Envirofoam has been developed by IFS Chemicals, a company with a history of green ‘firsts’, including the first CFC-free insulation foam back in 1988. Barrie Colvin of IFS says: “Envirofoam insulation combines the advantages of highly efficient polyurethane foams with environmental benefits that are completely new to the polymer industry.”
The basic building blocks of polyurethane foam are called polyols, chemicals that are traditionally derived from the conventional petrochemical process. “We estimate that the energy used to produce the foams’ new vegetable-based polyols is about one-tenth of that used to manufacture conventional polyols,” Barrie Colvin adds.
In the USA Cargill Inc has developed similar vegetable-based polyols for soft foam applications. Cargill claims that a preliminary life-cycle analysis shows that the manufacturing process of these 'BiOH' polyols compared to petroleum polyols results in:
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23% reduction in total energy demand
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61% reduction in non-renewable energy use
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36% less global warming emissions
The same analysis estimates that for every million pounds (453 tonnes) of petroleum-based polyols replaced with BiOH polyols, nearly 2200 barrels of crude oil are saved for more critical needs.
Barrie Colvin comments: "Whilst this analysis is fine for their BiOH polyols, we have estimated that the savings from our rigid foam polyols are even higher. In particular, the total energy demand is estimated at 80% lower than the conventional materials."
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