Recently, the Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) announced Wanhua’s WANNATE® 9131FC as the finalists for this year’s Polyurethane Innovation Award. The annual honor recognizes inventive new commercial technologies within the polyurethanes industry. The award will be presented to the winner during the 65th Polyurethanes Technical Conference, September 25-27, in San Antonio, TX.
WANNATE® 9131FC is a specially designed binder based on polymeric methylene diphenylene diisocyanate (pMDI). It is used for fabrication of molded wood pallets. WANNATE® 9131FC allows the use of raw materials such as processing wood waste (vs. virgin or new wood) to fabricate wood pallets with low carbon footprint, and it is a formaldehyde-free process. The use of WANNATE® 9131FC as the binder to fabricate molded wood pallets allows for increased production output, improved product performance such as mechanical strength, water-resistance, and decreased energy consumption.
Green and Low Carbon
Molded pallets are resource-friendly products, whose raw materials can include wood processing waste, wood fiber materials and crop stalks, etc. After authoritative third-party (SGS) testing, greenhouse gas emissions of the MDI molded wood pallet with dynamic load 2-3 tons from cradle to grave are 5.987kg CO2e, far lower than solid wood pallets and plastic pallets. In addition, as an adhesive, MDI does not release formaldehyde during storage and use, and zero formaldehyde addition in production, which can effectively ensure the occupational health of operators.
Stable and High Performance
The molecular structure of the product produced by the reaction of polyurethane and wood fiber is stable, and there will be no decomposition or other reactions at temperatures ranging from -50°C to 100°C. In the manufacturing process, MDI will react with the wood, generating high polymer compounds with strong water resistance, so the molded pallet using MDI binder has excellent waterproof and moisture-proof performance. In addition, compared with conventional molded pallets, the overall bearing performance of MDI molded pallets can be improved by 250%.
“Since the first Polyurethane Innovation Award was presented in 2006, polyurethane technology has developed rapidly to help address some of our most challenging issues, including energy efficiency and sustainability,” said Lee Salamone, senior director, CPI. “This year’s finalists have propelled the industry forward with their cutting-edge products. CPI congratulates Wanhua on being named the finalists for this year and we look forward to it showcasing its innovations at the conference.”
Over the years, Wanhua Chemical Group has continued to optimize packaging solutions and promote the concept of green circulation. Looking ahead, we will collaborate with relevant parties to provide customers with more low-carbon and high-performance options.