Honeywell triples capacity of blowing agent for polystyrene board, notes growing demand
Honeywell has tripled production capacity for its low-global-warming-potential product HFO-1234ze to meet what it says is growing need for the material, used in multiple foam and aerosol applications.
The material is non-flammable, non-ozone depleting and has a GWP of 6. HFO-1234ze can replace HFC-134a (with a GWP of 1,430) and HFC-152a (with a GWP of 124) in aerosol applications and thermal-insulating foams, including extruded polystyrene (PS) board, company officials said.
It is also being considered to replace HFC-134a for chiller applications, the company said.
The production expansion was made at Honeywell's small-scale HFO-1234ze manufacturing facility at its Buffalo research lab in New York. It was achieved through equipment upgrades and overall productivity improvements during the past 18 months, the company said.
"In the last several quarters, Honeywell has seen a significant increase in demand for HFO-1234ze from the aerosol and foam industries, and a number of customers have signed long-term contracts," said Terrence Hahn, vice president and general manager for Honeywell's fluorine products business.
HFO-1234ze was accepted for use in foam and aerosols by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June 2010. Earlier this year, the agency allowed HFO-1234ze to be sold in the US.
The Buffalo research lab is where Honeywell pioneered the development of hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs), which are a family of unique products that offer similar performance properties to today's most widely used refrigerants, blowing agents and aerosol propellants, but with the added benefit of having very low global warming potentials, the company said.
HFO-1234ze is currently used in the US, Europe and Japan, with the majority of HFO-1234ze demand from Europe. In addition to HFO-1234ze, Honeywell said it has developed HFO-1234yf, which is being adopted by automobile manufacturers as a replacement for the current hydrofluorocarbon used in automobile air conditioning, HFC-134a.
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