Optimizing surfactant technology for blends of blowing agents in next generation appliance formulations

摘要

The impending energy and environmental regulations for refrigerators have led the appliance industry to examine improvements in mechanical components and polyurethane foam. Specifically the appliance polyurethane industry has investigated blowing agents with improved thermal gas conductivity compared to R-245fa or cyclopentane. These newer technologies also have lower global warming potential than standard HCFC or HFC blowing agents. Therefore, the industry and manufacturers may look to balance their cost/performance position through blends of high performance and cost effective blowing agents. The mixture of blowing agents presents a myriad of processing and formulation challenges due to differences in molecular weight, resin blend solubility, and vapor pressure. While changes in catalysts and polyols will be needed for proper formulations, improvements in the surfactant technology will be vital to completely alleviate processing challenges and realize the full believed benefit associated with blended blowing agents. In this paper, Evonik Industries investigates the essential surfactant characteristics to achieve optimum performance for blends of different blowing agents. Furthermore, Evonik Industries determines if the utilization of tailored surfactant technology allows for reduction in other blowing agents.