PU conference held in Boston.

Polyurethanes Conference 2000, sponsored by the Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry, will take place October 8-11 at the Westin Copley Place in Boston, MA.

Technical sessions, including 56 technical papers, will be presented on the following topics: Environmental; Coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers performance; Furnishings; Construction; Coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers fundamentals/polyurea; Automotive I; Polyols; Automotive II; Testing methods; and Appliance.

Industry issues sessions addressing key regulatory and policy issues and market opportunities for the polyurethanes industry will include: Current issues in furnishings flammability; Multicultural aspects of global marketing; Isocyanates in the workplace; What is coming out of your stack and how much; Government regulations in the new millennium; E-business - it's changing the way business is done; Guidelines for interacting with today's fast-paced media; and Promoting the benefits of polyurethanes.

Poster sessions will be included on CASE/automotive, environmental and testing, and polyurethane foams.

The technical program for Polyurethanes Conference 2000 is as follows:

Session A: Environmental - "Recent technical advances in recycling of scrap polyurethane foam as finely ground powder in flexible foam," Herman Stone, Robert Villwock and Bryan Martel, Mobius Technologies; "The investigation of amine emissions from polyurethane foam," Hiroyuki Kometani, Yutaka Tamano, Takahiro Masuda, Roger Van Maris and Kenneth M. Gay, Tosoh; "LCA on rigid polyurethane foams: Environmental competitiveness of 365-mfc-blown products," Hermann Krahling and Lothar Zipfel, Solvay; "Protecting workers from PMDI-solvent combinations - what gloves work best," William R. Robert, BASF, and Joe Jadlocki and Vicki Fulimeni, Huntsman Polyurethanes; and "Methods for the recycling of polyurethane and polyurethane components," Marcel Neuray, Hans-Michael Sulzbach and Juergen Wirth, Hennecke.

Session B: CASE performance - "Thermoplastic polyurethanes: New material options for high performance footwear," Rafael E. Camargo, Nick Limerkens and Craig M. Robert, Huntsman; "Apparatus and method for spraying a rapid setting material or a rapid setting multi-component material," Russell Lewis and Michael Solomon, Rhino Linings USA; "Non-sagging polyurethane compositions," Ralf Guether, Peter H. Markusch and Robert L. Cline, Bayer; "Advanced PU elastomers for demanding wear applications," Luigi Pellacani, Gerhard Mueller and Michael Janssen, Dow Deutschland; "Thermal performance enhancement of urethane elastomers," Joseph de Almeida and Raj B. Durairaj, Indspec Chemical; and "Designing polyurethane elastomers with low compression sets," Ashok M. Sarpeshkar, Peter Markusch and Robert L. Cline, Bayer.

Session C: Furnishings - "Low resilience - high performance recent advances in viscoelastic flexible slab-stock foam," Silke Kintrup, Jean-Paul Treboux and Henri Mispreuve, Dow Europe S.A.; "New high ethylene oxide polyether polyol for soft and ultrasoft foam production," Fernando D'Andrea, Fabio Quintas, Stanley Hager and Richard Skorpenske, Bayer; "An evaluation of fire-retardant properties of polyurethane flexible foam materials by cone calorimetry," Chandrasiri Jayakody and Dan Myers, Chestnut Ridge Foam, and Gordon L. Nelson, Florida Institute of Technology; "New catalysts for low VOC in flexible polyether slab-stock foam," Juergen Rothe, Cor Wehman and Holger Cordelair, Nitroil Performance Chemicals; "New technology for viscoelastic foam," Stanley L. Hager, Richard Skorpenske, Sebastien Triouleyr and Faouzi Joulak, Bayer; and "Foam-in-foam polyurethane composite," Fyodor Shutov and Yuan Yuan, Tennessee Technological University.

Session D: Construction - "Novel polyols for all-water-blown open-cell rigid polyurethane foam," Hiromichi Hotta, Hisashi Sato, Takashi Ochi and Hiromitsu Takeyasu, Asahi Glass; "Stimulating composite panel building creativity to achieve market extension," Werner Van Peteghem, Huntsman Polyurethanes; "Sandwich panels: Innovative solutions using vacuum-assisted foam injection," Piero Corradi and Max Taverna, Cannon; Carlo Cardinali, Misa Sud Refrigerazione; Matteo Benedusi, Manni; and Luigi Bertucelli, Dow Italia; "Novel polyurethane based systems for pre-insulated pipes applying the continuous spray technique," Jurgen Kellner, Philippe Zarka, Thomas Bronnum and Tony Abisaleh, Huntsman Polyurethanes; "HFC-245fa systems co-blown with [CO.sub.2]: Quality, cost effective HFC alternative for construction foam applications," Mary Bogdan and David Williams, Honeywell; and "HFC-365mfc blends: Status and development as blowing agent for high performance insulation foams," Pierre Dournel and Lothar Zipfel, Solvay.

Session E: CASE fundamentals/ polyurea - "New UV-curable coatings for the resilient flooring industry," Dirk Bontinek and Michel Idacavage, UCB Chemicals; "Thermal oxidation of the methylene diphenyl unit in MDI-TPU," Ruediger Voelkel, Thomas Servay, Helmut Schmiedberger and Stephan Lehmann, BASF AG; "Advanced non-isocyanate polyurethane coatings," Oleg L. Figovsky, Polymate, Ltd., and Leonid D. Shapovalov, Chemonol, Ltd.; "Evaluating a secondary aliphatic diamine curative in colorless, light-stable, IPDI-based polyurea coatings using a new, low-pressure, static-mixing technique," David W. House and Dejan Ilijevski, UOP LLC; "Performance and processing enhancements of aromatic polyurea elastomer systems prepared from high 2,4'-MDI isocyanates," Aureliano Perez, Jr. and Jay A. Johnston, Huntsman; and "New reactive amines with delayed reaction times for polyurea spray applications," Matthias Sikorski, Juergen Rother and Holger Cordelair, Nitroil Performance Chemicals.

Session F: Automotive I - "A new generation of cell openers for rigid foams - improved balance of stabilization and cell opening," Tammo Boinowitz, Manfred Klincke and George Burkhart, Goldschmidt AG; "Industrial developments in co-injection/long-fiber technology," Jim Riley, Max Taverna and Alberto Zarantonello, Cannon; "Performance of HFC-245fa in integral skin foam applications," David Williams and Mary Bogdan, Honeywell; "TDI based automotive seating: Solutions for enhancing foam durability," Jos Cenens, Els Van Eetvelde, Carol Banner and Steve Chin, Shell Chemical; "Accelerated testing for durability performance of automotive seating foam," Robert Brasington and Herwig De Roeck, Bayer AG; and "A newly developed MDI based polyurethane flexible foam for automotive seat cushion having both superior static and dynamic properties," Shunsuke Murakami, Kazunori Saiki, Terou Satou, Takao Fukami and Masahiro Hayashi, Nippon Polyurethane Industry Ltd.

Session G: Polyols - "New developments in polyester polyols," D. Kip Hillshafer, Michael E. O'Brien and Eric J. Geiger, Stepan; "Dimerized fatty acid technology in polyurethanes," Eric Appelman, Maarten van der Wouden and Bryan Danek, Uniqema; "Polyurethane elastomers based on poly (1,3-propanediol carbonate) glycols," Aisa Sendijarevic, Kurt C. Frisch, Sr. and Alma Camara-Hinojosa, University of Detroit Mercy, and Wyndham H. Boon, Dave E. Gwyn, Thomas C. Forschner and Chris J. Smith, Shell Chemical; "Imidazole, a high efficiency alkoxylation catalyst," Mihail Ionescu and Stanca Mihai, Institute of Chemical Research, and Constantin Roibu and Veronica Preoteasa, S.C. Oltchim S.A.; "Effect of structure on properties of soy-based polyols and polyurethanes," Zoran S. Petrovic, Andrew Guo, Ivan Javni and Wei Zhang, Pittsburgh State University; and "Physical properties of flexible polyurethane liquid [CO.sub.2] slab-stock foaming mixtures," Wilfried P.M. Maas and Wouter Koot, Shell.

Session H: Automotive II - "Polyurethane foam molding technologies for improving total passenger compartment comfort," Jean-Marie Sonney, H. Phan Thanh, F.M. Casati and R. Broos, Dow; "Low-density HR-molded foam systems for automotive seat cushion," Hiroyuki Utsumi, Masahiro Isobe, Tohru Hiraide, Kazuhike Ohkubo and Seijiro Sakai, Mitsui Chemicals; and "Differences in dynamic performance of molded polyurethane foam as a function of pad thickness and supported load," Brian L. Neal, Bayer.

Session J: Testing methods - "Determination of hydroxyl number for polyols by a new derivatization mid-infrared spectroscopic procedure," Nathan Chaffin, Samuel Samples, Kevin Dix and Kurt Frisch, Jr., Bayer; "Implementation of rapid nondestructive thermal QC test for vacuum insulation panels for appliance manufacturing," Nancy Mathis and Christina Chandler, Mathis Instruments Ltd.; "Looking beyond the surface: Performance standards in carpet backings," Michael A. Norton, Dow Chemical; "Evaluation, modification and adaptation of an airflow test method for polyurethane foams," R. Gummaraju, S.E. Wujcik, R.F. Pask, H.J. Koller and K.A. Reimann, BASF; "Investigating automotive polyurethane foam hardness testing methodologies," Andrew Milivojevich, G.R. Blair and A. Russ, The Woodbridge Group; and "Solving the automation puzzle - a comprehensive approach for polyurethane physical testing," Steven E. Robbins, Venkata Balabhadra, Mark A. Eckert, David R. Hubble, Michael E. Rusak and Soo R. Yoon, Air Products and Chemicals.

Session K: Appliance - "Aging of polyurethane foam insulation in simulated refrigerator panels - two-year results with third-generation blowing agents," Kenneth E. Wilkes, W. Alex Gabbard and Fred J. Weaver, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and J. Richard Booth, Tennessee Technological University; "Long term energy efficiency of PU-insulation for refrigeration," Holger Siefert and Anja Biedermann, BASF Elastogran GmbH; "The effect of thermal aging of polyurethane to increasing the energy consumption of refrigerators and freezers," Fatih Ozkadi, Arcelik A.S. R&D Center; "The effect of blowing agent on refrigerator/freezer TEWI," Robert W. Johnson, Whirpool; "Appliance foams with reduced levels of HFC-245fa," Herman P. Doerge and Steven L. Schilling, Bayer; and "Process solutions for alternative blowing agents," George Gula and Lisa Shaner, Cannon USA.

Registration fees for Polyurethanes Conference 2000 range from $200 to $600. Further information is available from the Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry [phone].

A training seminar on "Understanding polyurethanes - chemistry, raw materials, markets and applications," will be held in conjunction with Polyurethanes Conference 2000, October 9-11 at the Westin Copley Place, Boston, MA.

Seminar instructors will include Robin L Grieve and James M. O'Connor of SynUthane International, and T. Roy McClellan of McClellan Consulting.

The aim of this seminar is to give delegates the information required for a greater understanding of polyurethanes, to explain and illustrate the principles and processes, in addition to providing a familiarity with the many applications and characteristics of this material. Seminar documentation is extensive.

Delegates will gain an informal and practical knowledge of polyurethanes, enabling them to utilize the fundamental chemistry and understand the principles of the raw materials involved, the classification and appreciation of their properties, processing and applications.

The seminar is designed for technologists, technical sales personnel, marketing personnel, plant managers, materials and development specialists and technical managers.

Registration fees for this training seminar range from $500 to $600. Details are available from the API [phone].