MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Polyurethanes has announced that it was involved with more than 20 projects connected to the Olympic Games, Rio 2016 - spanning from field-of-play technologies to products used in venue and city construction, transportation, infrastructure and carbon mitigation, as per GV.
"The unique properties of polyurethanes make it one of the most versatile and high performing materials in the world - which made it even more fitting to be involved in a global event such as the Olympic Games, Rio 2016 where excellence is a standard," stated Jon Penrice, commercial vice president of Dow Polyurethanes. "From energy-saving insulation and durable coatings to flexible foams - Dow’s ingenuity mixed with scientific expertise helped power the world of sports by improving performance, safety, health and sustainability."
Here are a few of the projects using polyurethane technologies from Dow at the Olympic Games, Rio 2016:
- Deodoro Park’s hockey field was equipped with a synthetic turf system, which used both Dowlex linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) resins in the yarns as well as polyurethane technologies on the backing of the carpet.
- The Olympic hockey balls were composed of a tailor-made, micro-foam core developed with Dow polyols. The polyurethane core provided higher-performance and more consistency than hockey balls made with traditional vulcanised cork and rubber or solid polymer, says the company.
- Comfortable and supportive: After a hard day’s competition, athletes enjoyed comfy mattresses made with Dow’s breathable, flexible polyurethane foam.
- Dow technologies were also used in flooring applications and waterproofing systems for concrete and metal structures within Maracana stadium. Additionally, flooring solutions and polyurethane insulation panels from Dow were utilised in the major renovation that took place at Viracopos International Airport in Campinas, Sao Paulo, one of the main cargo transportation hubs for the Games.
In addition to providing scientific solutions to improve the Games, as the Official Carbon Partner of the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee Dow is working to mitigate the carbon footprint across major sectors of the Brazilian economy.
Dow says it has used the Olympic Games, Rio 2016 as a catalyst to implement energy-efficient and low-carbon technologies across food production, industry and infrastructure. Dow’s polyurethane innovations directly involved in reducing Brazil’s carbon footprint include its rigid foam insulation panels. Polyurethane panels with specific attributes help minimise the heat transfer between indoor and outdoor environments, optimising energy efficiency and thermal comfort.
We remind that, as MRC informed previously, Dow Chemical's polyethylene (PE) expansion at its Freeport, Texas, complex is on track for a mid-2017 startup. Dow's construction of its world-scale steam cracker with the capacity of 1.5 mln tonnes per year is 50% complete. The Freeport complex currently has a 640,000 mt/year of polyethylene capacity and is expected to add 1,050,000 mt/year of LDPE and LLDPE.
The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
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