Polyurethanes conference held. (Meetings).

Polyurethanes Conference 2002, sponsored by the Alliance for the Polyurethane Industry, will take place October 13-16 at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, UT.

Technical sessions will include presentation of 75 technical papers on such subjects as construction, automotive, environmental health and safety, blowing agents, combustibility, CASE (coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers), testing, furnishings, processing innovations, appliance, footwear and fundamentals.

Industry issues sessions will address key regulatory and policy issues and market opportunities for the polyurethanes industry in chemical security, automotive, blowing agents, footwear and combustibility.

Poster sessions will be included on coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers, flexible foam/automotive, fundamentals/equipment and rigid foam.

With the phase-out of HCFCs imminent, the presentations in Session A on "Construction" will turn to practical issues involving alternative blowing agents. Each of the basic options (hydrocarbons, HFCs, water and combinations of these blowing agents) have been studied, and the resulting foam properties have been characterized. Resin solubility, flammability and long-term thermal conductivity are facets of hydrocarbon-blown foams that this session will explore.

Polyurethanes are said to offer the automotive engineer tremendous flexibility. Complex shapes and rapid part production cycles are said to be easily achievable, and density and physical properties can be tailored to meet the requirements of the application. The papers in Session B on "Automotive: Advances in automotive polyurethane materials" will provide several specific examples of this versatility.

Session C on "Environment, health and safety" will include discussions of the basics of regulatory compliance, and will concentrate on several issues that are often the subject of requests for supplier assistance, including how to comply with OSHA's current respirator standard, which includes the option of using air purifying respirators for some applications: how compliance with government regulations makes a company visible to the community: and how to answer questions about company products and the environmental impact of product disposal.

Session D on "Blowing agents" will explore developments in zero ODP (ozone depletion potential) blowing agents for the rigid foam industry. Papers will feature blowing agent developments, chemical processing, system optimization and required equipment modifications.

Papers presented during session E on "Automotive: Reduced VOC emissions for the automotive industry" will examine VOC reduction in parts production and end use within the automotive interior through utilization of new additives and foam systems. Papers will address the influence of reactive catalysists and catalytically active polyols. Attendees will see data demonstrating the attributes and performance enhancements to physical properties, with the objective of helping the polyurethanes industry achieve its goal of zero emission products.

Session F on "Combustibility" will provide attendees with an update on U.S. building codes for flammability. Fundamental explanations of flame retardancy and fire performance behavior will be given, and toxic combustion gas emission data will be presented. Also, the session will explore how intumescent coatings can be used as an alternative means of fire protection for flexible polyurethane loam applications.

Session G on "CASE (coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers)" will highlight three segments that are said to represent the diversity of the CASE marketplace and recent developments in response to changing market needs. Presentations will focus on new polyurethane dispersions for adhesive applications, coatings durability and weatherability in adverse environments, and high performance elastomer applications.

Importance of physical testing as both a development tool and a means of assuring performance will be the theme of Session H on "Testing." Testing of polyurethanes in areas as diverse as air flow, flammability and thermal conductivity will be highlighted. Flexible and rigid types of polyurethane foams will also be discussed. Seating foams, roofing insulation and product characterization are among the topics scheduled for presentation.

Session J on "Furnishings" will include presentations on advancements in C[O.sub.2] machinery technology to produce a broader foam product range. Emanation challenges in polyurethane foam related to regulatory, environmental and consumer concerns will also be discussed through formulation and raw material innovations.

Session K on "Processing innovations" will present new topics related to a variety of processes and equipment, including pentane in-line blending, multi-component mixing, an innovative approach to low pressure mixhead flushing and high pressure mixheads for multicolor technology.

Session L on "Appliance" will cover processing, formulations and additives of foams blown with non-ozone-depleting blowing agents such as HFCs and hydrocarbons. Performance and handling of these blowing agents, plus improvements in technology and equipment, will be detailed as to their impact on long-term foam properties and processing critical to the appliance industry.

Session M on "Footwear" will encompass every aspect of the role of polyurethanes in the global footwear industry. Leading sports companies will offer presentations on the use of polyurethanes from the perspective of a high performance user. The performance of final polyurethane products will also be explored.

Session N on "Fundamentals" will cover a broad spectrum of topics, including raw materials technologies for the separation of isomers of MDI, new storage stable liquid MDI, DMC catalysis of low monol polyetherols, novel Mannich polyols for spray applications and the general influence of particle size and distribution on performance of copolymer polyols.

Registration fees for Polyurethanes Conference 2002 range from $200 to $600. Further information is available from API's Member Services [phone].