Honeywell has announced a leading Japanese newspaper has recognized Honeywell’s Solstice Liquid Blowing Agent with an award for ozone layer protection and global warming prevention.
The award, the 17th Ozone Layer Protection and Global Warming Prevention Technology Grand Prix, is issued by the engineering and industry-focused Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun daily newspaper, co-hosted by the Japanese Refrigerants and Environment Conservation Organization (JRECO), and supported by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Ministry of the Environment.
Blowing agents such as Solstice LBA allow closed-cell polyurethane foam insulation to expand and provide the majority of the foam’s excellent insulating properties. Solstice LBA was recognized for its ultra-low global warming potential of 1 and its ability to improve the energy efficiency of insulation in a wide range of applications, including refrigerators, spray foam used in construction, and panels used in construction and cold rooms.
“We are honored to accept this award for our highly energy-efficient and low-global-warming blowing agent, Solstice LBA,” said Sanjeev Rastogi, global business director for Honeywell Fluorine Products. “Customers in Japan and around the world are switching to Solstice LBA, which will have a positive impact on both the environment and the overall efficiency of home appliances and construction.”
Solstice LBA is being adopted by residential and commercial appliance manufacturers worldwide, including Whirlpool, Haier and Midea, and spray foam and panel construction insulation companies like LaPolla, Kingspan, and Soflan Wiz, to reduce their environmental footprint and comply with environmental and energy efficiency regulations. Solstice LBA has an ultra-low global warming potential of 1, which is 99.9 percent lower than HFC-245fa, a commonly-used blowing agent. It is nonflammable and is not a volatile organic compound. It is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program and is also registered under the European Union’s REACH program. Honeywell’s new world-scale production capacity manufacturing plant for Solstice LBA started up in May 2014.
In addition to Solstice LBA, Honeywell’s family of Solstice-branded products includes stationary and mobile refrigerants, gaseous blowing agents, propellants, and solvents based on Honeywell’s new hydrofluoro-olefin technology that helps customers lower their carbon footprint without sacrificing end-product performance.
The Solstice products have been developed and are being commercialized by Honeywell’s Fluorine Products business, a leader in the manufacture and supply of non-ozone-depleting refrigerants used by top air-conditioning and refrigeration makers worldwide, and blowing agents for energy-efficient foam insulation, as well as hydrofluoric acid and precursors for nuclear fuel.
Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies (PMT) is a global leader in developing advanced materials, process technologies and automation solutions. PMT’s Advanced Materials businesses manufacture a wide variety of high-performance products, including environmentally friendlier refrigerants and materials used to manufacture end products such as bullet-resistant armor, nylon, computer chips and pharmaceutical packaging. Process technologies developed by PMT’s UOP business (www.uop.com) form the foundation for most of the world’s refiners, efficiently producing gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, petrochemicals and renewable fuels. PMT’s Process Solutions business is a pioneer in automation control, instrumentation and services for the oil and gas, refining, pulp and paper, industrial power generation, chemicals and petrochemicals, biofuels, life sciences, and metals, minerals and mining industries.