Following the successful and oversubscribed launch of Blowing Agent Systems; Formulation and Processing meeting in February 1998, Blowing Agents 99, a two day conference was held at The Manchester Conference Centre Weston Building, Manchester, UK. Key companies made presentations at this conference including Exancel, Solvay, Bayer, Rapra and Lehmann and Voss.

This unique conference, dedicated to the critical role of blowing agents in foamed plastics and rubber, assembled major blowing agents manufacturers and suppliers, new process providers and academia to present insight into the industrial progress and research for foam generation.

List of Papers

Chemical Foaming Agents Improve Performance and Productivity
Michael E. Reedy, Reedy International Corporation, USA

Developments of Chemical Blowing Agents (CBAs) for the Polyolefin Extrusion Process
Nick Lippel, Lehmann & Voss & Co., Germany

New Micro Pelletised Blowing Agent Masterbatches
Georg Gundacker, Zebra-chem vof, The Netherlands

PPSO - A New High Temperature Foaming Agent
Dirk R. Zierer, Robert Heinz, Klaus Breyer and Walter Michaeli, TICONA and IKV, RWTH Aachen, Germany

Rapid Yet Accurate Thermal Conductivity Measurements Using a New Apparatus to ISO 8301 (BS874)
John Gearing, Gearing Scientific, UK

Expandable Microspheres as the Blowing Agent Keep Control of the Foaming Process
Klas Elfving, Expancel, Sweden

Optimisation of the Production of Foamed Rubber Goods with a Lab Scale Method
E. Fuchs and K.S. Reinartz, Bayer AG, Germany

The Next Generation of Gas Technologies
Barrie Penney, Pentex Sales Limited, UK

Factors Affecting Blowing Agent Selection and Use in the 21st Century
Paul Ashford, Caleb Management Services, UK

Carbon Dioxide as Blowing Agent in the Extrusion of Thermoplastic Foams
Martin Gale, Rapra Technology, UK

Microcellular Foam Molding Technology
David Pierick and Rob Janisch, Trexel, Inc., USA

Third Generation HFC Blowing Agents for the Production of XPS Boardstocks used for Thermal Insulation
Pierre Dournel, Lothar Zipfel and Pierre Barthlemy, Solvay SA, Belgium, Solvay Fluor und Derivate, Germany

Physical Foaming Agents: Structure, Property and Performance
Thomas M. Pontiff, Techmer PM, LLC, USA

HFC365mfc, The Key for High Performance Rigid Polyurethanes Foams
Lothar Zipfel(1), Pierre Dournel(2), Pierre Barthlemy(1), (1)Solvay SA, Belgium, (2)Solvay Fluor und Derivate, Germany