Applications

Solkane 141b, a high-purity liquid, has a wide range of applications in the plastic foams sector. Because of its low gas phase thermal conductivity Solkane 141b is the best available replacement to CFC11 as a blowing agent for rigid polyurethane insulating foams. Compared to CFC11, Solkane 141b is approximately ten times less harmful to stratospheric ozone and is therefore recognized as a viable solution allowing the rapid phase-out of CFCs.

Over the past years polyurethane manufacturers have successfully made the transition to Solkane 141b.

Although Solkane 141b is the only available “near drop-in” alternative, the transition from CFC11 to Solkane 141b was not just a direct substitution: Solkane 141b is a more polar molecule than CFC11, and therefore has a slight solvent effect towards the polyurethane matrix. The result is a slightly weaker foam and somewhat inferior dimensional stability when CFC11 is simply substituted by Solkane 141b. Accordingly modified raw materials and modified formulations for polyurethane rigid foams have been successfully designed.