Honeywell to expand Louisiana plant to produce low-global-warming blowing agent
Honeywell will invest $33 million in its Baton Rouge, La., manufacturing facility - one of the leading suppliers of refrigerants in the US - to produce a low-global-warming material used in insulation and aerosols.
This investment will provide the Baton Rouge facility with the ability to produce Honeywell's new low-global-warming-potential (GWP) blowing agent and propellant (technical name: HFO-1234ze) on a commercial scale, the company said.
Production of HFO-1234ze at the facility is scheduled to begin in late 2013.
"Honeywell's Baton Rouge plant has a long history of manufacturing materials that meet consumer needs for comfort and energy efficiency," said Andreas Kramvis, president and CEO of Honeywell Specialty Materials.
"We are pleased that this investment will enable Baton Rouge to become the premier source of a next-generation technology that enables low-global-warming aerosol propellants, foam blowing agents and refrigerants."
"Customers are looking for solutions from Honeywell that are energy efficient, safe, economical and better for the environment than existing materials. The investment we are making in Baton Rouge will allow us to meet the significant global customer demand for HFO-1234ze, which has all of these attributes," said Terrence Hahn, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Fluorine Products.
Honeywell's Baton Rouge facility was built in 1945 and continues to serve as one of Honeywell's main manufacturing sites for its specialty materials business.
HFO-1234ze has been accepted for use and sale in foam and aerosols by the US Environmental Protection Agency. It is also currently used in Europe and Japan, with the majority of demand coming from Europe.
HFO-1234ze is non-flammable, non-ozone depleting and has a global warming potential (GWP) of 6. It can be used in a variety of applications and can replace HFC-134a (which has GWP of 1,430) and HFC-152a (which has a GWP of 124) in aerosol applications and thermal insulating foams, including extruded polystyrene board.
It is also being considered to replace HFC-134a for large stationary refrigeration applications, the company said.
Earlier this year, HFO-1234ze was recognized by the Paris Aerosol Forum as the best new technical product innovation. The prize was awarded by an independent jury of aerosol experts representing brand owners, packaging manufacturers and the media.
According to the European Aerosol Federation, 5.1 billion aerosol containers were produced in Europe in 2009. According to the Consumer Specialty Products Association, more than 4 billion aerosol containers were produced in the US last year.
Honeywell said it has 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 a lower impact on global warming.
Another product in Honeywell's hydrofluoroolefin portfolio, HFO-1234yf, is being adopted globally by automobile manufacturers as a replacement for the current hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant used in automobile air conditioning, HFC-134a.
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