Polyurethane technology is a crucial component in today’s extremely energy-efficient refrigerators, comfortable mattresses and when used as a coating for durable, design-friendly floors. Covestro, formerly Bayer MaterialScience, presented new formulations and applications for its polyurethane-based solutions during the Center for Polyurethanes Industry conference Oct. 5-7 in Orlando, Florida. Topics included:

Covestro is a market leader in supplying polyurethane systems to the appliance industry, providing OEMs materials for insulating energy-efficient refrigerators and freezers that meet stringent standards. New co-blown formulations can improve thermal conductivity properties, especially at lower temperatures, and can provide a better approach than simply adding an HCFO or HFO blowing agent to an existing cyclopentane formulation. A technical presentation on this topic is at 2:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5.
Viscoelastic foam is commonly used in bed-in-a-box and mattress toppers. Covestro’s new viscoelastic foam formulations with methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) can achieve high airflows that should provide a “cooler” sleep, better tear strengths, better 90 percent compression sets, faster viscoelastic recovery and better physical properties that translate to improved comfort overall.

Increasingly, commercial building professionals and architects are discovering that under its protective layer, polyaspartic coating systems offer eye-catching aesthetics ideal for decorative flooring. With flexible formulations that feature high solid, low viscosity resins that reduce the need for solvents, polyaspartic technology is also useful in meeting environmental regulations and LEED standards. Polyaspartic coating technology is also known for excellent UV, chemical, and abrasion resistance; ultra-low VOCs; color stability; and, cleanability.