Written on 18.10.2010 - Industry
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Environmental innovations and enhanced product stewardship for SPF

“Spray polyurethane foam is a versatile material that plays a key role in reducing energy consumption worldwide,” said Karyn Schmidt of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), during a special spray polyurethane foam (SPF) panel discussion at the CPI 2010 Polyurethanes Technical Conference: Spray Polyurethane Foam – Advancing the Industry Through Enhanced Product Stewardship. “The polyurethane industry continues to achieve SPF environmental innovations and is committed to promoting the safe use and handling of these high-performance products,” she added.

The SPF panel discussion addressed a number of key health and safety issues related to this increasingly popular insulation material. Scheduled as the last event of the well-attended conference, the panelists included representatives from the ACC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the polyurethanes industry.

SPF was a central topic during the conference this year, with two entire technical sessions devoted to the material that delivers more thermal resistance with less material. Tuesday's Health, Safety and Environment technical session was devoted to SPF issues, including a proposed methodology for developing building re-occupancy guidelines following the installation of SPF by Bayer MaterialScience. Honeywell International presented data from extensive toxicological testing on their HFC-245fa product and their air sampling methodology, followed by a Huntsman LLC paper that discussed their evaluation of potential exposure of workers to harmful particulates during post-application trimming and cutting of open cell and closed cell SPF interior installations. The ACC offered guidance on the selection of respiratory protection for SPF applicators and helpers, and an overview of CPI product stewardship literature outreach to the SPF industry was presented, as well.

The afternoon Construction session opened with a presentation from Mason Knowles on the use of closed cell SPF in high performance wall assemblies. Honeywell International followed with an update on significant progress in developing Low Global Warming Potential (LGWP) blowing agents for SPFs. Tosoh Corporation detailed the use of novel catalytic additives to reduce GWP in SPFs, and Air Products and Chemicals Inc. discussed reducing the environmental impact of SPF systems. The session closed with a presentation by Dow Chemical reporting on progress in research for understanding the effect of substrate temperatures on stud line cracking in SPF installations.