3rd National ConferenceOn

Sustainable Chemistry

The K-12 Project

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Milan, 10th December 2015Federchimica Auditorium

LIFE+ Project K-12:

10 December 2015

Vanni Parenti - Dow Italia

K12- PU Disruptive technology to dramatically improve Energy Efficiency of Household Appliances

LIFE13 ENV IT 1238

K-12 CONFIDENTIAL

With the contribution of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Community

LIFE+ Project K-12:Enhanced Insulation Technology for the Refrigerator of

the Future offering Energy Savings and CarbonFootprint Reduction

The K-12 Project Background

• The domestic household sector is one of the largest consumers of electrical energy inthe EU, consuming around 30% of the total electrical energy supply, distributed over140 million households

• The development of new technologies and the adoption of the Energy label havehelped to reduce the energy consumption of individual electrical devices but theincrease number and time they are in use resulted in increased energy consumption

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increase number and time they are in use resulted in increased energy consumption

• Cold appliances - refrigerators and freezers - accounted for 14.5% of householdenergy consumption in 2010. Currently, most households still use old, energy-inefficient cold appliances

The K-12 Project Objectives

• The LIFE+ K-12 project aims to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of aninnovative Polyurethane (PU) technology offering significantly improved thermalinsulation and, thus, energy efficiency of households cold appliances, contributing tothe European Community’s goals of creating an energy efficient economy whilemitigating the threat of global warming

• Manufacturing adaptations will include the design of a new injection equipment and

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• Manufacturing adaptations will include the design of a new injection equipment andinnovative refrigerators designs

• Product Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) will be used to quantify the environmentalimpact of a potential market introduction of the innovative technology in terms ofreduced energy consumption and carbon footprint

The K12 Project Expected Results

• A new refrigerator manufacturing process demonstrated at pilot scale with optimizedfoaming parameters and new injection equipment

• A 25-30% improvement in foam thermal conductivity performance of the new PUfoam, compared to the current best in class solutions available today

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• A 15-20% reduction in the energy consumption of cold appliances, with respect tothe current best in class labelled A+/A++/A+++

• Demonstrated feasibility of applying the novel insulation material with a zero ODP(Ozone Depletion Potential) and minimum GWP (Global Warming Potential)

K-12 Project Partners

• Dow Italia is owned by The Dow Chemical Company, global leadingchemical company. Dow connects chemistry and innovation withsustainability to help address many of the world's biggest challenges

• Whirlpool Europe and Whirlpool R&D are belonging to the WhirlpoolCorp. the world’s No.1 producer of white good household appliances

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Corp. the world’s No.1 producer of white good household appliances

• Afros is part of the CANNON Group, an international, independentgroup, world leader in PU equipment providing a range of industriesworld-wide with dedicated to engineering solutions.

Other LIFE+ Projects of K-12 Partners

• LIFE, “The Financial Instrument for the Environment”, is a program of the EuropeanCommission coordinated by the Environment Department that has been one of themain sources of funding for demonstration projects exploring ways to facilitate theimplementation of EU climate mitigation policy and legislation throughout the Union

• Other LIFE projects run by Dow, Whirlpool and Afros are:

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The Appliance Industry Challenges

Energy Cost

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Environment

Materials

ImplementationDesign

Equipment

K-12 Solution:

K-12 Refrigerators

2.5 cm rigid PU foam

4.0 cm poli-styrene

Comparison of thermal efficiency:

Why Polyurethane?

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4.5 cm fiber-glass

5 cm cork

12 cm wood

40 cm bricks

Household Appliances within European EuP

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Energy Label EU market uptake

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CO2 Concentration in the Atmosphere

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Source: World Meteorological Organization – UK’s Met Office (November 2015)

Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have now touched 400 part-per-million and greenhouse gaspollution, but there is no question that the world continues to inexorably climb toward higher levels of

greenhouse gases concentrations: at present pace, the world could reach 450 ppm in a few short decades.

What will global annual emissions of GHG be in 2030?

The European Union, United States and China collectivelyproduced 45% of global annual emissions of GHG in 2010

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Source: ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy - Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (May 2015)

Energy Efficiency has a key role in Abating andManaging Climate Change

• Stabilizing GHGs concentrations in the atmosphere at sustainable levels is key

• Strong reductions in global GHG emissions are needed

• Energy-efficiency is the key response strategy for industry, the key in next decades

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• Potential for energy efficiency improvement in there

• Continuous innovation is key for further bridging the gap between old, non-efficient

Energy-using-Products and new generations

• Strategic energy management is essential to recognize and realize the promise of

energy efficiency

The Household Refrigerator stucture

Rigid polyurethane foam is a closed-cell thermoset plastic polymer having the bestinsulation properties

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In addition to the low thermal conductivity, rigid polyurethane foam is stable and durable.Thermal insulation with closed cells rigid polyurethane foam conserves resources, saves

energy and has no significant emission to the environment.

How a refrigerator is injected with PU foam?

Most conventional injection technology:

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Most conventional injection technology:Injection from the compressor side–door up

PU Foam Thermal Conductivity

lFoam = lgas + lsolid + lradiative

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PU foam insulation relative contribution

INTACT CELLWINDOW

INTACT CELLWINDOW

Closed cells PU foam Fine cells enhance insulation PU cell structure

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Gas

67%

Solid20%

Radiative13%

How far can the PU foam Thermal Conductivity bereduced?

• Smaller cell size

• Lower foam density

• Low thermal conductivity (k) of the gas chosen as blowing agent

• Cell gas mixture with high % low k gas vs. CO2 and Air

however,

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however,

combination of all these options must be considered,

for example

• Reduced density will decrease the solid conduction contribution, but will alsoincrease the radiation contribution due to thinner cell walls

K-12 Project is active in all these aspects and works on reducing all heat transfer andthermal contributions to maximize energy saving

Life Cycle Assessment - LCA

Climate Change Water Scarcity

GHGs ENERGY ACID GAS

Option A

Option B

Option A

Option BOption A

Option B

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Energy Demand Land Use

Ozone DepletionAcidification

Eutrophication Smog Creation

Etc ….Renewability

• Materials• Energy & Water during the use phase• Manufacturing and Operations• Product Performance• End of Life• Consumables• …

10 December 2015

Vanni Parenti - Dow Italia

K12- PU Disruptive technology to dramatically improve Energy Efficiency of Household Appliances

LIFE13 ENV IT 1238

K-12 CONFIDENTIAL

With the contribution of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Community

Thank You