Honeywell Fluorine Products holds series of technical seminars on new generation blowing agent

As part of their ongoing commitment to customers and partners, Honeywell has conducted a series of European customer seminars on the development of HFC-245fa, their next generation blowing agent.

“The objective of these seminars was to create a platform for direct interaction between Honeywell and their customers,” said Jim Harris, Managing Director Fluorine Products Europe. “Honeywell feels that the opportunity to share information and address questions is important, as moving to the next generation of blowing agents involves a considerable commitment for the foam industry and manufacturers. At the same time, we wanted to let industry leaders know that Honeywell is working with them by ramping up production of the next generation of environmentally friendly blowing agent,” he added.

The one day seminar, “HFC-245fa: New Generation Blowing Agent”, held in

Birmingham, England, Frankfurt, Germany and Stresa, Lago Maggiore, Italy, focused on the processing benefits and key technical attributes of HFC-245fa as the leading replacement for HCFC-141b. The agenda included information on HFC-245fa’s non-flammability, easy handling and foam-producing performance, in addition to addressing the key process conversion issues. Seminar speakers also addressed environmental issues and specifically stressed HFC-245fa’s chemical stability, extremely low toxicity and high recovery and recycling ability. The seminar included customer experience presentations from Huntsman Polyurethanes, Celotex, Kingspan and Ediltec.

“ We found conversion trials to HFC-245fa a very smooth experience at Huntsman. There’s no doubt that it’s easy to handle. It is non-flammable, stable in polyol premixes, compatible with metals, plastics and elastomers and has excellent polyol miscibility and superior foam properties, especially k-factor. HFC-245fa met and surpassed all of our expectations while complying with acceptable environmental standards,” said Mr. D. Ferguson, Technical Service Manager UK/ROI from Huntsman during the seminar in Birmingham.

Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-245fa is designed primarily to replace hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-141b, which is used in a variety of rigid insulating foams. Honeywell is phasing out (HCFC)-141b in cooperation with the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

Honeywell has taken the necessary steps to ensure that semi-commercial quantities of HFC-245fa are available before the start-up of its new commercial facility and the eventual phase out of HCFC-141b.

"Honeywell's looking to invest in the global foam industry’s long-term needs,” commented Jim Harris. “You can already see the results in the rapid ramp–up of HFC-245fa production, in our commitment to keeping our customers informed with seminars and in our extensive technical support."

Pre-production quantities of HFC-245fa have been available to the European foam industry since January 2001 for customer trials. “We know that HFC-245fa has been eagerly awaited by the industry. That’s why we’ve taken the necessary steps to make sufficient quantities of HFC-245fa available in Europe before the start-up of our new commercial facility. At the same time, we’re working closely with the industry to make effective conversions and assist in technical development of formulations using HFC-245fa," said Harris.

Honeywell confirms that its new full-production commercial HFC-245fa manufacturing facility in Geismar, Louisiana, is on-target for a mid-2002 start-up. According to Bill Cobb, Honeywell’s Fluorine Products Director of Operations, "All aspects of the engineering and construction project are moving according to schedule."

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