POLYURETHANES

Good business conditions worldwide have led to an above average-rate of growth in polyurethanes sales, above all because of an increasing demand for insulating foams. The automative industry has called for the most interesting technical developments in this sector of industry. Some 20% of overall PU usage goes into this area of application. Replacement of CFCs by CO2 and pentane as blowing agents has already occurred to some extent, and partially fluorinated blowing agents are coming into production. This theme and the possibilities for material recycling are likely to be important tasks for the future.