Your Tax Dollars At Work

Large-Scale PPC Polyol Run Promises Sustainable Polyurethane from Waste CO2

By Sustainable Plant Staff February 20, 2013 01:09:49 pm

Share on emailEmail Share on printPrint Share on linkedin

Novomer Inc., a sustainable materials company pioneering a family of high-performance polymers and other chemicals from renewable feedstocks such as carbon dioxide (CO2), has announced the world's first large-scale manufacturing run of polypropylene carbonate (PPC) polyol, producing over seven tons of finished product. The PPC polyol was scaled up and produced with Albemarle at its Orangeburg, South Carolina manufacturing facility using existing Albemarle equipment that was modified for PPC polyol production. This work was completed in conjunction with Novomer's three-year, $25 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) award.

“The process fits well into our Orangeburg infrastructure and only minor modifications were required to enable PPC production,” said David Decuir, Albemarle custom services business director. “We are very confident in our ability to commercially produce Novomer PPC polyol at our Orangeburg plant.”

The recently produced material, a 1,000 molecular weight PPC diol, will be used to accelerate product qualification and adoption in a wide range of conventional polyurethane applications including flexible and rigid foams, adhesives and sealants, coatings, and elastomers. Novomer is currently working closely with several major companies in various segments of the polyurethanes industry and this material will enable commercial scale testing of Novomer polyol.

Novomer polyols are designed to replace conventional petroleum-based polyether, polyester and polycarbonate polyols. The polyols are based on the co-polymerization of carbon dioxide (CO2) and epoxides, and the resulting products contain more than 40% CO2 by weight. The use of waste CO2 as a significant raw material yields a product with an extremely low carbon footprint. In addition, since waste CO2 is significantly lower in cost than conventional petroleum-based raw materials, Novomer polyol manufacturing costs will be favorable compared to conventional polyols when produced at full commercial scale.

In terms of performance, Novomer's PPC polyol has a unique polycarbonate backbone which increases the strength and durability of polyurethane products. Incorporating these new polyols into existing formulations yields foams with higher tensile, tear strength and load-bearing capacity; adhesives and coatings with improved adhesion, cohesive strength and weatherabilty; and elastomers with greater tensile and flexural strength.

“We are pleased with the results of this first run and thank the DOE for their support,” said Ron Valente, Novomer vice president of research. “This campaign clearly demonstrates the robustness of our catalyst and manufacturing process and we are confident in the ability to move to a larger scale as demand warrants.”

http://www.sustainableplant.com/2013/02/large-scale-ppc-polyol-run-promises-sustainable-polyurethane-from-waste-co2/