Evonik is set to unveil its latest additives and a diverse range of advanced technologies for the polyurethane (PU) industry at PU China 2024 in Shanghai from July 17-19. As a longstanding industry partner with decades of experience, Evonik offers a comprehensive toolbox of additives, including surfactants, catalysts, curatives, performance additives, and release agents.
At the event, Evonik will introduce its new Low Carbon Footprint (LCF) grades designed to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of formulations. Committed to pioneering next-generation products and technologies based on renewable raw materials, Evonik aims to help its customers and partners meet evolving market demands more effectively.
“The pursuit of better living standards among middle-class consumers, coupled with the downstream emphasis on sustainability, are fueling the ongoing demand growth in China,” says Hang Xu, vice president of Evonik’s Comfort & Insulation business line in Asia. “By understanding this momentum, we look forward to supporting our local customers with innovations that contribute to a more sustainable PU industry, while maintaining superior performance profiles.”
Key innovation highlights from Evonik at PU China 2024 include:
- Low Carbon Footprint PU Foams: New TEGOSTAB® surfactants for rigid and flexible polyurethane applications based on renewable feedstocks and fully traceable supply chains, certified by ISCC Plus at the Essen, Germany site. These VOC-optimized surfactants have an ultra-low cyclic siloxane (D4, D5, and D6) content of less than 0.1% by weight, helping formulators meet stringent emission targets while producing high-quality foam. The new TEGOSTAB® LCF grades offer a significantly reduced carbon footprint compared to similar surfactants using oil-based carriers.
- Improved Recovery and Sustainability for Flexible Foam: ORTEGOL® NOP is an additive designed to help formulators incorporate notable quantities of natural oil-based polyols (NOPs) into their flexible foam formulations. The ORTEGOL® 70X series includes a range of additives that improve the recovery of compressed standard flexible foams and NOP-containing foams, with reduced curing time before compression.
- Enhanced Efficiency and Thermal Attributes for Rigid Foam: Evonik’s extensive surfactant and catalyst portfolio includes grades that improve surface quality and enhance the thermal insulation properties of both appliance and construction products, thereby increasing energy efficiency. The DABCO® PT series features emission-optimized additives for spray foams, enabling safer spraying and faster worker re-entry times. Evonik offers innovative catalyst packages for HFC, HFO, and water-based formulations, which facilitate VOC reduction and improve the chemical stability of the system.
- Low Odor, Low Emission Additives for Automotive Molded Foam: Evonik’s latest negligible emission catalysts and low VOC, low odor surfactants empower formulators to meet stringent VDA 278 emission targets, minimizing VOC exposure for workers and consumers. With ultra-low odor and aldehyde content, TEGOSTAB® B 8742 LO is a high potency surfactant designed for vibration-dampening foams with reduced transmissivity, enhancing passenger dynamic comfort. This product is already used in the production of car seats by leading Chinese automotive manufacturers.
- Pioneering Solutions for Advanced PU Applications: A suite of advanced offerings engineered to boost the performance of PU materials in CASE, artificial leather, and footwear applications will be on display. Products under the POLYCAT® SA, TEGOSTAB® B, and KOSMOS® brands improve the properties of PU materials used in electric vehicle batteries, including structural adhesives, sealants, cushion pads for pouch-type cells, potting foam for cylindrical-type cells, thermal interface material, and gap fillers. The innovative foaming agent ORTEGOL® P2 is set to improve foam stability in waterborne PU artificial leather systems, aiding the industry in environmental upgrading.
