Presentation of the paper "Mold release agents for polyurethane foam, regulations and aspects of its use and application" in UTECH Las Américas 2017 by Concentrol.

2. Mold release agents for polyurethane foam,
regulations and aspects of its use and
application

3. Critical points
Proposals to eliminate or minimize
these issues.

4. Critical points in PU industry
VOC’s & FOG Toxicity
Flammability Others

5. VOC & FOG: from SOLVENT but also from COMPONENTS
VOC: 90ºC, 30 min
FOG: 120ºC, 90 min
Related to release agents, VOC’s are produced:
- Polyurethane foam emissions
- Direct emissions
VOC’s: Volatile Organic Components
FOG: Fogging Components
One of the atmosphere’s pollutants
Concerns in car industry
TESTS in AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR
(By thermal desorption)

6. Toxicity
Products involved in release agent’s formulation
Solvent
Tin Compounds
Others
Their control can be made according to some indicators:
TLV & DNEL

7. Toxicity
TLV
DNEL
Level of concentration to which it is believed a worker can be
exposed day after day for a working lifetime without adverse effects
STEL
Concentration at 15
minutes TWA
TWA
Mean concentration
over time
(8 h/day, 40h/week)
CEILING
Maximum
concentration
Level of exposure to a substance above which humans should
not be exposed
Threshold Limit Value
Derived No-Effect Level

8. Example: Usage of a release agent formulated
with Dearomatized Hydrocarbon C9-C10
The extraction system has to be enough to avoid accumulations over a mean
of 1200 mg/m3 during 8h/day-40h/week.
Substance’s name Form Standard Limit
Hydrocarbons, C9-C10, n-alcanes,
isoalcanes, cyclics <2% aromatics
Vapor RCP-TWA 226 ppm 1200
mg/m3
(95-98% of the release agent is solvent)
TWA

9. DNEL
Dearomatized Hydrocarbon C9-C10
Substance’s name Dermic Inhalation
Hydrocarbons, C9-C10, n-
alcanes, isoalcanes, ciclics,
<2% aromatics
208 mg/kg bw/day
DNEL
871 mg/m3 DNEL
Comparing it with an Isoparaffinic solvent C11-C12
Substance’s name Dermic Inhalation
Hydrocarbons, C11-
C12, isoalcanes <2%
aromatics
NA NA

10. NFPA & HMIS Ratings
HMIS & NFPA: The Hazardous Material Information System Label is a four-part colored label or
set of diamonds that uses numbers, letters and symbols to describe the hazards of a product
in the label of drums as well as in MSDS.

11. NFPA & HMIS Ratings
Dearomatized Hydrocarbon C9-C10
Comparing it with an Isoparaffinic solvent C11-C12

12. ORGANOTIN COMPOUNDS
Have been highly restricted in the past years
DBTDL DOTL
Other
organometallic
compounds
Other compounds + State-of-art
How to substitute them?

13. Flammability
Risk of EXPLOSIVE ATMOSPHERES
ATEX regulation: European Regulatory Framework for Manufacture, Installation and
Use of Equipment in Explosive Atmospheres
Flammable
Combustible
Oxidant+ +
Source of
ignition
If a flammable liquid has a flash point above the maximum temperature at which it is
handled, an explosive atmosphere can not exist (EN 60079-10, section 4.4.1), i.e. a flammable
liquid cannot be ignited while its temperature remain below its flash point.
But, if the escape of a flammable substance is in the form of mist (spray by
aerographic gun) an explosive atmosphere can be formed even if the temperature is
below the flash point.
ATEX ZONE

14. <21ºC
Class
I
>21 ºC
<55ºC
Class
II
>55ºC
Class
III
n-Heptane Aliphatic Isoparaffinic
SAFETY
Upgrade solvent according to higher Flash Point
Storage and Handling
Classification according to European Directive 67/548/CEE

15. TRANSPORT OF RELEASE AGENTS
Packing group: Used to determine the degree of protective packaging for Dangerous Goods
during transportation
Higher flash point substances, in general, has a lower vapor pressure, which means that
their volatility is lower
Higher packing group Less restrictions Safer transport
Less toxic ingredients

16. PACKING GROUP
Used to determine the degree of
protective packaging required for
Dangerous Goods transport
Toxicity
Flammability

17. PACKING
GROUP Toxicity
Volatility mL/m3

18. ICAO (IATA) IMDG Code
RIDADR
Different
regulations
depending on the
VEHICLE and on the
PACKING GROUP
TRANSPORT
OF RELEASE
AGENTS

19. Modifying the release agentHow?
CONCENTROL PROPOSALS TO OVERCOME CRITICAL POINTS
SOLVENT
CLASS III
CO-SOLVENTHYBRID WATER
CONCENTRATED TIN-FREE ELECTROSTATIC

20. SOLVENT
PACKAGING
(e.g. TIN COMPOUNDS)
HAZARDOUS
COMPOUNDS
COMPOSITION VOC & FOG
TLV & DNEL
FLAMMABILITY
TRANSPORTATION
WORK ENVIRONMENT
SUMMARY: KEY POINTS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT
PRODUCER USER/CLIENT
ATEX FACILITIES

21. - Reduction of VOC’s in direct emissions
- Eliminate TLV/DNEL values related to solvent
- Reduction of flammability
- Concentrated
- Electrostatic
- Water-based
CONCENTROL
PROPOSALS
How to overcome critical points?

22. Advantages of concentrated release agents
Less consumption
Less VOC’s / TLV’s
Better working
environment
Upgrade in
solvent’s class
(Less
flammability)

23. CLASS III WATER BASED
They only contain aliphatic and
isoparaffinic solvents
They do not contain aliphatic or
isoparaffinic solvents, or if they do, it is
just a small %
Higher flash-point No flash-point
Less flammable than low boiling point
solvents
Water based products are not flammable
Applying a reduced amount of product,
the same or even better results may be
obtained
Flow must be adjusted and is necessary to
pay attention to drying time
Comparasion between Class III & Water
based release agents

24. Water based release agents
Advantages in comparasion with the use of solvent based release agents:
• Less VOC’s related to direct emissions
• Less transport restrictions
• Healthier working environment
• No flammability risks

25. About CONCENTROL
Facilities: Factory 23.000 m2; 30 reactors
from 0.5m3 to 25m3
Human capital: 110 Employees, 16 in R+D
Location: Riudellots de la Selva (Spain), 80
km to Barcelona, 75 km to the French border
Divisions:
Release agents & Silicone surfactants
Food chemicals
Special Chemicals
Company was founded in 1941 & started its activity as Productos Concentrol in 1968

26. The Company has undergone an intense expansion process over the last two decades and
now operates with its three major divisions in more than 60 countries on five continents.

27. Mision & Vision
To develop and provide global chemical
solutions in a fast and flexible way
Becoming a world leader in our strategic
product families
Values

29. Pol. Ind. Girona
17457 Riudellots de la Selva (GIRONA) · Spain
T. +34 972 478 091 · F. +34 972 477 115
sales@concentrol.com · www.concentrol.com