Clayton Corporation 

Meeting with EPA 

Stratospheric Protection 

Division

December 8, 2015

1
Introduction

Clayton Corporation Personnel

• Barry Baker, President and Chief Executive Officer

BS Finance (CPA), MBA

• Larry Timberlake, Director of Research and Development

BS Chemistry, PhD Organic Chemistry 

• Jay Zhang, Director R&D - Foam, Sealant, & Adhesives

BS, MS Chemistry

• Tim Niemeyer, Senior Chemist - Spray Foam Products

BS Chemical Engineering

2
Clayton Corporation Mission Statement

• Clayton Corporation is environmentally conscious and fully 

supports the EPA in its Clean Air Act initiatives.

• Clayton Corporation provides high quality products that 

promote energy conservation and indoor air quality.

• Clayton Corporation supplies safe products and engineers its 

formulas and any formula changes to prevent unintended 

consequences.

3
Agenda

• Introductions

• Clayton Corporation

• Low Pressure Spray Foam

• New Alternative Propellants

• Technical Challenges

• Current Work Progress

• Timeline for Commercialization

• Clayton’s Petition for HFC phase out date

• Summary

4
Clayton Corporation History

• Aerosol Valve Manufacturing 1945

• One Component Low Pressure SPF 1978

• (Convenience Products)

• Two Component Low Pressure SPF 1988

• Seal Krete Concrete Coatings 2001 5

Clayton Corporation and its Convenience Products division employ 

over 250 people in 3 facilities around the U.S., manufacturing aerosol 

valves, concrete coatings and polyurethane foam. 
6

CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS 

INFORMATION
Clayton Regulatory Participation

• Memberships:

• CPI – Center for Polyurethanes Industry 

• SPFA – Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance

• ASTM – American Society for Testing and Materials

• SFC – Spray Foam Coalition

• ICC – International Code Council

• CAN/ULC – Underwriter’s Laboratory of Canada

• CUFCA - Canadian Urethane Foam Contractors Association

• WAIB - Western Aerosol Information Bureau

• Regulatory Efforts:

• EPA SNAP

• California DTSC

• Environment Canada / Health Canada

• California South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD)

7
Spray Foam Technologies 

8

One-Component 

Foam Sealant

Low-Pressure

Two-Component

Products:

• Insulation

• Sealant

High-Pressure

Two-Component

Spray Foam 

Insulation 

• A and B side in separate pressurized 

cylinders (one-time use kits and 

refillable) 

• Low pressure, <250 psi at start then 

reduce to around 50 psi

• No heating of chemicals for spray

• Static mixing inside nozzle

• Froth-spray, No atomization

• Typically applied at 5-7 lbs./min.

• Chemicals cures in <1 min

• A and B side in separate unpressurized 

drums or totes

• Chemicals are preheated (~130F) and 

pressurized (~1200 psi) using special 

spray equipment

• Impingement mix, Atomized chemicals

• Typically applied at 30 lbs./min.

• Chemical cure <15 seconds

• Professional use only

• A & B side pre-mixed in single 

container

• Pre-polymerized during manufacture

• Moisture cure 3-20 min

• Bead application only 

1) Liquid Blowing Agents Only

2) Gas and Liquid Blowing Agents

3) Gas Blowing Agents Only
Low Pressure Spray Foam

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• LP SPF products are applied at Job Site

• 1-time use kits or refillable containers

• Require Gas Blowing Agent (HFC-134a)

• HP foam uses only Liquid Blowing Agent (such as HFC-245fa)

• Some LP kits may use both Gas and Liquid (134a and 245fa)

• Cannot use flammable blowing agents

• Cannot be modified after these pressurized products are 

manufactured. (It’s common to add more catalysts to HP SPF 

systems for correction – by contractors/installers)

• Due to distribution channels, LP Foam must be shelf-stable for 

12-18 months

• HP SPF systems typically need 3 months shelf-life 
New Alternative Propellants

• Our HFO evaluation work started in 2011

• HFO-1233zd, -1234ze, and -1336mzz were introduced as next 

generation blowing agents

• Clayton set HFO-foam R&D project for the top priority in response 

to proposed SNAP Rule 20 

• Lab Results: All two-component products we produce were 

adversely affected.

• When blowing agents are replaced by HFOs:

• Shelf-life dropped from 15-18 months to about 10 days

• Foam density doubled or more (loss in yield and properties)

• Foam cell structure collapsed, became large bubbles

• Foam did not cure in time or not cured at all

• Solubility was negatively impacted 10
Challenges- Chemical Stability

• Liquid Blowing Agent: >30 patent applications related to HFO 

blowing agents are published (Honeywell, Arkema, and others.)

• Mostly focused on liquid HFO blowing agent (HFO-1233zd or HFO1336mzz)

• Confirmed HFO deactivates/deteriorates catalysts and surfactants

• Majority dealt with extending the chemical stability of LBA by 

screening all available catalyst candidates 

• Some dealt with solubility of blowing agent in foam system

• Gas Blowing Agent: Only 5 patent applications published 

• Manufacturing of HFO-1234ze

• Blends of HFO-1234ze/HFC-245fa 

• Use of 1234ze in specific 1K foam products

11 No solutions for GBA stability in 

2K foam applications
• Arkema and Honeywell clearly stated that Gas HFO (1234ze) is 

7x less stable than liquid (1233zd)

• HFO degrades forming HF (super strong acid) which attacks 

catalysts /surfactants, affecting foam reactivity and cell structure 

• HFO stability is the key obstacle for foam industry

• Current research shows promising results. However, further 

validation is needed to prevent unintended consequences.

• Earlier formulas appeared stable for a time, but then suddenly 

and unexpectedly failed.

12

Challenges- Chemical Stability

Tough challenges to overcome, but we believe solutions 

are possible given adequate research time
Challenges - Solubility

• Only small size LP Foam Packages can be shaken/remixed 

prior to use by installer

• Larger packages such as 50lb and 17, 60, 120 gallon containers 

cannot be remixed by installer

• It’s common for HP SPF installer to remix prior to spray

• Solubility: HFO << HFC 

• Additives that improve HFC solubility do not work as well for HFO

• Some also cause issues with worsening shelf-life chemical stability

13
14

CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS 

INFORMATION
15

CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS 

INFORMATION
16

CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS 

INFORMATION
Clayton’s Petition for HFC phase out date

• Historical conversion process: CFCHCFCHFC

• Reformulation, testing, approvals, etc.

• Currently, industry has very limited options

• Gas Blowing Agent, HFO 1234ze

• Single chemical, single manufacturer, single plant

• Catalyst manufacturers are still developing new chemicals for 

HFO-based systems

• New formulations must be validated in field trials to prevent 

unintended consequences during use.

17
Industry Progress

• One LP Foam producer* 

• Reported an experimental product with 12 month shelf life 

(estimated from accelerated aging data only)

• Announced that 25% of all of its low pressure spray polyurethane 

foam formulations will be converted from HFCs to HFOs by 

summer 2016.

• We feel this shows that additional development is needed...

• Missing ....

*“The Use of Solstice® Gas Blowing Agent (GBA) in Low Pressure Spray Polyurethane 

Foam Applications”; Cline, Mojee and Bogdan, Mary; CPI 2015 18
Summary

• Clayton Corporation fully supports the EPA in its Clean Air Act 

initiatives.

• Low Pressure Spray Foam requires the use of gas blowing 

agent (HFO-1234ze)

• The changeover from HFC-134a requires more work than HFC245fa to overcome the known stability issues

• There are many challenges that need to be addressed – not a 

simple drop-in

• Work shows progress and we believe changeover is possible 

with adequate research time 

• Need appropriate time for testing and approval processes

• We recommend a 2021 conversion date to ensure all 

markets/all products are switched over safely

19
Thank you

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