In 2015, a company form California Hybrid Coating Technologies Inc, together with Polymate Ltd, under the leadership of the Director for Science and Development, Professor Oleg Figovsky, was awarded the 2015 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for developing and mastering the production of non-isocyanate polyurethanes and hybrid materials on their basis. In layman's terms, this means that for the first time in the world there is an industrial technology of obtaining monolithic floor coatings and foam polyurethanes that are free of toxic and cancerogenic isocyanates at all manufacturing stages.
What was the reason for this award? First and foremost, for innovative solutions that take the environment into account. The status of the award recognizes outstanding achievements by individuals and organizations in the U.S. in the research, development and implementation of the most promising areas of "green chemistry" technology. The scientific direction of Green Chemistry emerged in the 1990s. The program "Green Chemistry for Life" has been created and started within UNESCO, the ultimate goal of which is the search for safe, from the standpoint of chemistry and ecology, ways of life of society: from the production and use of energy resources to routine household work.
To fully realize the value of the work done, you need to know the dangers of isocyanates that are part of a number of industrial materials called "polyurethanes". They are highly toxic and cause acute irritation to the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and eyes. When heated, polyurethanes decompose, releasing toxic nitric oxide fumes. By the way, the biggest accident in the history of global chemical industry is associated with isocyanates. It happened at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, twenty years ago. As a result of the poisonous cloud of isocyanate that spiraled out of control, 2,000 people died and over 200,000 were injured. The accident was called "Chemical Chernobyl".
Non-isocyanate hybrid polyurethane materials developed by the company, in addition to their environmental safety, have high performance characteristics. That is why they are widely used in production of monolithic floor coatings, anti-corrosion coatings, production of artificial leather, etc.
The company's developments have gone beyond the laboratory walls. At the moment HybridCoating Technologies Inc. is at the final stage of signing contracts with largest American and European companies specializing in production and sales of polyurethane coatings for floors and polyurethane paints. The company started creation of joint productions with leading American and Chinese producers of foams that are used in production of mattresses, furniture, clothes, shoes, car seats and other consumer goods.
A new direction of the company's activity is to create environmentally friendly nanostructured polymer compositions with high heat and light resistance, fire safety, capable of self-cleaning, and highly resistant to aggressive environments. Naturally, such range of characteristics will considerably expand the sphere of application of created compositions.
hese are the plans for the foreseeable future. How not to recall the prophetic words of Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev: "Chemistry stretches its hands far! *
Horizons of "green chemistry" are immense.
* The expression "Chemistry reaches far and wide into human affairs" belongs to M. V. Lomonosov.
