Sao Paulo, Brazil -- Purcom Chemical, based in Barueri in Sao Paolo, Brazil, has won the Abiquim Technology Award 2010. The award comes six months after obtaining the approval of UN and Ministry of Environment in Brazil for its polyurethane foam systems based on Ecomate, which eliminate use of HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons).
Purcom said it has invested about $2 million in the last five years to get approval for it system to 14 different applications in PU, including the filling of refrigerators, manufactured according to sustainability standards required by the largest producer of soft drinks in the world.
HCFCs damage the ozone layer that protects the earth's atmosphere and mitigates the greenhouse effect caused by pollution. They will be banned from the Brazilian market in 2013, as required under the Montreal Protocol, said Purcom.
Today, HCFCs are still used in 90% of polyurethane foams (PU) manufactured in Brazil. "That will change soon," said Gerson Silva, director of Research and Development at Purcom. "Ecomate will not require any investment by the industry and price difference compared to conventional formulas, is negligible," he added.
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