Process for producing isocyanate-based foam construction boards

Abstract

A process for producing a polyurethane or polyisocyanurate construction board, the process comprising: providing an A-side reactant stream that includes an isocyanate-containing compound; providing a B-side reactant stream that includes a polyol, wherein the B-side reactant stream includes a blowing agent mixture including isopentane and a blowing agent additive that has a Hansen Solubility Parameter (δt) that is greater than 15 MPa0.5; and mixing the A-side reactant stream with the B-side reactant stream to produce a reaction mixture.

1 . A process for producing a polyurethane or polyisocyanurate construction board, the process comprising:
 (i) providing an A-side reactant stream that includes an isocyanate-containing compound;   (ii) providing a B-side reactant stream that includes a polyol, where the B-side reactant stream includes a blowing agent mixture including isopentane and a blowing agent additive that has a Hansen Solubility Parameter (δ t ) that is greater than 15 MPa 0.5 , where the blowing agent mixture includes at least 60 wt % isopentane, and   (iii) mixing the A-side reactant stream with the B-side reactant stream to produce a reaction mixture.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of exposing the reaction mixture to heat. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 2 , where the reaction mixture is deposited onto a facer. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 3 , where the reaction is formed into a foam construction board within a laminator. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , where the B-side reactant stream includes at least 0.9 parts by weight blowing agent additive per 100 parts by weight polyol. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 5 , where the B-side reactant stream includes at least 2.0 parts by weight blowing agent additive per 100 parts by weight polyol. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1 , where the B-side reactant stream includes at least 5.0 wt % blowing agent additive based upon the total weight of the blowing agent employed. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 7 , where the B-side reactant stream includes at least 10.0 wt % blowing agent additive based upon the total weight of the blowing agent employed. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1 , where the process produces a construction board having an index of at least 220. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 9 , where the process produces a construction board having an index of at least 225. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1 , where the blowing agent additive has a Hansen Solubility Parameter that is greater than 16 MPa 0.5 . 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 1 , where the blowing agent additive has a Hansen Solubility Parameter of from 15.0 to 35.0 MPa 0.5 . 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 12 , where the blowing agent additive has a Hansen Solubility Parameter of from 16.5 to 28.0 MPa 0.5 . 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 13 , where the blowing agent additive has a Hansen Solubility Parameter that is greater than 17 MPa 0.5 . 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 12 , where the blowing agent additive has a boiling point, at one atmosphere, of less than 150° C. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 15 , where the blowing agent additive has a boiling point, at one atmosphere, of from about 5° C. to about 150° C. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 16 , where the blowing agent mixture includes at least 70 wt % isopentane. 
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 17 , where the blowing agent mixture includes at least 80 wt % isopentane. 
     
     
         19 . The process of  claim 18 , where the blowing agent mixture is substantially devoid of n-pentane and cyclopentane. 
     
     
         20 . A process for producing a polyurethane or polyisocyanurate construction board, the process comprising:
 (i) combining polyol, isocyanate, isopentane, and a blowing agent additive that has a Hansen Solubility Parameter (δ t ) that is greater than 15 MPa 0.5  to form a foam-forming mixture, where the foam-forming mixture is substantially devoid of n-pentane and cyclopentane,   (ii) depositing the foam-forming mixture on a facer; and   (iii) heating the foam-forming mixture to form a closed-cell foam.   
     
     
         21 . A construction board prepared according to a process of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         22 . A roof deck including the construction board of  claim 21 .