News and Updates

08 May 2012 - Providers of technologies from different parts of the world that use non-Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) met on May 8, 2012 to showcase some of the latest and most cost-effective foam blowing agents that are available in the market.

 

Experts from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States of America shared the technologies that they have developed in support of the global call to phase out substances that destroy the ozone layer.

 

Organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through the Philippine Ozone Desk (POD) of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), the workshop was held to provide local spray foam manufacturers, chemical suppliers, concerned government agencies and local government units, information on the various non-ODS technologies that can be environment-friendly alternatives to hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC)-141b, a chemical widely used as a foam blowing agent.

 

According to DENR Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje, the emphasis now of the parties to the Montreal Protocol is on the phase out of HCFCs. Countries all over the world are seriously committed to find appropriate non-ODS substances and technologies that can be effectively used by countries all over the world.

 

“The country has made significant progress in the protection of the ozone layer. What is equally exciting is the technology that countries such as Japan has developed that address not only ozone depletion but also help against global warming,” Paje said.

 

Among the resource speakers for the one-day workshop were Riccardo Savigliano, Project Manager from UNIDO, Yoshiyuki Ohnuma, General Manager of the Research and Development Division of Achilles Corporation in Japan, Ng Oon Keat, Southeast Asia District Manager HPC&F Equipment of Graco Inc. in Malaysia, Roy Choudhury of Foam Supplies, Inc., Earth City in Missouri, USA, and Lawrence Chin, Technical Service Manager for Asia of Honeywell Pte. Ltd. in Singapore.

 

The DENR-EMB through the POD has recently been a recipient of a grant from the Multilateral Fund and the Government of Japan through its Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as the implementing agency to phase out HCFC-141b in the foam sector. Part of this grant is the free application of polyurethane foam that utilizes a more eco-friendly substitute known as supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2).

 

Just recently, DENR Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje witnessed the spraying of one of the buildings of EMB at the DENR compound in Visayas Avenue, Quezon City with spray foam using SCCO2 as a blowing agent. The product is developed by Achilles Corporation in Japan.

Supercritical CO2 has been widely used in Japan for interior application but it is the first time for the product to be used externally in the Philippines. Based on test results conducted by a host of international experts, the foam product using the non-ODS alternativeas a blowing agent is comparable with the quality of the foam that uses HCFC-141b.

 

DENR Secretary Paje wants the roofs of other buildings inside the DENR compound to be covered with non-ODS spray foam to help conserve energy.

Spraying polyurethane foam in roofs has been widely used by mall operators in the country to reduce electricity consumption and lower roof maintenance costs.

				" Workshop on non-Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS )Technologies Presentations"