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.

Ireland: Kingspan Group’s sales of insulation board and panels have grown strongly so far in 2017. Its board sales grew by 16% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2017 and its panel sales grew by 10%. Overall, the group’s sales revenue rose by 19% to Euro2.69bn. It attributed the growth in revenue for its insulation products to passing on costs from rising input costs. Its French market was reported as notably positive, although the UK market was described as ‘indecisive’ around order placement for board sales. It added that its Kooltherm product continues to outgrow its other insulation materials.

Czech Republic: Rockwool is planning to use its Bohumin plant’s full production capacity to make mineral wool in 2017. In 2016 the unit produced a record 4Mm³ of the product and so far it has produced 80% of this in the first nine months of 2017, according to the CIA news agency. The increased production levels follow an upgrade at the site in 2015. Insulation products from Bohumin are sold locally, in Slovakia and elsewhere in Europe.

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.

US: Three types of commercial and residential insulation produced by Owens Corning have been certified as made with renewable energy. These products represent the first ever to have met the requirements of SCS Global Services’ certification protocol to validate electricity used to make them is generated entirely from wind.

This certification follows a power purchase agreements Owens Corning signed in 2015 that enabled new wind capacity in Texas and Oklahoma. Both wind farms came online in late 2016 and can generate 1.1MWh/yr of electricity. For every MWh of renewable electricity generated, the company receives one Renewable Energy Credit (REC). It then applies the RECs toward the manufacture of more sustainable products.

“Reducing the embodied carbon in building products has long been a discussion across the building industry,” said Frank O’Brien-Bernini, Owens Corning vice president and chief sustainability officer. “We’re excited to see it come to life through certified products made with renewable energy and reduced embodied carbon.

The three types of insulation available with the wind power certification are EcoTouch Insulation, Thermafiber RainBarrier Continuous Insulation and Unbonded Loosefill Insulation.