Over the past twenty-five years, IFS Chemicals, a formulation house which specialises in developing polyurethane chemicals for a wide cross-section of worldwide industries, has earned itself a reputation in the field of environmental conservation.
In particular, it has developed plant and processes to produce polyurethane materials from naturally occurring oils and fats. These materials are then used in the manufacture of refrigerators, general insulation, building insulation and moulded automotive components.
In continuing to develop its environmentally friendly processes and products, the company has now designed, built and commissioned an innovative new plant in Roydon in Norfolk which manufactures polyol from rape-seed oil. The entire operation is based in East Anglia; industrial grade rape-seed oil is produced in the region, having been grown by local farmers. It is then used to manufacture the polyol in Roydon.
IFS Chemicals has already licensed manufacturing plants around the world which use indigenous varieties of oil and fat-yielding vegetation to produce polyols, which in turn are used to manufacture polyurethanes. Having initially gained considerable experience of the process in India using sunflower oil, the company went on to set up a plant and process in Malaysia using coconut oil to create a polyol. A similar project has also been completed in Brazil, the base ingredient being soya bean oil.
“The advantage of using natural oil-based polyols, especially in parts of the world where transport is difficult, is that they can be manufactured close to the local market, and immediately included in a fully formulated material system,” commented Dr. Barrie Colvin, Managing Director of IFS Chemicals.
“Following the same principle, it seemed logical to develop a polyol plant here in East Anglia where there is a ready supply of rape close to our Roydon factory.”
Natural oils are easily replenished and use low levels of energy in their conversion to polyols. Consequently, with over 7 million tonnes of polyurethane chemicals being used annually, in a wide variety of applications, natural oil polyols have a real ability to make a significant environmental impact.
IFS continues to lead the way in international environmental awareness associated with the chemical formulation of polyurethane materials.
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