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IDENTIFICATION OF CFC AND HCFC SUBSTITUTES FOR BLOWING POLYURETHANE FOAM INSULATION PRODUCTS
Citation:
Howard, P., J. Tunkel, AND S. Banerjee. IDENTIFICATION OF CFC AND HCFC SUBSTITUTES FOR BLOWING POLYURETHANE FOAM INSULATION PRODUCTS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/R-95/158, 1995.
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
The report gives results of a cooperative effort to identiry chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbon substitutes for blowing polyurethane foam insulation products. The substantial ongoing effort is identifying third-generation blowing agets for polyurethane foams to replace currently used stratospheric ozone depleting ones. More than 100 chemicals have been identified and ranked as polyurethane foam blowing agent candidates. The systematic investigation involved the analysis of vapor thermal conductivity predictive models and utilizing this methodology to identify and screen potential new foam blowing agents. Collection of physical/chemical properties of the new candidates enabled overall evaluation. Based on the vapor thermal conductivity, boiling point, and other important properties, the chemical compounds were ranked to identify the most promising new blowing agent candidates. To efficiently evaluate new foam blowing agents, the compounds were placed and evaluated in 14 groups based on chemical structure. Compounds ranked high in this exercise included cyclopentane and cyclopentene, simple olefins consisting of hydrocarbons with four to six carbons and at least one double bond, cyclobutane analogs, and fluorinated propanes and butanes. Several novel chemical groups, such as fluoroiodoalkines and silicon compounds, were also considered and ranked.