One of the biggest challenges for the automotive industry is to remove odors from car interiors. With a key requirement to reduce emissions from aldehydes, Evonik has developed its new second-generation aldehyde scavenger, ORTEGOL® LA 3. The additive is specifically designed to reduce formaldehyde and acetaldehyde levels in automotive molded foams, helping to reduce the “new car smell”.
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Increasing consumer demand for neutral odors inside the vehicle has placed an ever-increasing focus on additive formulators like Evonik to develop modern, high-performance scavengers that enable automotive OEMs to reduce VOC and FOG levels. The industry’s continuing drive to lower aldehyde levels must also be balanced with maintaining good processability and the final quality of the polyurethane (PU) foam products. Evonik’s new scavenger works by reacting with the aldehyde – this ensures easy processing without compromising the quality of the PU application.
“With strong pressure coming from consumers in Asia to completely remove the ‘new car smell’, reducing odors inside the cabin has become a key focus area for us,” said Roland Hubel, Head of Evonik’s PU additive business for flexible foams. “We have a broad portfolio of additives that includes low odor and low VOC surfactants, as well as our latest NE (Negligible Emission) range of catalysts and aldehyde scavengers such as ORTEGOL® LA 3 to help our customers meet today’s more stringent emission demands.”
Recommended for use in conjunction with DABCO® NE 300 and DABCO® NE 1550 or DABCO® NE 1600, ORTEGOL® LA 3 is unique in that it can scavenge several aldehyde species (formulation dependent). ORTEGOL® LA 3 is registered for use in all major regions including US (TSCA), Canada (DSL) and Europe (REACH). Additionally, ORTEGOL® LA 3 does not contribute to emissions in VDA 278 or VDA 276 (Chamber Test).
To support these new low VOC and low emission solutions, Evonik has established its own certified odor panel in Shanghai, China to facilitate its in-house odor testing during new product development and to better support customers in the region.
