The Tenth International Conference on Blowing Agents and Foaming Processes 2008 will be held in Berlin, Germany,  May 20-21, 2008.

This conference is dedicated to the critical role of blowing agents in foamed plastics and rubber and will include commercial polymeric foams and their applications, their technologies and future industry trends.

Dr. Mark L. Robin, technical services consultant, DuPont Fluoroproducts, will present "Development of a Novel Foam Expansion Agent for Polyurethane Foams" on May 20.

ABSTRACT

DuPont Fluoroproducts introduces a novel foam expansion agent (blowing agent) for polyurethane foams. This new foam expansion agent is characterized by zero ozone-depletion potential, low global warming potential, non-flammability, and low toxicity. The chemical and physical properties of this new foam expansion agent will be presented, including the properties of novel azeotrope and azeotrope-like mixtures containing this new agent. The production and characteristics of polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams produced using these novel foam expansion agents will also be discussed. Foams produced employing these new agents are characterized by good dimensional stability and uniform cell size. In addition, R values for foams produced using these new foam expansion agents match or exceed those obtained with current agents such as HFC-245fa.