NCFI Adopts Honeywell's Low-Global-Warming Material For Spray Foam Roofs

MORRIS PLAINS, N.J., Sept. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced today that NCFI Polyurethanes, a leader in sustainable polyurethane products, has transitioned to Honeywell's new low-global-warming material for roofing applications, with wall insulation systems to follow.

NCFI is offering closed-cell spray polyurethane foam formulated with Honeywell's Solstice^® Liquid Blowing Agent (LBA) in its roofing products. This new offering marks another milestone as NCFI transitions its entire engineered building products line from hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) blowing agents with high global-warming-potential (GWP) to low-GWP products. This includes converting much of its polyurethane product line to Solstice LBA encompassing integral skin and other applications well in advance of environmental regulations calling for a phaseout of HFCs.

Solstice LBA, which is based on next-generation, ultra-low GWP hydrofluoro-olefin (HFO) technology, is a critical ingredient in closed-cell foam, allowing it to expand and enabling its excellent insulating performance. Solstice LBA has an ultra-low GWP of 1, which is 99.9 percent lower than HFCs and equal to carbon dioxide.

"A major part of our White House-recognized low-GWP commitment is to introduce HFC-free spray foam products that meet our high performance standards," said Chip Holton, president, NCFI Polyurethanes. "Not only is our internal plan for conversions to a SmartSPF^® line well ahead of the deadlines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, we also believe these new spray foam products give us a strong competitive advantage."

The adoption of Solstice LBA is part of how NCFI is fulfilling its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that was first publicized during an exclusive 20-company roundtable discussion held by President Obama at the White House last October. At that event, NCFI was honored for its proactive plans to transition from HFCs to low-GWP products. Honeywell was also recognized at the event during which it presented projections on the opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the adoption of its Solstice product suite. Worldwide adoption of Solstice products has already resulted in the reduction of more than 31 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, equal to eliminating emissions from more than 6 million cars. 

"NCFI continues to make excellent progress with its adoption of Solstice LBA," said Laura Reinhard, global business manager for spray foam, Honeywell. "Not only is NCFI demonstrating environmental leadership by offering spray foam products with reduced climate impact, it is also seeing significant performance improvements."

Compared to NCFI's HFC-based insulation systems, the new systems featuring Solstice LBA deliver improvements in sprayability, consistency, and surface finish. The foam is also stronger, which allows for walking on the roof to maintain equipment with less risk of damaging the foam.

Solstice LBA is nonflammable (ASTM E-681) and is not a volatile organic compound under applicable EPA air quality regulations. Solstice LBA is listed as an acceptable substitute for HFC blowing agents under the EPA's Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program. Similarly, in Europe, Solstice LBA is regarded as non-global-warming and is not considered an F-Gas under the F-Gas regulations. It is also registered under the European Union's REACH program. Honeywell's Solstice LBA world-scale manufacturing plant in Louisiana started up in May 2014.

Solstice LBA is used in a variety of rigid foam insulation applications, including residential and commercial refrigeration equipment, spray foam insulation, and insulated metal panels, as well as flexible foam applications, such as molded and slabstock foam, and integral skin. For more information on Solstice LBA, visit www.honeywell-blowingagents.com.

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes, and industry; turbochargers; and performance materials. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

SOURCE Honeywell