look what we did!Innovations From Polyurethane Manufacturers

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 Did you know that polyurethane is now used to make many of the giant balloons that were originally made of rubber?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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New Polyurethane Pharmaceutical Excipient Created

The Lubrizol Corporation’s LifeScience Polymer Market announced an innovative pharmaceutical-grade polyurethane that can be used in continuous drug delivery. This polyurethane application is being studied to relieve pain in cancer patients, combat HIV, act as an effective birth control method, and be used as a continuous drug delivery system for additional applications.

The wide variety of uses of this excipient-grade polyurethane is the result of its ability to slowly release drugs into a human’s body without degrading or breaking. Polyurethane’s durability helps ensure that the substance can remain intact inside the body for periods of up to eighteen...

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Lighting the Way

Polyurethane provides lighter option for power transmission

Power transmission towers are a part of our landscape and a critical part of our country’s infrastructure. As new towers need to be constructed or old ones replaced, engineers are looking for ways to do so effectively. From production to installation to the long-term maintenance, these structures must be both cost effective and durable.

Dow’s VORAFORCE^TM polyurethane manufacturing system enables efficient production of strong, tough and durable composites for these transmission structures. With the filament winding fabrication technique afforded by this system, composites can be more easily used to construct this...

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