Moscow — The Russian government plans to create conditions to promote use of polyurethanes in its construction and heat insulation industries, according to a spokesman of Denis Manturov the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade.
Russia to promote polyurethane in domestic construction
Manturov, promoting PU.
The change is due to the need for greater fuel efficiency in buildings and the growing pressure to meet Western standards in the state-planned domestic construction industry, the spokesman added. This could see polyurethane replacing glass wool.
A Technical Committee for the Standardisation of Building Materials has been established, Manturov said. He added that it will focus on the design of new standards and technical regulations for the domestic construction industry.
In the meantime, Alexei Gorokhov, an executive director of the Russian Association of Producers of Polyurethane-based Panels said the recovery of the domestic market of sandwich panels from the crisis should create conditions for the increase of consumption of polyurethane foam in Russia during the next several years.
According to Association data, last year the Russian market of sandwich panels fell by 15%, however this year its growth will be equivalent to 5-7% or even more.
Gorokhov has added polyurethane foam is slowly increasing its market share, gradually replacing glass wool. Last year, the balance of the use of both materials during the production of sandwich panels in Russia was equivalent to 29% and 65% respectively, while this year these figures will change to 39% and 52% respectively.
According to analysts of the Association, by 2025 up to 65% of the overall production of sandwich panels in Russia will be based on polyurethane foam. At the same time in the thermal insulation segment, these figures should reach 10% in the case of polyurethane foam and 65% of mineral wool.
At present, the main spheres of application of sandwich panels (PUR, PIR) are agricultural (30%), cold rooms (30%) and warehouses (20%).
The Association proposes to develop standards for polyurethane foam products, as well as, to introduce a new method for testing roof structures for fire hazards in cooperation with the Ministry of Emergencies of Russia
Until recently, Russia was the largest consumer of foamable materials in Eastern Europe, they were used in the construction of communication networks and in the oil and gas industry, however the financial crisis in Russia resulted in a significant decline of their consumption.
