Spray Foam Magazine-Winter 2020-As a participant in the spray foam industry, we understand the amazing ability of the insulation and roofing products we produce and install to reduce the heating and cooling needs of various types of houses and structures. We know that our customers benefit from meaningful, long-term energy savings, and that our buildings using spray foam produce far less harmful emissions than buildings using competitive insulation products. As installers and manufacturers, we contribute to the protection of the environment every day, while putting money back in our customers' pockets.
It's hard to imagine that the positive environmental story of our industry will get better, but our team at Huntsman Building Solutions believes it can. For six years, Huntsman International, the parent company of our business, has risen to play its role in combating plastic waste, helping to keep it away from landfills and, ultimately, away from the ocean. As we have discovered, there are some innovative ways to reuse this hazardous plastic waste, and we have successfully done this globally.
Most of these problematic wastes stem from the use of disposable plastics, and one of the biggest contributors is the plastic water bottles that have always existed. After use, most of these bottles usually end up in landfills, breaking down into small pieces over time, and many unfortunately enter our oceans.
According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), it is difficult to accurately quantify the amount of plastic currently in the ocean. However, scientists believe that 8 million tons, equivalent to the weight of nearly 90 aircraft carriers, enter the ocean every year. The harm caused by plastics in the ocean cannot be overemphasized. Unlike other types of waste, plastic does not decompose. Marine species swallowed and became entangled in plastic fragments, causing serious injury and death. Plastic pollution also threatens our food safety and quality, as well as our overall health. Coastal tourism is damaged, and ultimately, waste will cause climate change.
Recognizing that we are in a uniquely ideal position to recycle plastic waste, in 2014, our parent company Huntsman began using a proprietary transesterification process that allowed us to reuse bad PET waste. PET is a widely produced plastic used to make water bottles, textiles, packaging films, and many other items used by industry and consumers. Although any PET waste can play a role in this process, the Huntsman team focused on PET water bottles and converted them into TEROL® polyester polyols. These polyols are key ingredients in MDI-based spray polyurethane foam products manufactured by Huntsman Building Solutions.
Huntsman's TEROL® polyols are especially composed of up to 60% recycled PET waste, which is achieved through this large-scale recycling process. As a result, Huntsman Building Solutions converts 230 million 500 ml PET waste bottles into spray polyurethane foam each year. On average, as many as 10,000 recycled plastic bottles enter every home insulated with spray foam. Each home insulated with these SPF solutions can reduce energy consumption from heating and cooling activities by up to 50%. The positive impact this has on our customers' wallets is impressive. However, we are also protecting the planet by drastically reducing harmful emissions, and all of this basically starts with waste solutions.
Doug Brady, vice president of global innovation and product management at Huntsman Building Solutions, said: "Compared with raw materials, the use of recycled plastics to produce products requires much less energy." "So not only can a large number of environmental cases be formulated for this work, but also And it can also establish a sound business case."
Our factory in Quebec was the center of the start of recycling. plant,
The traditional Demilec business is now part of Huntsman Building Solutions and has been producing its own polyols since 2006. Huntsman Building Solutions has now expanded its recycling work to the United States, with its main business in Houston and many countries around the world. These formulations are used by TEROL® and its technology is reintegrated into the production of Huntsman Building Solutions spray foam products. Seven of TEROL® polyols have been certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL). In 2014, Huntsman became the first polyester polyol manufacturer to obtain this certification.
"Only less than 10% of the world's plastic is recycled," Brady added. "Our team is proud of their continued contribution to preventing plastic waste from harming our precious oceans. Reusing this waste into envelope solutions that save energy, reduce emissions, and save customers money, our team I am very happy to be one of them."
1 https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/marinedebris/plastics-in-the-ocean.html
2 Huntsman Building Solutions’ closed-cell spray foam contains approximately 3,400 recycled plastic bottles. On average, three sets of closed-cell spray foam are used to install 1,600 square feet of walls and lofts. Or 148 square meter home.
About the author: Simon Baker is the global president of Huntsman Building Solutions, a global market leader in high-performance spray polyurethane foam and coatings. To learn more about Huntsman Building Solutions' transformative PET waste-to-insulation program, click here.
*Spray Foam magazine does not take an editorial stance on specific issues; it expresses the opinions of discrete authors on individual contributions to the magazine, unless clearly marked or otherwise stated. The inclusion of a particular article in a magazine does not mean that individual staff members or editors agree to the editorial position represented therein.
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