Speaking at the second Renewable Content Polyols technical session at the Polyurethanes 2010 Technical Conference, Gower emphasised that in addition to the environmental benefits of being produced from renewable resources, the new chemistries involved present an opportunity for polyurethane manufacturers to establish new levels of performance.

Gower's introduction of a versatile, high renewable content polyol for producing multiple-flexible slabstock foam was just one of many papers detailing dramatic advances in sustainable polyurethane materials and applications. During the afternoon session, Mitsui Chemicals reported development of flexible moulded PU foams made with natural oil polyols (NOPs) with a high biomass content of more than 25 % as well as outstanding mechanical properties and resilience. Composite Technical Services LLC described a group of polyols derived from naturally occurring moieties with an alkyl-phenolic structure, making them the only commercially available natural-content polyols with an aromatic or aromatic-amine structure and a bio-based content of over 73 %. The session ended with an update from Omni Tech International, Ltd. on the life cycle of soybean and petroleum-based polyols.

During the morning session, Evonik Goldschmidt GmbH explored why natural oil-based polyols affect the physical properties of conventional slabstock foam. The National Research Council of Canada described research into producing polyols using non-food renewable sources, particularly lignin derived from paper and textile industry industrial waste. DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products detailed the performance of a 100 % bio-based diol that can increase the achievable bio-content of polyols significantly. Troy Polymers presented the development of polyether polyols containing more than 60 % scrap PU foam material. Urethane Soy Systems Co. offered a processing and performance comparison of soybean oil-based polyol in flexible foam applications.