—Interview with Mr. Yang Wenqi, General Manager of Asia Pacific, Fluoroproducts Division, Performance Materials Division, Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies Group
2017 is the 30th anniversary of the conclusion of the “Montreal Protocol”. According to the requirements of the “China Phase II HCFCs Phase-out Management Plan” approved by the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund of the 77th “Montreal Protocol”, my country’s domestic air-conditioning and heat pump water heater industry is the first The second phase will accelerate the phase-out of HCFCs on the basis of the first phase. It is planned to reduce the baseline level by 20% in 2018 and reduce it by 45% in 2020, which will be much earlier than the original target of 35% reduction in 2020.
As we all know, Honeywell is a global leader in the field of fluorochemical technology, and has been committed to the research and development of more environmentally friendly and efficient fluorochemicals. Honeywell produces and supplies non-ozone-depleting refrigerants for the world’s top air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment manufacturers, and provides a series of products such as blowing agents for the production of energy-saving and efficient thermal insulation foam materials. Recently, Tiantian Chemical Network conducted an exclusive e-mail interview with Mr. Yang Wenqi, General Manager of the Fluoroproducts Business Department of the Performance Materials Department of Honeywell Performance Materials and Technology Group, on issues related to the elimination of HCFCs and blowing agent replacement products.
Q1: What is the global and Chinese regional performance of Honeywell blowing agents in 2017? What is the strategic layout of the future market in China?
In 2017, Honeywell’s blowing agent business continued to maintain rapid growth in the world. There is an increasing demand for Solstice® LBA, a high performance and safe blowing agent product. More industries in the Chinese market have begun to phase out HCFCs blowing agents, and the new HFC-245fa blowing agent has maintained a steady growth. At the same time, due to export and energy efficiency requirements in the home appliance industry, more companies have started or expanded the use of more environmentally friendly and high-performance Solstice® LBA blowing agent products.
We believe that with the implementation of the Kigali Amendment, new energy efficiency standards and building insulation and fire protection standards in the Chinese market in the future, the demand for the fourth-generation Solstice® LBA blowing agent in various industries will continue to increase, and the demand for HFC The demand for blowing agents such as -245fa will also gradually decrease. We will adjust our production in China in due course, and invest in the construction of Solstice® LBA production equipment for the joint venture that has increased in China, so as to meet the changes in customer demand for blowing agent products.
Q2: The foaming agent developed by Honeywell is widely used in the fields of household appliances, building insulation, cold chain transportation and industrial insulation. For the development of foaming agent in the future, which one are you more optimistic about? an application area?
We are very optimistic about the application of Solstice® LBA, a more environmentally friendly, high-performance and safe blowing agent product, in these industries. The household appliance and cold chain transportation industries have very high requirements on energy efficiency, and the use of Solstice® LBA blowing agent can effectively improve the energy efficiency level of products. Strict fire protection standards will also be implemented in the field of building insulation and industrial insulation. Completely non-flammable blowing agents such as HFC-245fa and Solstice® LBA can help insulation board manufacturers meet the requirements of fire protection standards.
Q3: In the face of fierce competition in the global blowing agent market and with increasingly stringent environmental protection requirements and product performance standards, what is Honeywell’s response strategy?
Honeywell has always been in a leading position in the research and development of blowing agent products in the world. In the past few years, in the research and commercialization of new environmental protection and high-performance blowing Competitors have achieved commercialization many years ahead and have been recognized by many industries and customers for environmental protection and product performance. We will continue to cooperate with customers around the world to commercialize our fourth-generation high-performance and environmentally friendly blowing agent Solstice® LBA, and set up our production bases in North America and Asia according to the needs of different regions to meet the rising number of customers in the world need.
Q4: As we all know, China stated in the recent Montreal Convention that it will advance the complete phase-out plan of HCFC-141b to 2025. For this goal, what do you think is the current progress of the domestic market? Where is the greatest resistance?
Over the past few years, the process of phasing out HCFC-141b in China has been accelerating, thanks to the Chinese government’s vigorous promotion of the implementation of the commitments made in the Montreal Convention and its active advocacy of environmental protection. At the same time, various industries have also fully completed the development of HCFC-141b alternatives, technically meeting the conditions for the early phase-out of HCFC-141b. We believe that China will complete the phase-out plan of HCFC-141b according to the established target, and fully consider the application of products that can meet the low global warming potential (LGWP) regulations in the phase-out process in the future.
Q5: After the proposal of the Montreal Convention, what kind of development process has Honeywell experienced in the development of blowing agent solutions? What are Honeywell’s most important and latest foaming technologies to replace HCFC-141b, and what are their advantages and disadvantages?
Honeywell at �He has led the development and commercialization process of several generations of blowing agent products in the past few decades, and successfully developed and commercialized HFC-245fa products that do not destroy the ozone layer. Over the past 5 years, Honeywell has developed and commercialized Solstice® LBA, a fourth-generation blowing agent product that does not destroy the ozone layer, has a very low global warming potential (LGWP) and high performance. Thanks to its excellent comprehensive performance, Solstice® LBA has achieved remarkable results in industries such as refrigerators and home appliances under our vigorous promotion. At present, Solstice® LBA has established supply relationships with more than 18 well-known brand manufacturers in the global home appliance industry, including Haier, Hisense, Midea, TCL, etc. in the Asia-Pacific region and Whirlpool in the United States have used Solstice® LBA in large-scale home appliance production . In addition, Solstice® LBA has also established cooperative relations with 17 brand companies in the construction fields such as sheet metal and spray coating. Every year, China’s home appliance companies alone produce millions of refrigerators using Solstice® LBA’s foaming technology.
Q6: What do you think about the difficulty or reluctance of small and medium-sized enterprises to transform in the process of HCFC-141b phase-out due to the high cost in China? How to solve such problems?
Honeywell’s HFC-245fa and Solstice® LBA foaming agents have no ozone layer damage, excellent thermal insulation performance and non-flammable safety features. For domestic small and medium-sized home appliances and board manufacturers, use Honeywell The new blowing agent can avoid the waste of equipment maintenance costs and safety risks caused by flammable blowing agents such as cyclopentane. HFC-245fa has been produced in a joint venture between Honeywell and Sinochem, and the price is competitive. The joint venture will soon complete plant construction and put into production Solstice® LBA. We believe that these two blowing agent products will provide more economical and efficient solutions for domestic small and medium-sized enterprises in the process of eliminating HCFC-141b, so as to meet the needs of different products and markets.
For more information, please visit the Honeywell blowing agent website: https://www.honeywell-blowingagents.cn/
