Dow Polyurethanes Successfully Completes Testing Phase for Natural Oil Polyols
Oct 2, 2006
MIDLAND, Mich. -- Dow Polyurethanes, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, has successfully completed preliminary development of natural oil polyols (NOPs) for urethane formulations and will begin product sampling with a select group of customers immediately. Dow plans to begin market development scale production of the next-generation polyols in 2007.
Since first announcing its intention to conduct small-scale product testing of NOPs with select customers in June of 2005, Dow has continued to invest in further advancing the technology and capabilities of these next-generation products. The company has now achieved the performance milestones necessary to support moving ahead to the market development scale production phase.
"Our developmental work has reached the point where we are now able to produce natural oil polyols that can match or exceed the performance of hydrocarbon-based products, and at fairly high levels of natural oil polyol content," said Pat Dawson, business vice president, Dow Polyurethanes. "Dow's continued work in developing NOPs illustrates our ongoing commitment to pursuing practical technology options for small scale, economical and enviromentally advantaged feedstocks where they make sense, support our business strategies and, most importantly, meet the needs of our customers." Early developers of NOPs experienced several performance challenges when incorporating NOPs into formulations such as retaining tensile strength, resiliency, and compression set. And, as they increased the level of NOPs in formulations, the processability of the foam was often compromised.
"Dow's mastery of polyurethanes chemistry - earned from more than 50 years in the business - along with new technology, has enabled us to make significant progress on many of these critical performance issues," Dawson explained. We've achieved this improved level of performance by creating optimized blends of NOPs and propylene oxide polyols. By working with a select group of customers during this next phase, we will continue to refine the performance attributes of these products so that they meet specific customer needs."
To enable more extensive product sampling and scale-up of small, beta projects, Dow plans to begin market development scale production of soy-based polyols in 2007. Meanwhile, the company is exploring various production options to support additional capacity as demand grows. Based on progress in this second phase, Dow will evaluate options for this new line of natural oil polyols, which includes bringing on additional capacity and expanding into new applications and geographies.
"We are very pleased with our progress to date. As we continue to hit the milestones set for each additional phase of the project, we get closer and closer to full commercialization of these next- generation products," Dawson said.
Dow's investment in natural oil polyols is consistent with the company's recently announced 2015 Sustainability Goals, one aspect of which calls for investment in products and technologies that will help reduce industry's dependency on non-renewable resources. Natural oil polyols can be made from soybeans, sunflower seeds or rapeseeds, although Dow's technology currently focuses on a polyol that contains a significant percent of oil extracted from soybeans. Dow's intention is to ultimately develop a NOP-based multi-generational product line that provides customers with superior solutions to meet their needs in applications such as flexible slab, molded, and some CASE applications. In addition, other Dow businesses, such as Dow Automotive, are working with their customers to introduce natural oil polyols into automotive applications.
"We now have the technology, the results and the capabilities to take the first step toward providing a full line of natural oil polyols to customers around the globe," Dawson stated.
About Dow Polyurethanes
Dow is the world's largest producer of polyether polyols, a leading producer of quality aromatic isocyanates, such as MDI and TDI, and a major supplier of propylene oxide, an essential component of polyether polyols. Dow's polyurethanes products and formulated systems are used in rigid foams, flexible foams, adhesives, sealants, coatings, and elastomers, as well as many other applications. Dow also offers the latest in polyol technology with its VORANOL™ VORACTIV™ polyols, part of an ongoing initiative by Dow to lead the industry in providing high-performance products with reduced VOC-emissions.
About Dow
Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of science and technology to improve living daily. The Company offers a broad range of innovative products and services to customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of $46 billion and employs 42,000 people worldwide. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
