Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Netherlands: The PolyStyreneLoop (PSL) Cooperative has inaugurated the European expanded polystyrene (EPS) / extruded polystyrene insulation (XPS) industry’s closed-loop project for the recycling of polystyrene (PS) insulation foam waste in Amsterdam. The research is testing a concept to dissolve the recently restricted chemical, Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), from PS foam waste while also allowing for the recovery of bromine, which can then be used again for the production of new flame retardants. The PSL project is intended to help the European Union (EU) deal with an expected 20Mt of insulation material containing HBCD that will need to be disposed of in the next 50 years.

The PolyStyreneLoop demonstration plant aims to begin operations in 2018 and will have the capacity to treat up to 3300t/yr of PS waste. Once up and running, the PolyStyreneLoop project will be able to cope with incoming PS foam waste streams and produce recyclate that could be used in new PS foam insulation installations. The new initiative has been financed and built by the 56 members and supporters of the PolyStyreneLoop Cooperative. The EU has also supported it financially.

The association for European Manufacturers of Expanded Polystyrene (EUMEPS) said that recycling PS foam typically saves as much as 50% CO₂ emissions compared to using it for energy recovery. It added that it believes that the technology it is testing offers an additional contribution to resource efficiency at the end-of-life phase for PS foam insulation, on top of the CO₂ emissions already saved by reducing energy consumption during the long-use phase of a building.

Romania: Austrotherm has opened an insulation plant at Arad. The Austrian company opened its third expanded polystyrene (EPS) plant in the country in early November 2017. The unit is intended to serve Transylvania and other western regions.

The company originally entered the Romanian market in 1999 with an EPS plant in Bucharest. A second plant at Horia was opened in 2006. Production of extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation followed at this site in 2008.

Czech Republic: Consumption of expanded polystyrene (EPS) fell by 6.8% year-on-year to 57,900t in 2016 from 62,100t in 2015. The decrease was caused by a decline of the domestic construction sector said the Czech EPS Association, according to the Czech News Agency (CTK). Local building output fell by 5.9% in 2016 according to the Czech Statistical Office (CSU).

"The decrease is being caused mainly by lengthy building permit proceedings in our country. In comparison with Germany or Austria, building permit proceedings in the Czech Republic take more than twice as long," said insulation association chairman Pavel Zemene.

Around 85% of the total EPS consumption in the country is used in the construction sector, and 50% is used for building insulation.

Poland: Ineos Enterprises has agreed in principle to sell Ineos Styrenics, its expandable polystyrene (EPS) business, to Synthos for Euro80m. Completion of the transaction is likely to occur in the second half of 2016, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Ineos Styrenics produces EPS for the building, construction and packaging industries at manufacturing sites at Wingles and Ribécourt in Northern France and Breda in the Netherlands. The three production sites are supported by its technology Centre in Breda. Customer Service, Logistics and Finance groups are also located in Breda. The business employs around 250 people who will transfer as part of this deal.

“The aim of the acquisition will be to provide the highest quality EPS to ensure that EPS remain the insulation material of choice for our customers.” said Tomasz Kalwat, CEO of Synthos.

Synthos S.A. is one of the largest manufacturers of chemical raw materials in Poland. The company is the first European manufacturer of emulsion rubbers and is a leading manufacturer of polystyrene for foaming applications. The Company is traded on the Polish stock exchange with its headquarters located in Oświęcim

US: The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) in California has asserted that polystyrene is not the same as styrene and is not listed by the state as a substance that causes cancer. The OEHHA has added styrene to a list of a list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer for purposes of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65).

"There is sufficient scientific information to demonstrate that the intended uses of these materials are safe,” said the OEHHA. "While free or unreacted styrene may be present in such products, only styrene exposures that pose a significant cancer risk would require a warning." Styrene is used to make expanded polystyrene (EPS) but the substances have different properties. The OEHHA's listing is based on the findings of the 12th edition of the National Toxicology Program's Report on Carcinogens that assesses the potential for risks associated with styrene, primarily in work environments where levels of styrene exposure may be higher.

US: Carpenter Co. has opened a new expanded polystyrene (EPS) plant in Elkhart, Indiana. The new plant will supply the upper Midwest markets. It will be fully operational in March 2016.

"We are excited to expand our effective marketing area into the Midwest area of the country," said Larry King, vice president Insulation Division of Carpenter.

The Elkhart EPS facility will be managed by Richard Thain, who previously worked at the Carpenter EPS plant in Lakeland, Florida. Carpenter currently operates EPS production facilities in Fogelsville, Pennsylvania, High Point, North Carolina and Lakeland, Florida.

US: Albemarle Corporation, a flame retardant manufacturer, and ICL, a specialty chemical company, have announced that they have entered into a long-term agreement for the supply of a polymeric flame retardant. The product is manufactured at ICL's facilities in the Netherlands and in Israel using technology licensed from Dow Global Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.

This next generation flame retardant, which is marketed by Albemarle under the brand name GreenCrest and by ICL under the brand name FR122P, is a sustainable alternative for customers transitioning from hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD)-based flame retardants currently used by the building industry in extruded polystyrene (XPS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam insulation products. Albemarle will supply ICL with bromine for the production of GreenCrest, associated with the agreement. The agreement is subject to certain conditions precedent, including approval of Israel's Antitrust Authority.

Albemarle and ICL will continue to provide independent marketing, sales and technical service to their respective customers in Europe and around the world to ensure a transition as EPS and XPS producers continue to shift from HBCD to the polymeric flame retardants.

China: BASF has adopted a polymeric flame retardant for Neopor in China. It has replaced the flame retardant hexabromo­cyclododecane (HBCD) with PolyFR in its white expandable polystyrene insulation product.

“There is a greater need than ever for energy efficiency in the commercial and residential construction sectors, and EPS insulation materials like Neopor have the right properties to serve this need. Additionally, with the switch to PolyFR, we are now ensuring that the thermal insulation products are suitable for a wide range of sustainable building projects in the future. These high-quality materials can help developers address the increasing market requirements for energy efficient living and working spaces while ensuring regulatory compliance,” said Giorgio Greening, Senior Vice President of BASF’s global styrene foams business unit.

PolyFR is already used as an effective flame retardant in BASF’s portfolio of polystyrene-based insulation materials worldwide, including the Neopor range used in Europe, North America and China. As the first manufacturer in Europe and the first in Korea to switch entirely to PolyFR, BASF is now the first to do so in China.

Brazil: Sulzer has received an order from Innova for the delivery of a foam production system with Sulzer's extruder-based melt impregnation technology. The 24,000t/yr plant in Triunfo, Brazil, will produce expanded polystyrene (EPS). Commercial production is planned to start in the middle of 2016.

Videolar-Innova is the first and only petrochemical company in Brazil to integrate the production units for ethylbenzene, toluene, styrene monomer and polystyrene into a single industrial plant. The newly-formed company is the biggest producer of styrene monomer and polystyrene in Brazil. With Sulzer's support, Videolar-Innova will enter the South American insulation market. The company will provide strategic downstream integration with unique production capabilities, in a region that still imports most of its EPS.

UK: Two management buyouts (MBOs) at Synbra Group have resulted in the establishment of the UK's largest expanded polystyrene (EPS) producer.

With the financial backing of Mobeus Equity Partners, the management of Styropack and Jablite have successfully completed MBOs. The new company is owned by Richard Lee, the former CEO of Styropack, as well as Ken Hutchins, who now acts as finance director. The two other owners are Wayne Brown, who will oversee operations and Mobeus' John Colley, who has been named chairman.

The new owners have assured customers that business will proceed as usual, adding that they plan to further strengthen the two companies' market share in the future. "We are absolutely determined to grow our new company into a larger, thriving business whose products are always the first choice for insulation and packaging in the UK," said Lee. Styropack produces packaging solutions for the shipping, automotive, pharmaceutical, fishery and gardening segments, while Jablite specialises in the manufacture of EPS insulation.