Sonderhoff announced that a new PU foam seal in the Fermapor K31 product range has received sought-after US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conformity, which is considered to be the recognised standard for food packaging worldwide. The Fermapor K31 seal is applied automatically, precisely and seamlessly in the lid groove of drums and hobbocks using a Formed In-Place Foam Gasket (FIPFG) process. The PU seal is also approved for direct contact with food in accordance with the EU Regulation No. 10/2011, which became effective on 1 January 2016.

Sadara Chemical Company has announced the production of commercial quantities of on-specification liquid PMDI (polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate), the largest single train facility of its kind in the world.

On 19 June the Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) released a statement opposing the recent proposal by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to designate spray polyurethane foam products containing unreacted methylene diphenyl diisocyanates (MDI) as a listed Priority Product under the department’s controversial Safer Consumer Products Program.

Prepolymer contract manufacturer Third Coast Terminals LLC, announced a full year of successful prepolymer toll manufacturing at its state of the art prepolymer facility in Pearland, TX, USA. The unit was completed as scheduled in 2016 and commissioned flawlessly, the company said in a statement issued on 6 July.

As part of its sustainability approach, Covestro actively pursues the development of materials and technologies for renewable energy generation with a focus on wind power. In particular, the company developed an innovative technology for manufacturing wind turbine rotor blades. The rotor blades are fabricated in a special process from a polyurethane resin and a glass fibre fabric. The company has now received the important DNV GL certification for its newly developed resin system in China.

The European Joint Undertaking on Bio-Based Industries (BBI), consisting of representatives from the European Union and the bio-based industry, has granted EUR 25 million to PEFerence, a consortium of eleven companies. The grant supports the establishment of an innovative value chain for bio-based raw materials as well as chemicals and materials based on polyethylenefuranoate (PEF). It includes the intended construction of a 50,000 t/y FDCA reference plant, the main chemical building block for the production of PEF. Synvina, a joint venture of Avantium and BASF, will be coordinating the PEFerence project.

The Lubrizol Corporation recently announced new partnerships with distributors, Al-Shihab Al Thahabi and Al Azzaz, based in UAE and Saudi Arabia, respectively.

The German company Uniror Universal-Rohrreinigungs GmbH from Forst in the region of Lausitz is a specialist in the cleaning of pressure lines. The company has been active around the globe for 20 years providing a free pressure flow in pipelines. The pipe cleaning specialists install pigs made from polyurethane for this purpose. Owing to a new Topline type Hennecke metering machine as well as extensive tests and optimisations in the Hennecke Techcenter, the workers at Lausitz are now able to produce significantly more efficient pigs in a better quality.

Sonderhoff announced that a new PU foam seal in the Fermapor K31 product range has received sought-after US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conformity, which is considered to be the recognised standard for food packaging worldwide. The Fermapor K31 seal is applied automatically, precisely and seamlessly in the lid groove of drums and hobbocks using a Formed In-Place Foam Gasket (FIPFG) process. The PU seal is also approved for direct contact with food in accordance with the EU Regulation No. 10/2011, which became effective on 1 January 2016.