Midland, MI - September 29, 2008
Sustainability in today's business world is achieved by identifying ways to help improve product performance while minimizing environmental footprint. Adhesive and sealant formulators may raise the environmental profile of their products, while also improving performance, with a line of bio-based polyols from Dow Polyurethanes, a business group of The Dow Chemical Company (Dow). The polyols, made with RENUVA™ Renewable Resource Technology, are specifically engineered to offer greater water and chemical resistance, and lower viscosity in a broad spectrum of adhesive and sealant applications.
These soybean oil-based polyols can be tailored to meet the formulation needs of one- and two- component urethane adhesives and sealants, and are suitable for construction, transportation, flexible packaging, footwear and furniture applications. They can also be designed to meet specific mechanical performance requirements, such as modulus and tensile strength. Adhesives and sealants made with these natural oil-based polyols achieve bond strength that is comparable to, or exceeding, levels provided by conventional polyether-based polyols.
“Manufacturers who see the benefit of offering more eco-friendly products also want the products to deliver performance attributes their customers have come to expect and need,” said Umberto Torresan, global marketing manager, Dow Polyurethanes. “Bio-based polyols made with RENUVA Technology for adhesive and sealant applications stand up to the performance test and help our customers differentiate themselves in the downstream market. Whether it is for flooring adhesives or for concrete sealants used in bridges, RENUVA-based polyols help deliver on performance expectations and boost the ‘green’ content in formulation.”
RENUVA Technology is a proprietary process that breaks down natural oil into essential components, and functionalizes and reconstructs the molecules for greater quality and consistency. Life-cycle analysis shows the technology is greenhouse-gas neutral and requires 60 percent fewer fossil fuels than the manufacturing of traditional petroleum-based materials. The line of polyols made with RENUVA™ Technology is part of a portfolio of differentiated products and technologies that Dow is developing for adhesive and sealant formulators.
About Dow Polyurethanes
Dow is the world's largest producer of propylene oxide (PO), polyether polyols, and is a leading producer of quality aromatic isocyanates, such as MDI and TDI, an essential component of polyether polyols. Dow's polyurethane products and fully formulated polyurethane systems are used for a broad range of applications including construction, automotive, appliance, furniture, bedding and shoe soles to decorative molding, athletic equipment and more. The business manufactures and markets polyurethane products and polyurethane systems that create rigid, semi-rigid and flexible foams, adhesives, sealants, coatings, elastomers and binders. Dow also offers the latest in polyol technology with RENUVA™ Renewable Resource Technology and VORANOL™ VORACTIV™ polyols, part of an ongoing initiative by Dow to lead the industry in providing high-performance products. For more information, visit www.dowpolyurethanes.com, www.dowpg.com, www.dowpo.com, www.dowrenuva.com and www.voractiv.com.
About Dow
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For Editorial Information:
Elise Heffelfinger
The Dow Chemical Company
+41 44 728 3269
Ally Gellert
Gibbs & Soell, Inc.
212-697-2600 ext. 1273
agellert@gibbs-soell.com
