Dow (NYSE:DOW) introduces innovative low cyclic, low volatile VORASURF Silicone Surfactants to help its customers address growing market interest in lightweight flexible foams.
“As more and more consumers pivot towards the online mattress-in-a-box ordering experience, which offers more customizable products delivered right to their homes, formulators are looking for more advanced cell control solutions that deliver lightweight, low emissions, and high comfort memory and conventional foams,” said Justin Weare, global marketing manager for Polyurethane Additives at Dow. “Not only is the development of lightweight foams critical to meeting current market needs, but an added benefit of these foams relates to sustainability. Weight reduction indeed allows for reduced carbon emissions associated with transport and delivery to the consumer, improved resource efficiency, and waste reduction. Today’s innovations go the extra mile, helping customers transition to auxiliary blowing agents, address fire safety requirements, and minimize volatile organic compounds emissions.”
Highlighted VORASURF Surfactant products include:
• VORASURF FF 5955 Additive: a polyurethane surfactant innovation enabling higher air flow, better aeration, EO-rich, viscoelastic or hypersoft foams for more lightweight, high-comfort bedding and furniture applications
• VORASURF DC 5188 Additive: a new surfactant compatible with very low to low density (under 15 kg/ m³) continuous slabstock and box foam for furniture applications, particularly suitable for cost-driven markets
• VORASURF FF 5959 Additive: a next-generation solution particularly suitable as a co-surfactant to decrease the dosage of cell opener in a formulation, offering finer control over the cell size and foam recovery and pneumaticity properties in viscoelastic foams
VORASURF FF 5955 Additive also offers good performance with auxiliary blowing agents, offering new choices of surfactants to help formulators transition towards low ozone depleting potential (ODP) and low global warming potential (GWP) options, including carbon dioxide.
In addition to resource efficiency, transportation cost, and carbon emissions benefits, lower density, high comfort foams also bring tangible productivity benefits to customers by increasing production yield and reducing costs.
Dow’s technical service and development specialists Sophie Perilleux and Dario Manzini will present the specifics of these innovations and showcase their performance attributes in bedding and furniture foam applications during a webinar on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Participants are invited to register online.
Dow has collaborated with the polyurethane industry for decades, offering formulators a wide portfolio of solutions, including silicone performance additives, surfactants, and release agents. Formulators around the world also have access to technical support and innovation capabilities to tailor Dow’s advanced, customizable polyurethane additives to address specific performance, sustainability and profitability objectives. For more information about Dow’s silicone polyurethane surfactants portfolio, visit www.dow.com/vorasurf.
