look what we did!Innovations From Polyurethane Manufacturers

Polyurethane Adhesives and Coatings: A BRIGHT Idea!

In the recent article “The best idea in a long time: Covering parking lots with solar panels,” the Washington Post discussed how parking lots can be covered with solar panels to produce solar energy.

As discussed in the Washington Post Article, according to research conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the average city surface is 35 to 50 percent pavement and 40 percent of that is parking lots.

Solar panels, which are made using polyurethane adhesives and coatings, have the potential to be placed on the top of parking lots and help cool down the cars that...

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Spray PU foam aids in NASA launch: It is Rocket Science!

Plastics News reported that NASA’s test of the Orion spacecraft in December took advantage of spray polyurethane foam insulation on its second-stage liquid fuel tanks.

The spacecraft was successfully launched Dec. 5, the first such take-off since the Space Shuttle program ended.

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Versatile. Durable. Incredible. Balloons.

Everyone knows that enormous amounts of helium fill Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons each year.

But, do you think about the volume of engineering, science and technology that go into making each balloon?

Did you know that the giant balloons seen by more than 50 million viewers across the world begin as a lump of clay?

The balloons are conceived, manufactured and cared for by 28 full-time studio employees in the Macy’s Parade Studio in Moonachie, New Jersey.

Here’s what happens when an idea becomes a parade balloon:

• Engineers, scientists and technologists sculpt exact scale models of...

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  Category: Innovation Bonds

Giving Thanks for Polyurethane

In the spirit of the season, let’s give thanks for the many ways that polyurethane improves and enhances our lives every day.

Below are some of the unique ways polyurethane enhances our Thanksgiving celebrations:

• Planning to watch a parade on TV or in person? Did you know that polyurethane is now used to make many of the giant balloons that were originally made of rubber? Today’s balloons benefit from polyurethane’s lightweight and durable properties. Polyurethane can also be easily formulated into endless bright colors, which help the replicas of today’s favorite characters remain true to their brand.

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Polyurethanes Breathe New Life into Wound Care Options

Healing people may not be the first thing that come to mind when you think of what polymers can do, but polyurethane-based films, adhesives and foams are useful for a variety of wound care treatments that help accelerate healing and prevent infection.

Adjustable Adhesives

Polyurethane raw materials have been successfully used internationally in wound dressings for more than 15 years, although utilization in the U.S. is just starting to expand. For example, Baymedix® A, a polyurethane-based adhesive from Bayer MaterialScience, has been used in a wide range of wound care and skin contact applications. In addition to being tolerant of...

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Breathing Down the Necks of Counterfeiters

A technology developed by a team at the University of Michigan, along with research partners in South Korea, has used polyurethane as part of a label that cannot be easily copied. 

 An array of tiny pillars on the top of a surface — comparable to a sub-microscopic toothbrush, says the team — hides the image beneath. When moisture from a breath gets between the minute polyurethane pillars, the image is revealed.

These labels could be produced and inserted into a variety of consumer goods and packaging including, pharmaceuticals, clothes, sneakers, and handbags. The durability of polyurethane ensures that the labels...

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Temperature indicating technology gets cool upgrade thanks to polyurethane science from Fomo

 Fomo’s Colorwise^TM Temperature-Indicating Nozzles have enabled easy use of temperature indicating technology for use with polyurethane foam. For many industries, including adhesive manufacturing and spray foam, chemical temperature is critical to a good end result. Find out more about this new development in temperature indicating technology in our interview with Mojee Cline, a Technical Department Manager at Fomo below.

Q.  Can you explain Fomo’s Colorwise^TM  Temperature-Indicating Nozzles and how the idea happened?

A. Colorwise^TM  Temperature Warning Nozzles change from clear to blue, indicating that the chemical has reached an extreme cold temperature and the foam should not be dispensed, a visual...

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Dow rocks energy sector with polyurethane-coated sand

Preferred RCSTM resin coasted sand with Dow TERAFORCE^TM Technology is a polyurethane innovation that is changing the energy sector. A collaboration with Preferred Sands, the new and more sustainable technology has ability to help create jobs and contribute to a manufacturing renaissance in U.S. energy. We spoke with Juan Carlos Medina, Director of New Business Development at Dow, about this new innovation. Find out more in the interview below.

Q. Can you explain Dow’s TERAFORCE^TM Technology and how the idea for it happened?

A. So we were approached by a customer who had gone to other venues for help and then came...

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Novomer uses chemistry to reboot a more renewable manufacturing world

Manufacturing technology has gotten a reboot, thanks to Novomer Inc. The commercial introduction of Novomer’s Converge® polypropylene carbonate (PPC) polyols chemistry for use in polyurethane formulations has given innovators a new building block from which to design and create new products. From adhesives to coatings, sealants to elastomers, and rigid and flexible foams applications, Converge is taking on renewable resources in an innovative way. We spoke with Peter Shepard, Chief Business Officer for Novomer Inc. about the new product. Find out more in the interview below.

Q. What are Converge® polyols and how did the idea for it happen?

A. Our...

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