building this way costs 20% to 30% less than traditional methods, said Jiang Yan, a senior vice president at Broad.

It’s also safer, said Zhang Yue, chief executive of Broad Group, because factories are typically less risky environments than construction sites.

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“The faster, the safer,” Zhang said. “It’s like crossing the road. If you slowly walk back and forth in the middle of the road, that’s not safe.”

The China Academy of Building Research has declared Broad’s structures earthquake-resistant up to magnitude 9. (The largest recorded quake of the 20th century, which hit Chile in 1960, measured 9.5.) The company says the strength of its buildings comes from their lightweight steel structures and diagonal bracing.

Zhang said he got the idea to manufacture prefabricated buildings after a massive earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008 in which the collapse of poorly constructed buildings killed tens of thousands of people, many of them schoolchildren.

Zhang said it took about 200 of the company’s 900 employees to put up the hotel. They are paid $500 to $800 a month, above average for China.

Although some company executives acknowledged that many workers put in well over 40 hours a week, Zhang said they do not work later than 10 p.m.

Unlike most Chinese t ycoons, Zhang cultivates a reputation as an environmentalist. The company touts its sparing use of concrete to cut down on waste. Its buildings have low-energy lighting, water-saving toilets and elevators that generate electricity on the way down.

Broad Sustainable Building has completed only a handful of projects. Its first was the 15-story New Ark Hotel, which the company built in about six days near Broad Group’s headquarters in 2010. Soon afterward, it built a six-story building at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo in

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less than 24 hours.

Its first international project was a two-story building erected at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, in 2010. Mexican President Felipe Calderon called it a “revolution of the world’s architectural and housing industry.”

The company says it is negotiating technology-transfer deals with firms in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and India and hopes to establish partnerships in the United States.

Experts say that may not be easy.

Broad’s buildings may not conform to U.S. fire codes. Labor laws could prevent employees from working the long hours required to construct a building with such speed.

Amy Lely veld, a professor of architecture at Yale University, described prefabricated buildings in the U.S. as “kind of at the jewelrymaking end of architecture”an expensive niche.

Lelyveld expressed concern about the adequacy of construction oversight on a complicated, hurriedly constructed building like the Changsha hotel.

“I wonder why it was so fast,” she said, adding that “if it was slower there might be more opportunities to inspect the work.”

Zhang, however, said Broad could adapt to labor and fire safety laws in other countries, and that employees’ workdays would drop to eight hours as the company’s technology improves.

“We will use international standards,” he said.

Zhou Weidong, a vice president at Broad Sustainable Building, said the p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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company was developing as quickly as its home country. Looking out the window of a company Buick, he noted that the squat concrete homes, convenience stores and auto repair shops lining the newly paved road

between the headquarters of Broad Sustainable Building and central Changsha were at most a year old.

“That’s China. It changes overnight.”

“Three years later, if you come back here, this will be a city,” he said.

Copyright © 2012, Los Angeles Times

[Kaiman is a special correspondent.]

Honeywell’s Uop to Expand Adsorbents and Catalysts Production at its Mobile, Alabama Facility $20 million investment to expand production of UOP IONSIV™adsorbent used to remove radioactive material from water

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ES PLAINES, Ill., April 3, 2012 – UOP LLC, a Honeywell (NYSE: HON) company, announced today that it will invest $20 million to expand its production facility in Mobile, Ala., to produce adsorbents and catalysts.

The investment will expand production of Honeywell’s UOP IONSIVTM Ion Exchange adsorbents, which remove radioactive material from liquid, and are currently being used in Japan in response to last year’s nuclear disaster.

It will also support the production of new adsorbents and catalysts used by petrochemical producers and refiners. The expansion is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.

“This investment helps us meet the demand for our newest advanced materials, as well as established products that are in demand by customers around the world,” said Mike Millard, senior vice president and general manager for Honeywell’s UOP Catalyst, Adsorbents and Specialties business. “We continue to invest in new technologies that will help meet refiners and petrochemical producers’ needs for materials that offer more flexibility, increase production and lower cost.”

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IONSIV Ion Exchanger adsorbents are crystalline materials that can selectively remove radioactive ions from liquids. At Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, these adsorbents are successfully being used to reduce radioactive cesium to non-detectable levels in the plant’s contaminated wastewater after the earthquake and tsunami last year.

These materials have been used commercially for more than 30 years to remove radioactive ions from liquids, such as radioactive waste streams in commercial nuclear power plants, alkaline tank waste, and spent fuel storage pool water.

The Mobile plant also produces Honeywell UOP ADS-47 Parex™ adsorbent, the latest generation of the company’s Parex adsorbent. The new adsorbent allows petrochemical producers to increase yields of paraxylene by more than 20 percent over previous technology. Para-xylene is a material used in the production of synthetic fibers such as polyester as well as plastic bottles.

The plant also produces catalysts that help petrochemical producers increase production while reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Hone y well UOP is a leading producer of catalysts, used in refining, petrochemical and other applications, to produce products ranging from transportation fuels to biodegradable detergents. It pioneered the adsorbents industry more than 60 years ago with the invention of the first synthetic zeolites for use as molecular sieve adsorbents.

Today, in addition to a wide range of molecular sieve and activated alumina products, it offers a broad portfolio of adsorbents for the removal of contaminants such as mercury and sulfur compounds.

In addition to Mobile, Honeywell UOP produces catalysts and adsorbents in Baton Rouge, La.; Shreveport, La.; McCook, Ill.; Shanghai, China; Brimsdown, U.K.; and Reggio Calabria, Italy.

UOP LLC, headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois, USA, is a leading international supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, adsorbents, process plants, and consulting services to the petroleum refining, petrochemical, and gas processing industries. UOP is a whollyowned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc. and is part of J

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Honeywell’s Performance Materials and Technologies strategic business group. For more information, go to www.uop.com.

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and ser vices; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell’s shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For more news and information on Honeywell,

please visit www.honeywellnow.com.

This release contains “forwardlooking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of fact, that address activities, events or developments that we or our management intend, expect, project, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forwardlooking statements. For wardlooking statements are based on management’s assumptions and assessments in light of past experience and trends, current conditions,

Today

expected future developments and other relevant factors. They are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ from those envisaged by our forwardlooking statements. Our forwardlooking statements are also subject to risks and uncertainties, which can affect our performance in both the near- and long-term. We identify the principal risks and uncertainties that affect our performance in our Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Pcc Rokita, Poland Is Planning A System House In India

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uring the trip to UTECH Europe – the POLYURETHANES TODAY team met up with Mr. Sergiusz Stefanowski (Director - Polyol Business Unit) of PCC Rokita, Poland.

PCC Rokita after their expansion in 2012 now having a capacity of 100,000 MTPA of polyether polyols.

The company has a complete range of polyether polyols, which are supplied to all PU segments (flexible, CASE, rigid). In 2010, after acquisition of today`s PCC Prodex, one of the leading Independent System-Houses, PCC activities in PU have expanded also on PU systems production.

Mr Sergiuz Stefanowski believes that Customer Satisfac tion and Innovation are the key factors in the polyurethane business and being a medium sized organization, with relatively flat corporate structure, the communication and decision-making processes are made quicker than elsewhere, which increases efficiency of strategic moves.

PCC Rokita is a base polyols producer coupled with a system house. In polyols PCC’s strengths are in the specialty J

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polyols segments, especially for the flexible foams. With advanced polyols technologies PCC are prepared to offer very wide range of HR and viscoelastic foam solutions. Very strong technical service and development team as well as professionally equipped laboratories enable PCC to support customers with their individual needs.

the Indian market. PCC is looking at India as their first international target since India promises growth both in terms of quantity and quality. The initial reactions with the polyurethane industry have been very encouraging and in the long range PCC feels are looking at India as strategic region for their further growth plans..

Mr. Sergiusz Stefanowski: We have been fairly active and present in the business in Europe zone and are now contemplating expanding our presence. As a part of this exercise we have an Executive based out of India and are systematically establishing our presence in the India market for our speciality products.

POLYURETHANES TODAY: We are very glad to hear about your India Plans and take this opportunity to welcome you into India and look forward to PCC Rokita playing a major role in our growth.

Mr. Sergiusz Stefanowski further stated that they are looking into the India market with earnestness and we feel that the India market has great potential. While today they have a presence of specialty polyols in the India market – they are actively looking at putting up a system house facility in India in the near future. This system house would actively work with the processors and consumers and develop tailor made products for

Thank you very much. Since I visited India for the first time, at PU-Tech 2011, I find motivating enthusiasm of the people from PU industry and their strong willingness and commitment to develop their business. We believe we have products which will support local businesses with their plans. We also trust that we can bring to Indian PU market value-added technical solutions, based on our technologies, which will bring mutual benefits and will help Indian companies to focus not only on quantities and costs but also high-quality end-use PU products. p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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Product News

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New Loop - Machine H 32 LF

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ince the introduction of the new “Loop” Machine H 32 LF by Fecken-Kirfel end of 2010 the Loop has already met with a huge interest from the worldwide market. In fact, Fecken-Kirfel has been offering the Loop already for a very long time; their well-known cutting unit has been used in many different Loop cutting lines since decades.

Since 2010, the German machine manufacturer is building the Loop under its own auspices and was at first astonished by the positive response from the market. “We are very content with the launch of our Loop”, said Axel Wynands, General Sales Manager, responsible also for the Indian market.

Wynands continues.

The combination of the solid frame construction and the cutting unit in the well-proven cast iron FeckenKirfel quality finds the approval among the customers – and that worldwide: “We are proud to say that we could already sell a Loop on every continent – excepting Africa-”, Axel

According to the cus tomer s´ requirements the Loop is continuously enhanced by the Fecken-Kirfel engineers. From the conventional Polyether foam to Visco foam the Fecken-Kirfel Loop produces perfect roll goods. By using a modular system each Loop is custom-designed.

Latest innovation is a machine in a combined Loop operation and a block reverse operation for which both gates are open.

Like this, the Loop is the ideal machine for all those who want to produce high volumes and all kind of material qualities in an economic and comfortable way.

New RAMPF sealing material for contact with food Reliable lid seal for containers in compliance with EU regulations

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rafenberg, 23.01.2012 – RAMPF Giessharze, a manufacturer of polyurethane and epoxy resin systems and silicones, is now introducing to the market a foam gasket that meets the requirements of the food industry in Germany and Europe. RAKU-PUR® 31-3173 is suitable for use as a lid sealing material for containers that come into contact with food at room J

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temperature for only short periods and without heat-ing. This new foam gasket based on polyurethane is aimed at manufacturers of can-isters, drums and IBC containers for aqueous, alcoholic, fatty and dry goods.

“The RAKU-PUR 31-3173 foam gasket meets the requirements of Art. 3 Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 and

sections 30 and 31(1) of the German Food and Feed Code (LFGB) in conjunction with Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 under consideration of the surface/volume ratio and if it is used as part of an object within the meaning of sec-tion 2(6) of the LFGB”, explains Dr. Ulrich Nehring from the Institut Nehring laboratory for foodstuffs, consumer goods and the environment p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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in his report. This new material, which is suitable for contact with food, is a valuable addition to the RAMPF Group’s portfolio of foam gaskets. RAMPF Giessharze develops and sells liquid and thixotropic sealing systems, foam and unfoamed gaskets, R A K U -S k i n f o a m gaskets made of a soft polyurethane foam core and moulded, rigid and high-pressure foams.

The resin specialist also offers electro and engineering casting resins, edge and filter casting resins, and two-component adhesives for all key industries around the globe.

Compression set of just two percent and low water absorption The two-component soft integral foam RAKU-PUR 31-3173 boasts two particularly impressive properties – its compression set of just two percent and its low water absorption rate of around 5.5 percent. After 24-hour 50-percent deformation and at a temperature of 50 or 70 °C, the cured foam gasket returns to its original form with shrinkage of just two percent. It therefore has a recovery rate of 99-100 percent based on EN ISO 1856. To test its water absorption, the two-component soft integral foam was submerged in 10 cm of water for 24 hours.

The certification for use in the food industry from Institut Nehring applies to the for-mulation of RAMPF’s white 16

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Capture: EU-certified foam gasket from RAMPF

foam gasket, which is specially formulated to meet the requirements for contact with food.

The system contains no solvents, plasticisers or CFCs/HCFCs. RAKU-PUR 31-3173 from RAMPF Giessharze is available in 30-kilogram containers and 200-1,000-litre IBCs.

In-situ sealing for on-the-spot application The polyurethane system can be processed in situ. The two-component sealing material is applied to the component directly with a twocomponent low-pressure mixing and dispensing system and begins to expand in situ after a cream time of 45-80 seconds. For processing one, two, and multi-component reaction resins, sister company R AMPF Dosiertechnik offers innovative systems that can be integrated seamlessly into both existing and new systems for the production of

new drums and reconditioning of drums and IBCs. For more information, visit www. rampf.gruppe.de. www.rampf-giessharze.de RAMPF Giessharze GmbH & Co. KG, the nucleus of the RAMPF Group, is headquartered in Grafenberg, Germany. The company has specialized in the development, production and sale of resin systems made of polyurethane, epoxy and silicon since 1980. Its product portfolio includes liquid and thixotropic sealing systems, electro and engineering casting resins, edge and filter casting resins and two-component adhesives. RAMPF Giessharze offers solutions for all key industries around the globe.

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Prefabricated houses straight off the production line

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raussMaffei presents a world first for the creation of affordable housing in developing countries.

Munich, May 19, 2011 - KraussMaffei is today unveiling a world innovation in affordable prefabricated houses.

The houses can be efficiently produced in high volume on a KraussMaffei double-belt press and assembled in a few days. This innovation represents a sustainable way of meeting escalating demand for affordable housing in emerging and third-world countries as they become increasingly urbanized.

Innovative concept for highvolume production “KraussMaffei is known and recognized throughout the plastics and rubber machinery industry for its high-end, innovative process solutions. As populations in emerging and thirdworld countries continue to rise, this innovative concept for prefabricated houses is an efficient, cost-effective and sustainable way to create affordable housing,” said Dr. Dietmar Straub, CEO of KraussMaffei AG. The concept is unique for the staged manner in which the houses are made. Using a simple base module comprising a double-belt press, manufacturers can produce about 1-2 houses per day, or about 500 a year. To meet higher demand, they can scale up to a continuous production line capable of producing anywhere from 2000 to 10,000 units a year. Each prefabricated house has a floor-space of just 30 square meters and provides space for a family of five, he added.

The wall and ceiling panels are well

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insulated, creating a co mfo r t ab l e living environment and the house c an be fit ted out with s olar panels to render it self-sufficient in energy.

Modular house that can be At the opening ceremony for the prefabricated house in adapted to Munich: Kurt Kapp, Head of Economic Development Munich regional characteristics city; Tobias Weiß, Member of the city council Munich city;

Dr. Dietmar Straub, CEO of KraussMaffei AG; Frank Peters, Board member of KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH; Dr. The prefabricated Michael Loferer, General Technical Manager Business Unit house consists of Construction; Jens Kompe, General Sales Manager Business only a few different Unit Construction (right to left) modular panels of the kind found in industry, warehouses and cold stores. production of the panels on one hand “Made to flexible grid dimensions, the and a high degree of manual labor wall and ceiling panels comprise an for picking, compiling, pre- assembly insulating core of polyurethane foam and interior and exterior outfitting on sandwiched between steel facings the other makes for an overall viable and are produced on one of our concept,” said Peters. double-belt presses. One particular advantage is that the manufacturer A mobile concept for use can freely vary the materials to suit anywhere in the world local availability. Local requirements and country-specific vagaries regarding The fact that production can be production and style can thus be implemented in a “mobile factory” respected,” said Frank Peters, head will benefit developing regions. When of Reaction Process Machinery at demand in one region has been met, KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH. the system can be simply moved For example, the top layer can be of to another. A variant of the mobile aluminum and the insulating core of factory is that of the “floating factory,” mineral wool, depending on whatever in which production of the panels material is easier and cheaper to source is transferred to a factory ship for locally. Equally, other materials such emergency responses to regional as OSB wood panels, MAG boards, disasters. On site, it only be necessary extruded decorative panels or glass to have a hall for pre-assembly and fiber-reinforced boards can be used. assembly, which would provide aid Prefabrication by the manufacturer agencies new scope for quickly creating eliminates the cutting to size that is housing that would enable people in usually done on site. The manufacturer disaster areas to live in dignity. delivers a complete house on one pallet, ready to be assembled on site. The prefabricated houses can be The only tools needed for assembly produced efficiently in high volumes on are screwdrivers and wrenches. “The a KraussMaffei double-belt press. combination of fully automated p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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Interview

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Mr. Wenping Zhang, GM of Global business & Marketing - YANTAI WANHUA

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t was a pleasure meeting the people from Yantai Wanhua at their event announcing the opening of their subsidiary company in India.

We had an opportunity for having an in depth talk with Mr. Wenping Zhang, GM of Global business and Marketing Department, who has worked in Yantai Wanhua for 11 years and has quite a lot of experience in the PU industry. Excerpts of our conversation are as follows:-

PU TODAY: First let us congratulate Wanhua on the opening of your India office.

On behalf of the Indian Pu industry – we extend a hearty welcome to you.

Can you give us a brief overview of Yantai Wanhua’s global operations?

YANTAI WANHUA: Yantai Wanhua is one of the leading PU suppliers in the world. Currently, Yantai Wanhua’s products’ range covers Isocyante, polyols, TPU, etc. Currently, Yantai Wanhua has two MDI plants in Yantai and Ningbo with total capacity of 1 million Mts per annum, ranking No.3 in the world. Yantai Wanhua will debottleneck its Ningbo plant to add another 400 Kt/A MDI capacity in 2013, and then the Ningbo plant will be the largest MDI plant in the world. It is fully integrated and will have an edge in the cost.

Yantai Wanhua recently commissioned its 15kt/A HDI plant, adding another aliphatic isocynate on top of H12MDI which has been commercialised for 3 years.

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Mr. Wenping Zhang - GM of Global business & Marketing of Yantai Wanhua

Yantai Wanhua is also running a polyol plant, Yantai Wanhua Rongwei, which is one of the leading rigid

It is noted that IPUA has organized some seminars and HSE training for slabstock segments last year. It is really beneficial for its members. If required we can promote some exchange programmes between the Chinese PUA and the Indian PUA.

polyol suppliers in China, particularly strong in the application industry.

We emphasize on meeting the customer’s individual requirements and providing a totally customized solution. One of Yantai Wanhua’s subsidiaries, Beijing Keju Polymer Science is dedicated to R&D of MDI prepolymers and systems especially for CAS applications.

Our new chemical park occupying 1000 hectares of land is under construction. It will replace the old Yantai plant by adding another 400kt/A MDI capacity, as well as 240 Kt/A of PO capacity .With this new investment Wanhua Group will have more than 1.8 Million MT of isocyanates capacity in China, making the corporation one of the biggest and most competitive urethane producers in the world’’ J

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Our vision is to create a 1st Class Chemical New Material Company in the world.

PUTODAY: What are your plans for the Indian Market?

YANTAI WANHUA: As the Indian PU industry has the fastest growth in the world, we are keen to grow with the Indian customers together. In the next few years, we are focusing on the following markets.

1. To have a strong presence in the rigid segment (mostly in appliances sector), not only in MDI but also on the polyol side.

know, India is still short of electricity supply, in which case, by using PU material you not only save power but are also more comfortable.

It is noted that IPUA has organized some seminars and HSE training for slabstock segments last year. It is really beneficial for its members.

If required we can promote some exchange programmes between the Chinese PUA and the Indian PUA.

YANTAI WANHUA: In the rigid segment, we suggest IPUA to lobby with the Indian Government to pass insulation laws, to encourage the people to use PU material. As you

Fur ther we would like to thank the IPUA members for their

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ADVT CHEM PETRO

YANTAI WANHUA: The PU Industry is the most exciting industry in the world, as the PU material is used everywhere in all aspects of our lives. We hope all IPUA members can enjoy it.

PU TODAY: What facilities can your company extend to the IPUA to expedite the growth of the Indian PU market – segment wise - rigid, flexible moulded, slabstock, CASE?

PUTODAY: We thank you for having given us an overview of your plans, and take this opportunity to wish you all the best for your operations in India, which we hope will also culminate in a manufacturing unit soon.

The other segments are developing healthily hence we don’t have any comments.

PUTODAY: Do you 2. Work with reputed companies have any special in India for Automotives Flexible message to our sector. members and readers?

3. Market products for TPU based adhesives segment.

support in the past and hope to get the same in the future.

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Polyurethane Insulation for Building Envelopes

By Isaac Emmanuel Head, New Markets Bayer Material Science, Thane

Introduction

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ndia is seeing dramatic increases in domestic energy consumption.

Ongoing industrialization and continuing development have already caused energy and peak demand shortages at an average of around 8% and 12 % respectively, over the last 10 years.

Buildings are responsible for around 30% of global energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP SBCI). The challenges with respect to climate-friendly design are expected to grow in the future. For example, rising temperatures increase the demand for energy-intensive air conditioning systems. Therefore, energy saving buildings of the future can make even bigger contribution to climate protection than today.

The building sector today, already offers a sufficient number of marketready solutions to support a green building. These solutions can reduce the primary energy requirement by up to 90% compared with conventional buildings. Standard solutions of the one-size-fits all variety are inadequate for achieving savings of this size, because in order to build environment friendly buildings, it is critical to incorporate local climate conditions into the design from the outset. Retrofitted climate control systems would only drive up costs unnecessarily. To minimize the energy requirements of a building, 20

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its shape and envelope must be o pt imi z e d, daylight exploited to the fullest and the building systems designed for maximum e f f i c i e n c y.

The right insulation material play s an important role in achieving energy efficiency; much could be achieved if thermal insulation in general were given sufficient consideration from the start, in the planning phase of a building. Studies show that buildings insulated with sprayed polyurethane foam typically use 30% less energy for heating and cooling compared to buildings insulated with traditional fibrous insulation material.¹

Architecture and Energy Savings The building envelope is our “third skin” (after skin and clothing) where we spend 90% of our daily time. The design and material used in buildings have a direct effect on healthy living. Poor ventilation and high heat transfer coefficient of building materials can lead to condensation and structural damage.

Sustainable construction as an allin solution is a novel idea in the construction industry. Architects and designers usually face technical challenges in the following areas: • Compact design: surface area to volume ratio. ¹DOE Air sealing

About the Author Is aac Emmanuel is a post graduate in Polymer chemistry from Chennai University and has spent past two decades in the field of engineering polymers industry in India. Having worked closely with the automotive, sports, industrial, mechanical and railway segments in developing applications with Bayer range of polymers, he has now shifted to developing ideas in construction and Cold Chain segments, besides solar, wind and wood binder markets. He is a member of the Sustainability Council of Bayer in India and works with industry bodies for the cause of sustainability.

• Energy-efficient construction: minimizing the U-values, avoiding thermal bridges.

• Excellent thermal insulation in the external components: high insulating efficiency per unit area.

• Wind-tight and air-tight building shell.

• Mechanical ventilation (heat recovery in some cases): limiting the relative humidity.

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• Rapidly controllable heat/cold distribution: adaptability.

The architectural challenge comprises of synthesis of technically perfect construction, correct use of materials, sensible utilization and efficient project planning. Effectively, it boils down to giving the design processes a specific direction governed by external factors like conservation of resources, climate protection, energy efficiency and developing a new aesthetic.

With the new role play of architects as stylists and engineers, their responsibilities widen to • Create appropriate architectural designs from it, not simply “form follows U-value”.

• Author new developments, e.g. in the styling of facades of large, complex buildings.

• Design an energy system, a power station, a living system that can respond to changes in the environment.

• Turn the technical requirement to a style challenge.

Energy efficiency in architecture would be inconceivable without the use of insulating materials. Optimum energy efficiency can be achieved with high-performance insulating materials such as polyurethane rigid foam. Life Cycle Assessments J

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(LCA) performed on insulation products have demonstrated that energy savings during the use phase far outweigh energy associated with manufacturing the raw material, formulating components, transporting, installing and managing at end-of-life. LCA for some individual chemical product applications, including insulation, were c alculate d in the ICC A² report. The life cycle assessment is a recognized multi-step, wells truc tured methodolog y that performs environmental impact analysis (based on ISO 14044-2006).

LCA assess energy and environmental impacts of a material in a specified application from cradle to end-oflife.

LCA results support decision-making on new projects and compare the energy and environmental impact of different products with quantitative data factoring in all the life cycle phases³. LCA calculates show that the highest values obtained with an increase of insulation can contribute substantially to energy efficiency improvement.

It contributes to fossil fuel conservation and greenhouse reduction.

A building and its shell cons titute a s y s tem with a long life and a correspondingly longte r m e n e r g y - s a v i n g effect.

Less is More Insulation t ake s sp ace. How much depends on the insulating performance of the material used.

Rigid foams made of polyurethane insulate better than any other commercially available insulating material. This saves space, provides for thin solutions and evens allows for more living space.

Insulation effectiveness is a function of the type and thickness of the material used to make it, in this context, the lower the thermal conductivity (A) of the material, the better its insulating performance.

A g ains t this b ac kdrop, r ig id polyurethane foam possesses a unique advantage. Of all the commercially available insulating materials, it exhibits the lowest value at 0.024 watt per meter per degree Kelvin 4. Other insulating materials, such as polystyrene, rock wool, glass wool or hemp fibers, display significantly higher thermal conductivity values.

Insulating materials are important in the first place, because standard building materials, such as concrete, brick and wood, conduct heat

² International Council of Chemical Associations, innovations for Greenhouse Gas Reductions, July 2009. ³ See Energy and Environmental Benefits of Insulating commercial Buildings with Polyiso at www.bayermaterialsciencenalta.com for an example of an LCA. p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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relatively well. By comparison, the thermal conductivity of concrete (λ=2.1) is nearly 90 times higher than that of polyurethane. As a result, even a relatively thin layer of polyurethane one centimeter thick insulates just as well as a concrete wall 90 centimeters thick.

For example, 21 centimeters of p o l y ur e t h a n e in s ul a te s ju s t as effectively as 28 centimeters of expanded polystyrene or 32 centimeters of mineral wood.

This difference can be of great significance to developers or building owners. In the case of new buildings, for instance, walls can be of a thinner design overall when using polyurethane. This ultimately means increased interior space, i.e. more living space. In the same example, the gain with polyurethane for every exterior wall requiring insulation, is equivalent to 7 centimeters compared with polystyrene and as much as 11 centimeters compared with mineral wool. The same applies for floor, ceiling and roof insulation. In these areas, the use of polyurethane enables the best-possible ceiling height for a given level of insulating performance. Similar advantages exist when subsequently insulating an existing building.

It is often impossible to install layers of insulation on the exterior, either

for reasons of space or because it is a landmark building. Interior insulation, on the other hand, inevitably means a loss of living space. As described above, this loss can be minimized by using polyurethane. Even if it is possible to install exterior insulation, the thinner solution with polyurethane still offers the most advantages. The thicker the façade insulation, the farther back the windows recede into the façade.

This is an aesthetic advantage and limits the view from the window.

The PUF Advantage

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So, an eventual fire cannot spread undetected through an insulation layer. Similarly, the reigniting of a previously extinguished fire is observed just as rarely. Another important aspect in practice is that rigid PU foam from polystyrene which softens even at comparatively low temperatures, melts and the flaming

Rigid polyurethane foam is suitable for extended use at temperatures of -30 to +90º C. even contact with the chemical substances typically found in construction, such as adhesives, wood preservatives or bitumen, does not affect polyurethane. The material does not rot, resists mold and is odor-neutral.

Because rigid polyurethane foam has a closed-cell structure, does not absorb moisture from the air or exhibit capillary activity. This means the usual building dampness does not penetrate the material if installed properly – an important aspect, because otherwise the insulating properties would deteriorate.

The closed-cell structure also ensures that the gas contained in the pores cannot escape. Special facings on rigid PU foam further prevent air from maintaining good insulating properties over an extended period of time.

As an organic material, polyurethane is inflammable. However flammability in itself is not the problem. After all, other building materials, such as wood, also burn. What is important is

Thermal conductivity describes the heat flow (in watts (W)) through a layer of material one square meter in size and one meter thick, when the temperature difference between the two sides is one Kelvin (K) (equivalent to one degree Celcius).

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that by adding flame retardants, rigid polyurethane foams can be produced that are classed as thermal insulation in virtually every application in the building industry. Classifications of this kin are based on standardized tests.

PU and PIR comply with the fire standards

droplets can even spread a fire.

A lot of progress has been made in recent years in the field of flame protection for rigid PU foams. For example, new PU formulations with an exce ss of isoc yanate have been developed known as polyisocyanurate (PIR). The resulting foams are inherently more resistant to heat. They require only one-third the amount of flame retardant contained in older rigid foams.

Conclusion Over the years, polyurethane foam has emerged as the insulation of choice for building envelopes due to its low conductivity, good gas and vapour barier properties, low flammability, self adhesion, chemical stability, and ease of application compared to other insulation materials. p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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Technical Article Determination of the Impact of Environmental Variables on the Change-Out Frequency for Respirator Cartridges Utilized in Spray Polyurethane Foam Applications KEVIN BLAIR LYNN FEINER MARY BOGDAN WILLIAM ROBERT Abstract

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he ke y fo c us of the S pr ay Polyurethane Foam (SPF) industry is safety, the safety of applicators, workers, other trades and homeowners.

Respiratory protection is recommended for the application of SPF. The level of respiratory protection recommended varies upon the activity being done.

A key component of a respiratory protection plan is the change-out schedule of the respirator cartridges.

This paper discusses the environmental and other variables that impact the frequency of respirator cartridge change out. It utilizes industry airmonitoring information to demonstrate the impact of each of the variables on the change-out schedule.

Disclaimer A l t h o u g h all s t ate m e nt s an d information contained herein are believed to be accurate and reliable,

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they are presented without guarantee or warranty of any kind, expressed or implied. Information provided herein does not relieve the user from the responsibility of carrying out his or her own tests and experiments, and the user assumes all risks and liability for use of the information and results obtained. Statements or suggestions concerning the use of materials and processes are made without representation or warranty that any such use is free of patent infringement and are not recommendations to infringe on any patents. The user should not assume that all toxicity data and safety measures are indicated herein or that other measures may not be required.

Introduction Respirators may be used by individuals for protection from chemical hazards created during high pressure spray polyurethane foam application. During

this process there are many chemicals that one may be exposed to, depending on the job performed and products used. In addition to methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and polymeric MDI (PMDI) that many are familiar with, there are other chemicals, such as amine catalysts, blowing agents, surfactants and flame retardants.

More information on these chemicals may be found in the Health and Safety Product Stewardship Workbook for High-Pressure Application of Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF) [1]. The application of SPF also creates aerosol particles, which means that in addition to protection from organic vapors and other gases, workers must also be protected from these particulates.

Knowing all the chemicals to which workers will be exposed is critical.

One must also know the contaminant concentrations, either actual or a best estimate based on industry knowledge.

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The presence and concentrations of contaminants determine whether a respirator is required by OSHA, and if required, what type. If all concentrations are below their OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)1, respirators are not required.

However, once concentrations are at or above the PEL, respirators are required. Full facepiece air-purifying respirators (APR) should be worn in concentrations up to 50 times the PEL, and a full facepiece powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) should be worn in concentrations up to 1,000 times the PEL 2.

and Honeywell HFC-245fa (1,1,1,3,3pentafluoropropane). The physical properties for these materials are listed in Table 1.

Cartridge Change Schedule Requirements If the Respiratory Program Manager determines that an APR or PAPR is needed, the next step is developing a cartridge change schedule. This is a requirement in the OSHA Standard for Respirator y Protec tion, 29 CFR1910.134.

MDI has a very low PEL. Therefore it usually becomes the material which dictates the requirement of a respiratory protection program. For this reason, supplied air respirators are required for most internal SPF applications [1]. For most highpressure exterior SPF applications, APR and PAPR respirators will require the use of an OV cartridge with a particulate filter (e.g. the North 7600 facepiece with 7581P100 cartridges, or the North Compact Air PAPR with 4001HE cartridges).

1910.134(d)(3)(iii)(B)(2) If there is no ESLI appropriate for conditions in the employer’s workplace, the employer implements a change schedule for canisters and cartridges that is based on objective information or data that will ensure that canisters and cartridges are changed before the end of their service life. The employer shall describe in the respirator program the information and data relied upon and the basis for the canister and cartridge change schedule and the basis for reliance on the data.

The focus of this analysis will be MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate)

The frequency of the cartridge change schedule will be based on

many factors, including but not limited to the concentration of the contaminant, the rate that the air is pulled through the cartridge, humidity and temperature. The Respiratory Program Manager may also add a safety factor to assure that the cartridges are still changed prior to breakthrough in the event any one of the factors mentioned above should become greater in the course of a workday than was originally estimated.

Once a cartridge change schedule has been established, the schedule must be documented and kept on file as part of the complete Written Respiratory Protection Program.

The more documentation showing solid data on how the change-out schedule was established, the easier it becomes to show compliance with the standard in the event of an OSHA audit.

The Effect Of Different Cartridges And The Adsorption Process Cartridges contain carbon particles that have been activated to adsorb gases and vapors. Different carbons or combinations of carbons may be

1. The maximum allowable concentration of a contaminant in the air to which an individual may be exposed for a time weighted average for an 8 hour day, 40 hour work week as set by OSHA. 2. Reference OSHA’s Table on Assigned Protection Factors J

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used, depending on the chemicals a particular cartridge is designed to protect against. Organic Vapor (OV) cartridges are designed to protect against the very large family of these chemicals, which includes MDI and PMDI. Acid gases, such as chlorine and hydrogen chloride, require a different activated carbon.

Combination cartridges, such as an organic vapor/acid gas, will contain a mix of carbon. This is important to understand because if you are using a combination cartridge for protection from MDI and PMDI, there will be less carbon for organic vapors, therefore, the combination cartridge will not last as long as a cartridge that is designed for organic vapors only.

Depending on a cartridge’s specific carbon mix, the service life may be one third, or perhaps as much as half of an OV only cartridge.

Accordingly, one should consider using a combination cartridge only if there are other, non-organic gases or vapors present. In Table 2, MDI, a component in many SPF products, is used to demonstrate length of service comparing the use of an organic vapor cartridge (OV) to an organic vapor/acid gas cartridge (OV/ AG). In this case, the difference is approximately 20%.

North by Honeywell cartridges were used for the examples presented in this paper. Other brands of

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cartridges will have different results as each brand and type of cartridge has its own unique carbon bed characteristics. The addition of a pre-filter to a cartridge for protection from particulates will not increase or decrease the service life of a cartridge. However, in cases where the contaminant is present in both vapor and aerosol forms, a particulate pre-filter must be used to adequately control worker exposures according to 2009 CPI paper by Mark Spence of Mark Spence Consulting LLC..

The Effect Of Breakthrough & Safety Factors Application of a safety factor and the percent of breakthrough will also affect the cartridge change schedule. Breakthrough occurs in a logarithmic pattern rather than slowly and evenly over time. The Respirator Program Manager setting the change schedule must decide at what percent of breakthrough the cartridges should be changed.

Some typical percentages used by Calculation Guides are 90%, 50% and 10% of the total breakthrough concentration. One should also consider where the Permissible Exposure Limit is on the curve.

Using our example of MDI at the same concentrations and other parameters used to demonstrate the difference between OV and OV/AG

cartridges, Table 3 demonstrates the service life at 10% of breakthrough (same % as used above), and at 90% of breakthrough. An additional 10% of service life is gained by using the less conservative approach.

The goal of an air purifying respirator is not to eliminate all exposure to the contaminant, but to limit a worker’s exposure to less than the PEL. If one were to eliminate any exposure, the cartridges must be changed before the first few molecules get through.

To accomplish the intended goal, the cartridges must be changed before the contaminant breakthrough exceeds the PEL. Adding a safety factor is another way to limit worker exposure. Further in this discussion we will explore the impact of temperature, worker breathing rates and humidity on the service life of cartridges. When determining the cartridge change schedule, the Program Manager estimates these parameters based on past experience and knowledge of the worksite. In the real world, these factors will vary from day to day, morning to afternoon, and from one job site to another. Adding a 10% or 20% safety factor – reducing the actual time cartridges are used – helps to offset swings in humidity, variations in workers breathing rate and other environmental factors that are beyond our control.

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Once again, using MDI and the same original parameters, this time we change the Safety Factor from 0% to 50%. This cuts the cartridge change schedule in half as shown in Table 4. This change has the biggest impact, but it could also be the most critical if other factors like ambient temperature, relative humidity and contaminant concentration are best estimates but not entirely known.

Contaminant Concentrations And Air-Flow The higher the concentration of a contaminant in the atmosphere, the shorter the service life of a cartridge.

This impact is demonstrated in Table 5.

Another factor that can shorten the life of a cartridge is the rate of airflow through that cartridge. The faster air flows through, the more J

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contaminants are received as well.

This is easier to calculate when a PAPR is used because the flow of air is constant and fixed to deliver 4 CFM (full facepiece) or 6 CFM (hood).

It becomes more difficult when an air-purifying respirator is used. A worker’s breathing rate may be “low” if the work performed is sedentary (+30 lpm), “moderate” if the worker is moving around (+50 lpm), or “high” when the worker is exerting himself during peak periods of heavy activity, such as moving equipment or climbing stairs quickly (+70 lpm). For spray foam applications, workers’ breathing rates are probably a combination of moderate and heavy as workers set up, perform their tasks, and move around the job site. Table 6 shows the influence of breathing rate on cartridge breakthrough times.

One must also account for differences in workers’ physical fitness. Those

who are out of shape, smoke or are otherwise not as fit are likely to breathe heavier during short bursts of activity than workers who are in better physical condition. The Respiratory Program Manager will need to decide if the change schedule should accommodate the worst case or use an average, knowing that the use of safety factors will provide a sufficient cushion so all workers will be changing cartridges in plenty of time before breakthrough.

Additionally, if there is more than one contaminant, the concentrations of all the contaminants must be considered and included in the evaluation. Table 7 shows the impact of considering both HFC-245fa and MDI exposures.

Always consult the MSDS of the products you are using to make sure you have included all contaminants, even if exposure of that contaminant may be under the PEL. p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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A s obser ved in each exercise, the cartridge change schedule is shortened as any single parameter is changed, from relatively minor impacts to significant reductions in the service life of the cartridge.

Humidity And Temperature

the temperature and the greater the relative humidity, the shorter the life of the cartridge. There are some chemicals, such as ammonia and acid gases, that bond to water molecules and as a result, the higher the humidity, the longer the cartridge life in such instances.

Temperature and humidity have an impact on the ability of carbon to adsorb the gas or vapor as shown in Tables 8 and 9. When the exposure is to organic vapors, the higher

In many ways, temperature and humidity are the most critical factors after contaminant concentration, because temperature and humidity are beyond our control, and can

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fluctuate greatly from day to day and job to job. Temperature and humidity are also critical since they affect the actual cartridge service life, and not just the change schedule set using safety factors and breakthrough percentage.

So let’s summarize the impact of each variable on cartridges’ service life in Table 10. For the contaminants selec ted for this exercise, the addition of a second contaminant had the greatest impact on the

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cartridge service life followed by the concentration of the contaminant, the humidity and the worker breathing rate. The % variance will vary with different contaminants and other factors such as the type of sorbent used in the cartridges.

Theoretical Basis For Calculation Of Cartridge Service Life To review, we have several factors that affect the service life of a cartridge and the final calculation: J

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1. Number and identity of all contaminants present 2. C o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f t h o s e contaminants 3. The kind of cartridge used (type of carbon) 4. T h e b r e a k t h r o u g h p o i n t (usinginitial, total breakthrough or a percent of breakthrough) 5. Any safety factors used by the Respiratory Program Manager 6. Worker breathing rate or rate of air pulled through by a PAPR 7. Humidity 8. Temperature

If the chemicals are organic vapors, once all these factors are known, or in some cases (e.g. humidity), estimated, the information can be placed into a formula to provide the service life of the cartridge. One of the more common formulas used is the Gerry O. Wood Mathematical Model [2] or variations of that model.

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guides are easy to use and most are available on line. Program Managers We = equilibrium adsorption capacity should use only the guide associated (g/g carbon) with the specific manufacturer of the W = weight of carbon adsorbent cartridge when developing general rb = bulk density of the packed bed guidelines for different types of job sites, or for a specific job site. (g/cm³)

ppb) (helper).

Q = volumetric flow rate (cm³/min)

Variables for this exercise will be temperature and humidity. The scenarios are listed in Table 11. These scenarios represent the common SPF application areas in North America (Northeast, Southwest, Southeast).

Estimated cartridge service time ratios for these scenarios are presented in Tables 12 and 13.

tb = breakthrough time (min)

Co = inlet concentration (g/cm³) Cx = exit concentration (g/cm³) This formula requires information that most manufacturers consider proprietary, such as weight of the carbon and bulk density of the carbon bed. And this formula is only applicable to organic vapors. Because of the unique nature of non-organics and the carbon beds that are used to adsorb the vapors, manufacturers have per formed tests of their cartridges to determine service life under various conditions.

To make life easier for respiratory protection users, and to provide the most accurate information available, major manufacturers of respirators provide Cartridge Service Life Estimation Guides. For the examples used in this paper, the North esLife® Cartridge Change Schedule calculator was used to estimate cartridge service life. These

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The Real World In each of the examples shown above, only one parameter was changed at a time. However, in real life – the real world in which you must operate and keep your workers safe – each job and each site brings its own unique challenges and environmental variables. As each parameter is changed, the cartridge change schedule will also change.

Changing only one parameter may affect the service life by an hour.

Changing two or more may affect it even more dramatically.

The following are some examples of probable environmental conditions that you may encounter on the job. To limit the variables, some assumptions are made: 1. HFC-245fa exposures are either 20 ppm (applicator) or 15 ppm (helper).

2. MDI exposures are either 0.05 ppm (50 ppb) (applicator) or 0.02 ppm (20

3. Worker Breathing Rate is constant at either 50 lpm (moderate) or 70 lpm (heavy).

4. Breakthrough and Safety Factors are constant at 10% and 0%, respectively.

The range in service life is dramatic.

In the worst case, working outside with temperatures up to 120 ºF, high humidity and heavy exertion, cartridges only last approximately 20% of the baseline. For the best case, with moderate temperature, humidity and exertion, cartridges last approximately twice as long.

This is just one exercise and is only intended to serve as an example of the impact on service life that all the variables discussed above – ones under our control and ones that are completely out of our control – can have on the service life of cartridges.

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Other Factors To Consider The focus of this paper has been to consider the impact of environmental conditions, contaminant concentrations and worker breathing rates on setting a cartridge change schedule. However, these are not the only factors that need to be considered. Other factors to consider include: Chemicals with no or low odor thresholds l Chemicals that are desensitizers l Chemicals with low boiling points l

Changing Filters If one is using air-purifying or powered air-purifying respirators during SPF applications, the OV cartridge must also include a particulate filter.

This may be a pre-filter that may be changed independently from the cartridge, or the filter may be incorporated into the cartridge.

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Filters must be changed as they become clogged. If an air-purifying respirator is used, such clogging is detected by increased breathing resistance, i.e. it becomes more difficult for the wearer to breathe.

If a powered air-purifying respirator is used, the wearer will experience decreased air flow, or if the PAPR includes a low-flow alarm, there will be an alert from that alarm.

There is a probabilit y in SPF applications that filters may need to be changed more frequently than the OV cartridge. If the filter is a replaceable pre-filter this can be achieved without changing the cartridge. Filter/ cartridge combinations, sometimes referred to as “piggybacks�, require changing both the filter and cartridge together.

Conclusion There are many factors that will affect the service life of a cartridge – temperature, humidity, worker

breathing r ate, number of contaminants and contaminant concentration. These factors can often have a dramatic impact on the estimated cartridge service lift.

Decisions made by the Respiratory Program Manager can also impact the cartridge change schedule.

It is beyond the scope of this paper to consider all of the potential contaminants present in various SPF products as well as other factors that may impact service life estimates.

As a result, it is critical for the Respiratory Program Manager to work closely with the suppliers of each SPF component as well as the respiratory protection equipment manufacturer to determine an appropriate cartridge change schedule for each situation presented.

REFERENCES 1. Wood, Gerry O., Estimating Service Lives of Organic Vapor Cartridges, American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal,

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(1994, January), pages 11-15.

2. Inspection Procedures for the Respiratory Protection Standard, Occupational Safety & Health Administration, July 14, 2004 Revision.

3. MDI and TDI: Safety, health and the Environment. A source book and practice guide D.C. Gilbert, D.S. Gilbert and S.M. Outerside. ISBN 0-471-95812-3;. John Wiley & Sons.page 302 4. MDI/Polymeric MDI Emissions Reporting Guidelines For the Polyurethane Industry, Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry, American Plastics Council, Arlington, VA, 1999 (available at http://www.polyurethane. org/news_pubs/api_literature/mdi_ reporting.pdf).

5. Booth, K., B. Cummings, W. Karoly et al.

2009. “Measurements of Airborne Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate (MDI) Concentration in the U.S. Workplace,” J. Occup. Env. Hyg. 6: 228–238 6. Lesage, J., J. Stanley, W.J. Karoly, and F.W. Lichtenberg. 2007. “Airborne Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate (MDI)Concentrations Associated with the Application of Polyurethane Spray Foam in Residential Construction”, J. Occup.Environ. Hyg. 4:145–155.

7. K. Blair, M. Bogdan, E. Jenson, Monitoring of HFC-245fa Exposure in Spray Foam Applications, CPI Technical Conference2010 8. M. Spence, The Current MDI Industrial Hygiene Data on Spray Foam, CPI 2009

Biographies Kevin Blair Kevin Blair is the Global Product Stewardship Leader for Honeywell’s Fluorine Products business unit. Since joining Honeywell in 1984, he has held several positions in the health, safety and environmental field. Currently, he provides product stewardship and regulatory compliance support for the fluorine-based products manufactured and sold by Honeywell.

Kevin has earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is a Six Sigma Green belt.

Mary Bogdan Mary Bogdan is a Sr. Principal Scientist J

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for Honeywell working at the Fluorine Products Buffalo Research facility.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry and an MBA from Canisius College. Since joining Honeywell in 1989, Mary has held numerous positions in research and development. She currently supports the fluorine products blowing agent business leading application research projects and provides blowing agent technical service to the global spray foam industry. She is a Six Sigma Black belt. She has over 20 US patents and has numerous published technical articles on the development and use of fluorocarbons as foam blowing agents. She is currently a member of the SPFA Board of Directors.

Lynn Feiner

working directly with customers.

William Robert William P. Robert received his Masters in Occupational and Environmental Health from Wayne State University in 1981 and became a Certified Industrial Hygienist in 1990. He currently works for BASF Corporation Polyurethanes Group as the Manager of Product Stewardship. He has been active in Product Stewardship Outreach to down stream users through various Polyurethane Trade Groups such as the International Isocyanate Institute, the American Chemistry Council’s Diisocyanates Panel, Spray Polyurethane Foam Association and the Center for the Polyurethane Industry.

Lynn Feiner is the Product Line Leader for Respiratory Protec tion at Honeywell Safety Products, with a focus on air-purif ying , p owere d airpurif ying and supplied air respirators.

Lynn Feiner has a BA from the Univer sit y of Rhode Island.

She has been in the s afet y industry for over 20 years, the majority of those years with North Safety Products.

Lynn has held various positions within S ales and Marketing, including several years in the field p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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Enviroment & Safety Advances in Halogen based Fire Retardant Additives for Polyurethane Foams Dr. Harpal Singh Scientist, Fire Research Laboratory, CSIR-Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee-247667, Uttarakhand, India.

Introduction

through dehydrogenation reactions.

H

(3) Formation of hydrogen halides non-combustible protective layer which acts as barrier between the fuel gas and condensed phases.

alogen based fire retardant additives have great fire retardant efficiency and even more effective when used in combination with other metal oxide.1-3 Halogen additives with metal oxides produce synergistic effect on the flammability and thermal properties which resulted into enhanced fire retardancy of the polymers.4-6 A wide variety of halogencontaining products have been reported in the technical literature as fire retardants for polyurethane foams.7 The effectiveness of halogen containing fire retardants increases in the order F<Cl<Br<I. Fluorine and iodine based fire retardants are not used in practice because fluorine has strong bond to carbon and iodine is attached to carbon so loosely. Out of the two remaining halogens bromine is more effective than chlorine due to its weaker bonding to carbon which enables it to interfere at a more favorable point in the combustion process. 8 Chlorine and bromine can be used alone or combined in combination with synergistic metal oxides, metal salts, phosphorus containing compounds and high charring agents. Petrella9 and DixonLewis10 have suggested three basic mechanisms of fire retardant action of halogen containing compounds in polyurethane foams: (1) Generation of lower energy freeradical chain-terminating agents.

(2) Promotion of char formation 36

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degradation products but cause the appearance of the toxic volatile products at lower temperature.

Table 1: Average Fire Retardant Elements Requirement for Polyurethane Foam

Halogens Elements Percentage Required containing fire retardant Phosphorus 1.5 additives are less Phosphorus + Nitrogen 0.9-1.4 + 4 – 5 effective than Chlorine 18 – 20 phosphorus Bromine 12 – 14 fire retardant Phosphorus + Chlorine 1 + 10 – 15 additives in Phosphorus + Bromine 0.5 – 4 – 7 polyurethane Chlorine + antimony chloride 4 + 4 f o a m s . 7 Bromine + antimony chloride 2.5 + 2.5 T h e ave r a g e quantities of fire retardant elements required Chlorinated additives to render polyurethane foams selfextinguishing are shown in Table 1. To The principal chlorine-containing fire achieve satisfactory fire retardancy retardant compounds in commercial in polyurethane foams, a relatively use are chlorinated hydrocarbons high level of halogen additives is or chlorinated cycloaliphatics. The needed together with the metal main disadvantage of chlorinated oxide synergists, which can lead fire retardants is that they have to inferior mechanical properties. to be utilized in quantities which High concentrations of fire retardant adversely affect the foam properties halogen additives at least partly are in order to provide a sufficient level responsible for reducing the stability of fire retardance. Cycloaliphatics of the polymer. A main disadvantage chlorine compounds are stable up of some halogenated fire retardants to 2600C and have found wide spread in polyurethane foams is that they are application as reactive fire retardants. extremely susceptible to hydrolysis, Technical publications and patent hence foam must be manufactured literature on reactive chlorinated by methods which exclude water fire retardants have described completely. Another disadvantage that hexachloroendomethylene is their ability to produce corrosive tetrahydrophthalic acid is the most combustion products. Halogen widely used chlorinated fire retardant containing fire retardants do not for polyurethane foams. change the composition of the main J

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It is a reaction adduct of maleic anhydride and hexachloroc yclopentadiene or tetrachlorophthalic acid containing about 35% chlorine formed by Diels Alder reaction. Tetrachlorophthalic acid and derivatives of chlorinated bisphenol-A are also used as reactive fire retardants. They are used to give about 18-20% chlorine which is enough to render polyurethane foams fire retardant. Other chlorinated products tried in urethane foams are hexachlorometax ylene, pentachlorophenol with epichlorohydrin and chlorinated polyisobutylene.7 The fire retardant p e r fo r m an c e o f c hl o r in ate d compounds can be enhanced further when they are used with an appropriate synergist. The choice of synergist generally is made from amongst antimony trioxide, ferric oxide, zinc oxide or zinc borate. The antimony-halogen molar ratio 1:3 was found to yield optimal synergistic effect. Approximately 20% chlorine is required in urethane foams to produce non-burning foam but when used in combination with Sb4O6, chlorine level reduced considerably.

Dezzinger et al11 suggested that 4.4% Sb 4O6 plus 3.8% chlorine are adequate to produce fire retardant foam. In another publication 6.3% Sb4O6 plus 7% chlorine are enough to produce non-flammable urethane foam.12 The use of 5.9% Sb4O6 reduces the chlorine requirement to 2.4% in chlorinated polyether polyol to produce urethane foam with equal fire retardance.13

diamine in automotive and other foam applications. Farrissey et al14 prepared fire retardant rigid urethane foam using a blend of 4,4,4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;trichloro-2-bromobutyl isocyanate (1 part) and PAPI (3 parts) with polyester polyol. Polyurethane foams containing trichlorophenol 11.7%, 10.8% in combination with 5%, 2.8% antimony trioxide have burning rates 0.6 mm/sec and 1.03 mm/sec and rated self-extinguishing by ASTM D1692.15 Polyether polyols modified with 3,3,3-trichloropropylene oxide (TCPO) reactive fire retardant based urethane foams were classified nonburning by ASTM D1692 and pass flame penetration and ASTM E-84 tests.16 Urethane foams based on 4,4,4-trichloro-1,2-butylene oxide

(TCBO) modified polyol generate less smoke and characterized by their ability to meet the requirements of flammability tests ASTM D1692 and ASTM E-84 without affecting physical properties.17 Pielichowski et al18 studied the thermal degradation and flammability of 3-chloro-1,2propanediol based urethane foam using TGA, DSC and LOI. Urethane foam containing 40% chlorinated diol shows enhanced initial decomposition temperature from 106 to 2060C, char residue from 20 to 34% and LOI values from 20.5 to 25.8. The introduction of chlorinated diol in urethane foam caused an increase of LOI values which increase with an increase of initial decomposition temperature and char residue. Flexible urethane

Table 2. Chlorinated Fire Retardant additives and their synergistic combinations

Polyurethane foam incorporated with 3,3â&#x20AC;&#x2122;-dichloro-4,4â&#x20AC;&#x2122;-diamino diphenylmethane shows good fire retardancy and passes the MVSS-302 test for motor vehicles. However, considering their nature from health hazard point of view led to the elimination of chlorinated J

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foams incorporated with tetrakis(2chloroethyl)ethylene diphosphate (30% chlorine and 13% phosphorus) show increased thermal stabilities confirm by TGA and reduced burning rates in ASTM D1692 and MVSS-302 standard tests.19 This fire retardant additive remains initially inert during foam processing and interact with the foam during the burning process.

The incorporation of trans-1,2 dichloroethylene improves the fire performance of urethane foams.20 Some chlorinated fire retardant additives for polyurethane foams disclosed in the patent literature are presented in Table 2.

Brominated additives There are far fewer non-patent literature references on brominated fire retardants in polyurethane foams. Bromine compounds are better fire retardants than chlorine compounds since they are used in lower concentrations. Brominated fire retardants affect the physical and mechanical properties less than chlorinated fire retardant compounds. Brominated compounds do not bleed and can be readily incorporated as both reactive and additive fire retardants. Aliphatics and cycloaliphatics are the main bromine containing fire retardants.

Cycloaliphatic bromine compounds are superior fire retardants than aliphatic bromine compounds because they provide high degree of fire retardance to polyurethane foams. Rigid urethane foams based on tetrabromoendomethylene tetrahydrophthalic anhydride 24, 2,3- dibromo -1-propanol 25 and brominated allyl glucoside polyether26 exhibit good fire resistance and humidit y ageing. Pape et al 27 reported a series of results with a polyol from tetrabromophthalic 38

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anhydride polyester to produce nonburning urethane foam however, it cannot be used in prepackaged foam systems due to insolubility of Sb 4O6 which has a tendency to settle down. The addition of 2% and 5% dibromoneopentyl glycol (DBNG) into the urethane foams increases the LOI value from 19.5 to 20.4 and 20.8 respectively. These foams produced 58% char at 3000C, 25% char at 500 0C and rated selfextinguishing by ASTM D1692-67T. A series of bromine containing polyols such as 3,4-dibromocyclohexane-1,1dimethanol, brominated propylene oxide adducts of 3-cyclohexene1,1-dimethanol, tetrabromophthalic anhydr ide /die thanolamine propylene oxide amide - e s ter adducts, β,γ-dihydroxypropyl 2,3,7,8tetrabromooctyl ether and 1,2,5,6tetrabromo-3,4-dihydroxyhexane were studied for their fire retarding efficiency when incorporated as part of the polymer in flexible and rigid urethane foams. 28 The LOI values of 2.0% and 2.5% bromine containing urethane foam increase to 21.0 and 21.2 respectively which are further rated self-extinguishing

by ASTM D1692. Urethane foams containing about 3.0% bromine from brominated polyols show slightly lower porosity, 91% compression sets and somewhat greater load-bearing properties and tensile strength.

Walch and Lesceux 29 studied the fire performance of rigid urethane foam modified with IXOL B251 halogenated polyether polyol (Br 32%, Cl 6.8%, P 1.1%) as permanent active fire retardant using oxygen index test ASTM D2863, smoke density chamber test ASTM E662, Butler chimney test ASTM 30145, DIN 4102 B2 and tunnel test ASTM E-84. The resultant rigid urethane foam was rated class-I in Butler chimney test, low flame spread with a retained weight higher

than 85% and LOI values from 24 to 26. When urethane foams were incorporated with non-reactive brominated additives, then 8-10% bromine produces self-extinguishing foam, whereas, 12-14% bromine gives non-burning foam.7 These bromine quantities are reduced considerably when used in combination with antimony trioxide. More attention has been paid in the literature to the fire retardant effectiveness of aliphatic and aromatic bromine compounds in urethane foams.

Conventional rigid urethane foam has LOI value 20.5 however, this value increases to 22.7, 22.8, 22.6, 22.7, 22.8, 22.6, 22.7, 22.7 and 22.4 when incorporated with 2,3-dibromopropyl ether, 1,2,3,4-tetrabromobutane, 4 - ( 1, 2 - d i b r o m o e t h y l ) -1, 2 dibromoc yclohexane, 1, 2,5,6 tetrabromocyclooctane, 1,2,5,6,7,10hexabromocyclododecane, 2,2bis(bromoethyl)-3-bromopropanol, 2 , 2 - b i s ( b r o m o m e t h y l ) -1 , 3 propanediol, dibromopropyl ether of tetrabromo bisphenol-A and hexabromobiphenyl respectively.

The prepared rigid foams contain 7.5% bromine however, the difference in their ox ygen inde x value s show that aliphatic brominated compounds are more effective than aromatic brominated compounds.30 Pentabrominated diphenyl ethers are also used predominantly to fire retarded urethane foams. 31 Theodore et al32 have found that decabromodiphenyl oxide (DBDPO) containing 83.3% bromine when used as an inert fire retardant additive is quite effective in thermoset polyester resin, an important ingredient of urethane foams. DBDPO has high bromine content, excellent thermal stability, minimum effect on physical properties and less toxicity. DBDPO and antimony oxide combination exhibits low heat release rate and J

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smoke release rate in flexible PU foam under cone calorimeter. 33 Brominated reactive and additive fire retardants disclosed in the patent literature are shown in Tables 3.

modified with phosphorus based fire retardant additives.

Acknowledgement Author is grateful to Director, CSIR-

Table 3. Reactive and additive brominated fire retardant additives

Conclusions Chlorinated and brominated halogen additives together with some metal oxide synergists are extensively studied and presented in many publications and patent literature.

Halogenated fire retardants are not always feasible for use in urethane foams because rather high levels of addition are required which often leads to a significant decrease of physical and mechanical properties.

Halogens containing fire retardant additives are less effective than phosphorus fire retardant additives in polyurethane foams. Phosphorus based fire retardant additives have synergistic effect with nitrogen which increases the fire performance of phosphorus compounds. But halogen modified urethane foams generate less smoke of low toxicity than foams J

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Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee for his kind support and encouragement.

References 1. Follmann, W.; Wober, J. Toxicology Letters 2006, 161, 124-134 2. Beyer, G.; Journal of Fire Sciences 2007, 25, 65-78 3. Zatorski, W.; Brzozowski, Z. K.; Kolbrecki, A. Polym Degrad and Stab. 2008, 93, 2071–2076 4. S. Román-Lorza, M.A. Rodriguez-Perez, J.A. De Saja Sáez and J. Zurro, Journal of Cellular Plastics 2010, 46, 259-279 5. Singh, H.; Jain, A. K. J Appl Polym Sci 2009, 111, 1115.

6. Singh, H.; Jain, A. K.; Sharma, T. P. J Appl Polym Sci 2008, 109, 2718.

7. Kurt, C. F.; Reegen, S. L. Flame Retardant Polymeric Materials, Lewin, M., Plenum Press, New York, 1975, 291-336.

8. Jurgen, T. Plastic Flammability Handbook, Mac Millan Publishing Co, New York, 1982, 45-63.

9. Petrella, Flame Retardant Polymeric Materials, Vol.2, Plenum Press, New York,

1978.

10. Dixon-Lewis, G. Combustion and Flame 1979, 36, 1-14.

11. Dezzinger, E. R.; Dickert, E. A.; Wiles, R. A. (assigned to Allied Chemical Corp.), Belg Pat. 657423, 1965.

12. Jolles, Z. E.; Riley, B. J. (assigned to F.W. Berk & Co.Ltd.), Brit Pat. 1079984, 1967.

13. Postol, S. M. (assigned to Union Carbide Corp.), US Pat. 3260637, 1966.

14. Farrissey, W. J. (assigned to Upjohn Co.), US Pat. 3437680, 1969.

15. Jolles, Z. E. Plast Inst Trans. J Conf Suppl.

1967, 2, 3.

16. Vogt, H. C.; Davis, P. Polym Eng Sci 1971, 11, 312.

17. Sedlak, J. S.; Raynor, R. J. Fire Retardants, International Symposium on Flammability and Fire Retardants, Bhatnagar, V. M. 1976, 228-240.

18. Pielichowski, K.; Pielichowski, J.; Prociak, A. J Appl Polym Sci 1998, 67, 1465.

19. Babiec, J. S.; Pitts, J. J.; Ridenour, W. L.; Turley, R. J. Fire Retardants, International Symposium on Flammability and Fire Retardants, Bhatnagar, V. M. 1974, 1-21.

20. Wu, J.; Bertelo, C.; Caron, L. J Cell Plast 2005, 41,15.

21. Kuehn, E. (assigned to Atlas Chemical Industries), US Pat. 3766242, 1973.

22. Farrissey, W. J.; Recchia, F. P.; Sayigh, A. A. R. (assigned to The Upjohn Company), US Pat. 3437680, 1969.

23. Handa, S.; Tanaka, Y.; Nishibata, A.; Inamoto, Y. (assigned to Kao Soap Company Limited, Japan), US Pat. 3920644, 1975.

24. Lyon, C. K.; Applewhite, T. H. (assigned to Secretary of Agriculture), US Pat. 33466253, 1962.

25. Kurlya.; Knopf. (assigned to Union Carbide Corporation), US Pat. 3467607, 1969.

26. Othey, F. H.; Westhoff, R. P.; Mehltretter, C. L. J Cell Plast 1972, 8, 156.

27. Pape, P. G.; Sanger, J. E.; Nametz, R. C. J Cell Plast 1968, 4, 438.

28. Papa, A. J.; Proops, W. R. J Appl Polym Sci 1973, 17, 2463.

29. Walch, P.; Lesceux, G. J Fire Sci 1985, 3, 35.

30. Batorewicz, W.; Hughes, K. A. International Symposium on Flammability and Fire Retardants, Bhatnagar, V. M. 1974, 22-37.

31. Hale, R. C.; Guardia, M. J. L.; Harvey, E.; Mainor, T. M. Chemosphere 2002, 46, 729.

32. Theodore, T. E.; Burgman, S. International Symposium on Flammability and Fire Retardants, Bhatnagar, V. M. 1974, 162-179.

33. Jayakody, C.; Myers, D.; Sorathia, U.; Nelson, G. L. J Fire Sci 2000, 18, 430.

34. Allen, J. K. (assigned to Standard Oil Company), US Pat. 3933700, 1976.

35. Baldino, J. P.; Feltzin, J. (assigned to ICI United States Inc), US Pat. 3919128, 1975.

36. Sukman, E. L.; Touval, I. (assigned to M &T Chemicals Inc), US Pat. 3755214, 1973.

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IPUA Ventures HPMP Program

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PUA along with our member Honeywell is planning another seminar on NEXT GENERATION OF BLOWING AGENTS at New Delhi on 25th May 2012. This is a follow up program based on the earlier program conducted in February in Mumbai. This program will update blowing agent users on the new emerging technologies.

The IPUA blue print for the HPMP has been submitted to the Ozone Cell and UNDP and is awaiting their clearance.

Insulation forum â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for use of pu foam in green buildings The IPUA has taken the lead in the formation of Indian Insulation Forum.

This forum will interact with the BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) and try to evolve guidelines for insulation in commercial buildings with a view to maximize energy efficiency and later evolve passive buildings which help protect the environment.

Segment Activities

To enhance the fraternal bond amongst members it has been decided to have a members get together in New Delhi on the 16th August 2012. The details will be intimated individually once the programme is finalized. Members are requested to mark their calendar for this date and make it convenient to attend this get together and share their views and suggestions with the Ex Com and others.

This forum will interact with the BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) and try to evolve guidelines for insulation in commercial buildings with a view to maximize energy efficiency and later evolve passive buildings which help protect the environment

Global Working Group In order to synchronize all the activities regarding polyurethanes all over the world a Global Working Group has been formed few years back. This group had its 3rd meeting at Maastricht, Netherlands during UTECH Europe and your Association participated in the deliberations.

Associations from Europe, USA, Japan, Korea, China, Thailand and India met to evolve a uniform approach towards sustainability and growth for the polyurethane industry across the world. It was decided to have Association from Latin America for the next meeting. The ASEAN region Associations decided to meet more frequently since issues pertaining to this region are similar.

Subscription reminder Subscription reminders have been mailed to members wherever applicable. Kindly arrange to send in your remittance promptly so that all the above activities are sustained and improved upon.

The various segment groups are in the process of drawing up specific plans of action for growth along with sustainability.

Magazine Matters The magazine remains the best communic ation bet we en the members and it is strongly urged that all the members contribute inputs to the magazine to make it more effective.

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Economic Update Rupee to hit 56 in near term, says Barclays Capital

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euters Market Eye - Barclays Capital expects spot rupee to hit 56 in one month and then subsequently rise only to 54 within three months; the USD/INR is currently at 54.85.

BarCap cites “high” sensitivity to global market sentiment, “limited” appetite for the RBI intervention and “weak” macro fundamentals, in a reported dated May 17.

The rupee will gain to 48/dlr in one year, BarCap also forecasts.

BarCap’s near-term rupee view is much more bearish than a Reuters poll this week, which shows consensus forecast at 53.41 by end of June.

Rupee to hit 56 in near term

RBI to defend rupee from falling further

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umbai/Kolkata, May 18 (IANS) The rupee recovered after falling to its third straight daily record low against dollar Friday and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) promised more intervention to curb any future slide.

‘What we really want to ensure is stability...that is the objective of both of our interventions and the other administrative actions that have been taken,’ RBI Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn told reporters on the sidelines of a programme organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) here.

‘Containing volatility is clearly our objective,’ he added.

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The rupee slumped to a new intraday low of 54.91 against a dollar during the day. This was the third consecutive record low of rupee in the last three days. The rupee had hit a low of 54.60 against a dollar Thursday, surpassing previous day’s record of 54.52.

The rupee recovered in late trading and ended the day at 54.42 against a dollar compared to Thursday’s close at 54.47.

Gokarn claimed the steps taken by the central bank had helped in stabilising the rupee. ‘If we need to take more steps, clearly that will be in that direction.’

Increased demand for the US currency from importers and capital outflows was adding pressure on the Indian currency. It has fallen over 10 percent since its February peak.

Gokarn said the rupee was under severe pressure in the last three days largely due to global factors arising out of political uncertainty in Greece.

‘Now in the last two or three days, the pressure has been global. Rupee responds to very strong global forces,’ he said.

The RBI has taken a series of measures in the last few weeks to curb the rupee slide. The RBI has asked banks to sell half of the foreign currencies in their accounts. In a bid to attract J

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money from overseas, the RBI has raised interest ceiling that local banks can offer to overseas Indians in forex accounts.

The RBI has opened a direct dollar window for oil companies, which are worst hit because of the weakness in the domestic currency as they have to pay higher money for the same

quantum of import. ‘At the same time, we do not want to come in the way of any end-use of foreign currencies which the importers or anybody else would fight for its constraints,’ Gokarn said.

‘So, we want to balance for these objectives...we want to be sure that when we take any action, there is

some hope for impact,’ he said, adding that currently the country’s foreign exchange reserves were not a cause for worry.

‘We have reserves that adequately cover our obligations...so that in mind the reserve adequacy is something that I think we should not be worrying for,’ he added.

India to get gas from Turkmenistan

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ew Delhi, May 17 (IANS) India will now get natural gas from the Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan after the union cabinet Thursday approved its purchase through the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-PakistanIndia (TAPI) pipeline project.

The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the proposal of the ministry of petroleum and natural gas to permit GAIL (India) Ltd. to sign the gas sale

and purchase agreement (GSPA) with TurrnenGas, Turkmenistan’s national oil company for the TAPI project.

The pipeline is expected to be operational in 2017 and supply gas over a 30 years’ period.

The TAPI project is envisaged to be 1,680-km pipeline (144 km in Turkmenistan, 735 km in Afghanistan and 800 km in Pakistan) with a capacity to carry 90 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCMD) of gas, with 38 MMSCMD each for India and Pakistan and the remaining 14 MMSCMD for Afghanistan.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have committed to the safety and security of the pipeline through the InterGovernmental Agreement and the Gas Purchase Framework Agreement signed among the four countries in December 2010.

Source: IANS

U.S. Notes Europe’s Progress in Easing Its Debt Crisis March 21, 2012

By ANNIE LOWREY

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ASHINGTON — For the United States, the looming threat from the long-simmering European sovereign debt crisis seems finally to have started to subside.

European leaders did not combat the crisis with the force American policy makers had urged. But a Continentwide agreement to slash deficits and lifelines tossed to European banks have helped reduce borrowing costs, and Washington now seems to be breathing a tentative sigh of relief.

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Serious concerns remain about Europe’s impact on financial markets and growth, the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, and the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, said Wednesday in testimony before the House oversight committee. But Europe has made progress in assuring investors of the safety of the euro and ensuring that all euro zone economies retain financing for their debts at sustainable rates.

“In the past few months, financial stresses in Europe have lessened, which has contributed to an improved

tone of financial markets around the world, including in the United States,” Mr. Bernanke said.

Mr. Geithner said, “The European economies at the center of the crisis have made very significant progress.”

In Europe, bond yields have dropped in Italy and France, among other countries. Action by the European Central Bank, par ticularly the long-term refinancing operations that provide cheap financing for cash-starved banks, has shored up p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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European banks. Fears that a crisis over sovereign debt might turn into a crisis over the viability of the euro have largely evaporated. The threat to the United States has diminished in turn, buoying economic confidence.

Despite those positive trends, the policy makers said the troubles in Europe would continue to depress American growth. The euro zone entered a period of economic contraction at the end of 2011.

Countries like Spain are still struggling with the toxic combination of high borrowing costs, nonexistent growth and austerity budgeting.

That means fewer customers for American goods, less European investment in American markets and continued concerns about financial stability – given that the euro area accounts for nearly one in every five dollars of global economic output, and the United States and the European Union account for about a third of global trade flows.

Even if Europe avoids financial catastrophe, it “is still growing on average at very weak levels, and that will mean that growth in the United States is weaker than it otherwise would be,” Mr. Geithner said.

But Mr. Bernanke tried to allay fear among members of Congress about American exposure to the crisis.

American financial institutions have “limited exposure” to the euro zone’s periphery, he said, but retain “more material” exposure to the bigger core countries, including France and Italy. Money market funds in the United States remain “structurally vulnerable,” Mr. Bernanke said, given that European holdings represent about one-third of their assets.

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Even if Europe avoids financial catastrophe, it “is still growing on average at very weak levels, and that will mean that growth in the United States is weaker than it otherwise would be,” Mr. Geithner said United States, asked Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California and the chairman of the committee, referring to the American insurer that received a multibillion-dollar bailout.

“We don’t see any similar problem,” said Mr. Bernanke, citing recent stress tests of American financial institutions.

Mr. Geithner maintained that the United States was in a “much stronger position than the Continent as a whole.” He cited the relative youth of the American work force and health and welfare provisions that are less costly than those in Europe.

He also said that the United States had a better growth outlook than Europe because it had been “much more aggressive” in responding to its financial crisis.

Several lawmakers suggested that the United States could follow the path of unstable European countries like Greece because of its significant debt load.

Mr. Geithner said that there was “no basis for comparison” to Greece. Mr. Bernanke agreed, noting that Greece

does not control its own currency and has a smaller and less diverse economy than the United States.

Mr. Bernanke also defended the role of the United States in aiding the Europeans. The Federal Reserve has been pumping dollars into the European financial system, now about $65 billion, to help combat the crisis. That has helped strengthen the European financial system and the global financial system, and improved confidence, he said.

He said he was confident there was virtually no risk the United States would lose money on those dollar liquidity swap lines. “We’re not taking any credit risk. We’re not taking any foreign-exchange risk. The chances of losing any money are very low.”

He and Mr. Geithner emphasized that Europe needed to finish its 500 billion euro, or $661 billion, firewall — a pool of cash to fight off any speculative attacks on weaker euro zone members — to ensure that the crisis did not intensify again.

Recently, world leaders have expressed concern that the relative calm in the markets might reduce the urgency to complete a strong bailout mechanism for countries having trouble financing themselves on the debt markets, stabilizing heavily indebted countries and bolstering growth.

European leaders are close to adding more money to their firewall at the prodding of the I.M.F. and the United States, Group of 20 officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Mr. Geithner reiterated that there were no plans to ask Congress for more money for the I. M. F. and said Europe had the resources to end its crisis.

Source: New York Times p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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Economic Update Merkel, Hollande promise joint growth strategy

By Stephen Brown and Noah Barkin

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ERLIN (Reuters) - New French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged differences on Tuesday over how to boost growth in recessionplagued Europe, but pledged to forge a joint approach in time for an EU summit next month.

The Socialist Hollande jetted to Berlin only hours after being sworn in to meet Merkel, a conservative, for the first time, arriving over an hour late after his plane was hit by lightning and he was forced to return briefly to Paris.

The meeting was being closely watched for signs the leaders of Europe’s biggest economies will be able to move beyond a war of words over how to resolve the debt crisis that now threatens to tear apart the 13-year-old currency bloc.

Supported by others in southern Europe, Hollande has vowed to shift the focus to growth and reopen a tough new set of budget rules that Merkel and other EU leaders agreed to adopt earlier this year - a step considered taboo in Berlin.

“I said it during my election campaign

and I say it again now as president that I want to renegotiate what has been agreed to include a growth dimension,” Hollande told a joint news conference with Merkel at the Chancellery in the German capital.

Merkel’s five-year double act with Sarkozy earned the duo the moniker “Merkozy” for their close cooperation during Europe’s debt crisis. The new Franco-German couple - referred to by some as “Merkollande” - took care to play down their differences on Tuesday, hoping to send a signal of unity at a time when speculation is growing that Greece may have to exit the euro zone and return to the drachma.

“Growth has to feed through to the people. And that’s why I’m happy that we’ll discuss different ideas on how to achieve growth,” Merkel said.

They said the goal was to present joint proposals at a European Union summit in late June.

Hollande later flew back to Paris. He is due in Washington later in the week to meet U.S. President Barack Obama ahead of G8 and NATO summits at Camp David and Chicago.

Hollande finds himself in the hot seat from day one. Earlier on Tuesday, Greece abandoned a nine-day hunt for a government and called a new election that could hand victory next month to leftists opposed to the terms of the country’s EU/IMF bailout.

A growing number of policymakers in Europe have warned over the past week that if Greece does not stick to the budget cuts and structural reforms agreed with its international lenders, it may have no future in the currency bloc.

Both Merkel and Hollande said they wanted Athens to remain a part of the euro project and stood ready to explore ways to support the Greek economy so it could return to growth: “Like Mrs. Merkel, I want Greece to remain in the euro zone,” Hollande said.

(Additional reporting by Andreas Rinke, Gareth Jones and Annika Breidthardt in Berlin and Elizabeth Pineau and Catherine Bremer in Paris; Writing by Noah Barkin; Editing

by Alastair Macdonald)

Key political risks to watch in India

By Frank Jack Daniel

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EW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s economy is exposed to an extended euro zone crisis and policy paralysis at home, while the coalition government is under tremendous strain from scandals and rebellious coalition partners.

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The risk of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s second term being cut short before a general election due in 2014 is low, but cannot be ruled out.

The 2012/13 budget, delivered in March, shied away from commitments to bold reform, its cautious tone reflecting the government’s frailty.

The failure of Congress party in state elections in early March, and a looming fight over the cheap sale of coalfields have put him and the party under even more pressure.

Following is a summary of key political risks in India:

Scandals, Electoral Failure Lurching from crisis to crisis for more J

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than a year, Prime Minister Singh’s government has a new front to deal with in the form of a looming fight over the low-priced sales of coalfields in his first term. A draft report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India leaked to a newspaper estimated lost revenue of $211 billion from the sales, but the CAG has since backed away from that number.

All parties will now wait for the final report to be tabled in parliament, when the government will once again be put under severe pressure.

Rahul Gandhi, son of current party leader Sonia Gandhi, utterly failed to deliver a promised comeback for the Congress party in crucial state elections in early March, casting fresh doubt on his capacity to become the next member of a dynasty to lead the country.

The party’s flop in Uttar Pradesh has reduced Singh’s scope to re-launch reforms and reverse a slowdown in economic growth.

Anger at Singh’s poor performance is rising, with some talk in the Indian media that he will not survive as prime minister until 2014 elections.

That is unlikely, and the government could probably also muster the support to survive a no-confidence vote. Also helping the government is the lack of appetite among the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a general election before 2014. Despite Singh’s woes, it is by no means clear the BJP has won over sufficient voters to its Hindu nationalist cause.

Party Chief Sonia Gandhi, who is at least as influential as the prime minister, has made more public appearances of late, but shed no light on her illness, which some Indian media reports say is cancer.

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What to watch: CAG’s report on coal, which has the potential to be even bigger than the telecoms scandal that rocked the government last year. No evidence of wrongdoing has yet emerged. l The Gandhi dynasty. Rahul Gandhi has yet to prove himself an effective politician; raising concerns he will struggle to lead the party if his mother steps down. l

Economic Malaise, Budget Fails To Inspire The stock market fell in response to Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee’s annual budget on March 16, seen as a weak attempt at tackling the fiscal deficit, the worst among the big emerging market BRIC nations.

Mukherjee unveiled a smattering of anti-deficit measures including an increase in services and excise taxes, but dared not cut subsidies for petroleum products, which have weighed heavily on government finances especially as oil prices stay high.

Some analysts believe the government may miss its newly-set target of cutting subsidy spending to 2 percent of GDP, as well as a goal of cutting the fiscal deficit to 5.1 percent from 5.9 percent in 2011-12. In the main, the problems afflicting Asia’s third-largest economy remain unsolved.

Inflation is down sharply, but almost entirely because of a drop in volatile food prices. With the government embroiled in corruption scandals, and dealing with unreliable coalition partners, the prospects seem slim for tricky tax reform or a softening of foreign investment rules that could help deal with infrastructure bottlenecks.

An early 2012 Supreme Court order that 122 telecoms licences be revoked was deeply embarrassing for the

government, and Singh has had to roll back even modest economic measures like a railway fare rise.

The government has succeeded in passing no major legislation, leaving it with a heavy load of promised reforms to push through two fractious houses of parliament. Fickle coalition partners and a disruptive opposition mean the government is often effectively a minority when it tables bills.

Singh has promised to revive a stalled policy to allow foreign supermarkets into India, along with a corruption ombudsman. The first stage of a new tax system is planned for April. On current form, nobody should hold their breath.

India is sitting on a comfortable cushion of $300 billion in foreign reserves and a confidence-building $15 billion currency swap line with Japan was unveiled in December, so comparisons with India’s 1991 payments crisis are premature.

As ever, India’s dependence on imported, subsidised energy is a weakness, with high prices adding to pressure both on the current account and fiscal deficits. A long financial crisis in Europe could exacerbate capital outflows and further trim demand for Indian exports.

What to watch: Response to the budget, both political and economic. Moody’s Investors Service said the budget was “credit negative” and lacked new solutions to address India’s fiscal constraints.

l

Headline inflation. If price rises show a sustained slowdown, expect the monetary easing India Inc. has been demanding for months.

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Oil prices, the global economy and domestic demand.

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Previews & Reports Utech Europe 2012 – A Report The 11th UTECH EUROPE was held at Maastricht, Netherlands from the 17th April 2012 to 19th April 2012.

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o of Exhibitors: 140 - including t wo from India – Ms A S Enterprises, Delhi and Diamond Tools, Hyderabad.

No of Visitors: approx 3200 drawn from all over the world.

This event was also celebrating the 75th year of Polyurethanes and the 25th year of ISOPA (the organization of Polyol and Isocyante producers in Europe).

The event has a UTECH 2012 Conference part for which a report is separately being compiled by one of our Indian Visitors.

Isopa Activities S e cretar y- Gener al Wolfr am Fr ank today spoke at UTECH Europe, the leading international exhibition conference for the global polyurethanes industry. His speech addressed ISOPA’s past and current achievements and future opportunities and challenges for the polyurethanes industry.

ISOPA has had an immensely successful 25 years thanks to its effective advocacy, product stewardship programmes and proac tive promotion of polyurethanes’ many benefits. This owes much to the expertise and commitment of ISOPA members. Together we look forward to continuing our Vision for the next 25 years!

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standards of best practice in the distribution and use of diisocyanates and polyols through its ‘Walk the Talk’ programme. The programme focuses on the behavioral safety of everyone involved in the industry through an ongoing process of information exchange and dialogue. Its industryleading ‘One Step Ahead’ programme has encouraged the safe use of TDI by flexible foam makers in Africa and the Middle East.

Recently with its Polyurethanes ‘Vision’ campaign, ISOPA has sought to communicate how polyurethanes improve our everyday lives through their versatility, sustainability and comfort. In order to showcase the potential of polyurethanes to reduce Europe’s energy needs, ISOPA has begun construction on a low-energy Polyurethane Passive House, based in Brussels.

The Invention Of Polyurethanes In the beginning it was all about

fibers. In 1937, Dr. Otto Bayer was looking for a new synthesis strategy for fibers. After the invention of nylon the demand for synthetic fibers as a substitute for natural silk quickly grew. At that time Bayer, aged 35, was head of the Leverkusen-based central scientific laboratory of the German company then known as I.G. Farbenindustrie. He was not only interested in developing a new chemistry, but also wanted to establish a more efficient method of producing plastic that would involve a small number of simple by-products.

However, his subsequent “invention” of polyurethane (PU) chemistry based on the reaction between diisocyanates and polyols - was not a runaway success from the start.

Indeed, the idea of synthesizing plastics from isocyanates, which were known at the time to be highly reactive and therefore chemically unstable, seemed completely mad to his supervisors. Nonetheless, a patent application was submitted for p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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the research findings on November 13, 1937 and German Imperial Patent (DRP) 728.981 became the “birth certificate” for polyurethane chemistry.

Contrary to initial hopes, the first experiment s did not produce synthetic fibers - that would only come later on. The result was more of a foam with pores generated by the formation of a by-product, carbon dioxide. Otto Bayer’s supervisors were still not particularly impressed and could not see the product amounting to anything more than “a substitute for Swiss cheese.”

The 1940s - groundbreaking work for chemists and engineers the inventor and his team would not be put off. In the years that followed, they expanded their focus beyond laboratory work to investigate where the foams, fibers and elastomers from the new plastic could be used.

Quotes from the basic patents up to 1948 show that even then the

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researchers were demonstrating enormous creativity: “The porous lightweight materials are suitable as a support material in aircraft construction and shipbuilding, as an insulating material for heat, cold and noise, [...], for furnishings, tires, toys, house building, prosthetics, shoe soles and traction bandages.”

But there were still major challenges to overcome before such products could be developed and launched on the market. The company would have to find ways of manufacturing the material on an industrial scale.

That would not be possible without suitable process engineering, which led to close cooperation between the chemists and engineers. However, the first step was to establish a basis on which the subsequent process chain could be built. The most important task was to shift the chemical reaction - and therefore the actual production of polyurethanes to the customer while also ensuring high quality standards for the end

products.

The 1950s - ongoing development and market launches The period shortly after the end of the war saw a major upsurge in the ongoing development of polyurethane chemistry and processing technology, application areas, markets and therefore capacities. In 1952, Bayer AG launched elastic flexible foam slabstock made of TDI (toluene diisocyanate) and polyester polyols on the market for the first time under the Moltopren® brand name. In the years that followed, polyethers, which significantly expanded the application options for polyurethanes, were also introduced to the market During the 60”s – flexible foam and rigids dominate the markets.

Automotive seating came to be standardized on Pu since Pu provided extra comfort and secure seating.

The 60”s also witnessed the start of Integral skin Pu foam for arm

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rests etc… High Performance PU Elastomers also emerged. It was in 1962 that the first refrigerator was made with Rigid PU insulation. Rigid PU insulation was a runaway success because of its energy efficiency, ease of operation helping refrigerators to be made cost effectively and because of these properties it holds dominance in the refrigeration insulation market.

Shoe Soles, Elastomers and Coatings of Polyurethanes also emerged to increase the quality of life and corrosion prevention etc..

During the 70’s and till today several new innovations like RIM Technologies, Dual density Seating and similar innovations resulted in increase of the comfort factor and economies and today Polyurethanes are an integral part of our lives.

Future Trends And Outlook It is rightly said that the PU Chemistry is 75 years ago and looks forward to the next 25 years as a ground breaker in technologies to make Polyurethanes the most versatile and useful polymer, making life more comfortable all around.

In UTECH Europe we got a peep into the likely developments

Carbon Di Oxide Based Polyols Until now, polyether polyols have been predominantly produced from oil derivatives. Cooperating with partners from industry and academia, Bayer MaterialScience has developed a process for utilizing carbon dioxide for the synthesis process, and incorporating it into the polymer backbone. This results in polyether polycarbonate polyols, which the company has now further J

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developed for use in flexible foam products such as mattresses. In this way, carbon dioxide - a greenhouse gas that is abundantly available can be put to use as a raw material.

This opens up new possibilities for conserving valuable crude oil resources.

“The results that have been obtained so far on the use of CO2 in slabstock foam are very promising indeed,” says Dr. Hans-Georg Pirkl, an expert for flexible polyurethane foam at Bayer MaterialScience. “The properties of the foams we have been studying are equivalent to those of conventional grades.” The viscosity of the polyols is a little higher than that of standard products, but processing on existing foaming machines is no problem.

The polyols with the carbon from CO2 as a synthesis building block are produced in a Bayer MaterialScience pilot plant that has been in operation at the Chempark Leverkusen site since the beginning of 2011. The CO2 comes from a power plant operated by project partner RWE. Other partners are RWTH Aachen University and the CAT Catalytic Center, which is run jointly by the university and Bayer.

“This collaboration has significantly helped us to optimize the catalyst originally developed by Bayer. As a result, we can now get the chemically inert carbon dioxide molecule to react,” explains Dr. Christoph Gürtler, who heads up several projects on the sustainable use of carbon dioxide.

“On successful completion of the pilot phase, we plan to bring the first CO2based grades to market in 2015. We are also working on developments for further polyurethane products.”

Apart from their suitability for highquality plastics, CO2-based raw materials also make a multiple

contribution to sustainability. The process saves the oil and energy that are needed in the conventional production of plastics, also naturally cutting the carbon dioxide emissions that would otherwise result. In addition, the power plant CO2 is used expediently and not simply emitted into the atmosphere.

Refrigerators With Added Value – Greater Energy & Cost Efficiency The proportion of energy consumed by modern-day private households that can be attributed to refrigerators is considerably more than 10%.

Lowering this energy consumption would reduce the financial burden on the consumer and at the same time help protect the environment.

This development is also being driven by stricter regulatory requirements regarding energy consumption and increased environmental awareness among consumers.

Industry is therefore working flat out to further improve the energy efficiency of refrigerators. Heat insulation is the key. Since the beginning of the 1960s, rigid polyurethane foam has proved to be the most effective insulating material. Since then, both the product and the production technology have improved continuously. Today’s economical refrigerators with an energy efficiency rating of “A++” and higher are made using rigid foam in combination with vacuum insulated panels (VIPs) and highly efficient compressors, which makes production relatively expensive.

As well as increased energy efficiency, manufacturers are therefore looking for better cost efficiency in the production of refrigerators. Bayer MaterialScience is presenting the new p o l y u r e t h a n e s

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rigid polyurethane foam insulating system Baytherm® Microcell at UTECH 2012. This can be processed using established foam technologies and meets the refrigerator industry’s demands for higher cost and energy efficiency.

The new insulating system boasts even lower thermal conductivity than conventional foams and supports the production of refrigerators with even higher energy efficiency ratings.

The improved insulation values are linked to the foam’s pore size. The smaller the diameter of the pores, the lower the thermal conductivity. “In formulations containing Baytherm® Microcell, the pore size can be reduced by 40 percent compared with existing technologies,” explains Dr. Reinhard Albers, an expert in technical insulation at Bayer MaterialScience. “We have thus reached an important milestone on the way to nanofoam.” The other foam properties are at equivalent to those of conventional grades. The product also exhibits excellent flow behavior and can be removed quickly from the mold.

The new insulating s y s tem also enables refrigerators to be constructed with more spacious interiors. With Baytherm® Microcell, a thinner coating in the shell of the refrigerator is sufficient to achieve the same insulation value. The advantage is obvious: consumers can protect more food against spoiling even if the refrigerator itself is small - as it is in a built-in kitchen, for example.

Lighter Than Water Polyurethane Systems Demand for lightweight construction systems in the automotive industry is now at an all-time high, with the aim J

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being to cut fuel consumption, costs and CO2 emissions. According to VCD Verkehrsclub Deutschland, reducing the weight of a vehicle by 100 kilograms lowers fuel consumption by 0.5 liters over a distance of 100 kilometers and cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 1.2 kilograms over the same distance. Lightweight structures are now more important than ever given the trend toward future-oriented drive technologies such as electric mobility.

Bayer MaterialScience has already developed a wide range of energyefficient polyurethane materials for the automotive sector. At UTECH 2012, it is going one step further with the presentation of the Bayflex® RIM Light Weight polyurethane system that can be used to further reducing the weight of finished components by up to 30 percent. With a density of just 0.9 kilograms per liter, this material is even lighter than water.

This solution owes its lightweight design to the high-grade Bayflex® polyurethane system in tandem with a clever combination of fillers that replace the usual mineral fibers,” explained Dr. Birgit Meyer zu Berstenhorst, who was responsible for developing the material. “The excellent mechanical properties remain intact,” she added. The material enables a considerable reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions and, with certain vehicle models, also improves driving dynamics. In electric cars, this better compensates for the still considerable weight of the battery and helps extend the vehicle’s range.

This compac t material of fer s great design freedom for vehicle construction and can be used to make components with a Class

A surface that are to be finished with a high-grade coating. It is processed using tried-and-tested RRIM (Reinforced Reaction Injection Molding) technology.

In addition to car components, Bayflex® RIM Light Weight can be used for applications in other forms of mobility such as trucks, buses, trains, aircraft and ships. Bayer experts believe it is also suitable for use in the leisure and furniture sector, the construction industry and the IT segment

Other Developments In Utech Europe BASF L AUNCHES NEW CONCEPT FRIDGE - energy efficient and higher insulation GAMMA SPRAY EQUIPMENT – New Gamma monobloc pump OSV TECHNOLOGIYA – New Mixing Heads and metering machines from the Ukraine.

L A S ER CO MP – N e w Te s t in g Ins trument ation for Thermal Conductivity.

KR AL – New Volumeter highprecision flow measurement for perfect polyurethanes and KRAL Pumps with magnetic coupling We had about twenty of our members attending the event.

All in all a very satisfying and good learning experience. We emerged more confident from the fair about the technology of Urethanes – its versatility, utility - truly URETHANES are the hidden comforter, defender and sustainer enriching our lives with better values.

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Events & Trends Events Calendar International 12 – 13 Sept 2012 Society of Plastic Engineers Spe Foams Conference, Barcelona, Spain 16 – 21 Sept 2012 World Adhesive Conference Feica Paris

14 – 17 Oct 2012 Petrotech Society & Indian Oil Petro Tech 2012, New Delhi

16 – 23 Oct 2013 K 2013 Messe Düsseldorf Gmbh Dusseldorf

7 – 10 Jan 2013 Al Fajer Information & Services Arab Plast 2013, Dubai USA

23 – 25 Sept 2013 American Chemistry Council - CPI Polyurethanes 2013 Technical Conference USA

18 – 20 Sept 2012 Crain Communications Ltd PU CHINA – SHENZHEN, China

15 – 18 Jan 2013 Jasubhai Media Chem Tech /Chem Petro World Expo Mumbai

24 – 26 Sept 2012 American Chemistry Council - CPI Polyurethanes 2012 Technical Conference – Georgia, USA

22 – 24 Jan 2013 All India Rubber Industries Association India Rubber Expo 2013 – Maharashtra

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08 – 14 May 2014 Interpack Messe Düsseldorf Gmbh Dusseldorf

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FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY. Edited by Ms Medha Bhuta Published by K. Ramamurthy for Indian Polyurethane Association Printed by