Elimination of Rigid PU Foam Thermal Insulation Shortcomings by Determining and Adjusting the Factors Influencing Gas Permeability of Polymer Matrix (PURGE)

Project status

Active

Project execution time

01.01.2020 to 31.12.2022

Project type

LZP FLPP

Project number

lzp-2019/1-0354

Involved laboratories

Polymer laboratory

Call, activity

Latvian Council of Science Fundamental and Applied Research Project 2019 (LCS FARP 2019)

Project goal

Aim of the project: The objective of PURGE project is to determine low GWP blowing agent permeability through sustainable feedstock based rigid PU foam polymer matrix and to determine what factors of the polymer matrix chemical structure influence the gas permeability.

The synergistic research approach in PURGE project will allow to develop rigid polyurethane foam thermal insulation with higher efficiency and prolonged service lifetime. The originality and innovation of the proposed approach in PURGE project is in developing and validating a method of rational design of sustainable feedstock based rigid PU foam with low GWP blowing agent against thermal insulation aging. The results of PURGE project will provide a guideline for sustainable feedstock (bio- and recycled- content), based rigid polyurethane foam formulators on selecting raw materials which will ensure good stability of the thermal conductivity of the material. This will allow to develop highly stable thermal insulation material for a wide range of applications in civil engineering and appliance industry sectors. The obtained knowledge in PURGE project will allow to predict the stability of the thermal insulation material beforehand, thus removing hugely time-consuming experiments of the thermal conductivity ageing.

 

Place of project implementationLatvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry (LSIWC), Dzerbenes str. 27, Riga, LV-1006 (koks@edi.lv)

Planned total duration of the project– 36 months