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Polyiso Life Cycle Assessment

One of the most important things a product can provide, aside from perceived benefit or favorable cost, is proven sustainability. The life cycle of polyiso is just as important as the many systems and applications it is compatible with. Polyiso, with the help of third party certification programs like PIMA’s QualityMark Program, have proven to provide the highest Long Term Thermal Resistance values of any insulation available in the marketplace. But is LTTR enough to prove overall sustainability?

Bayer MaterialScience researchers set out to discover the true sustainability of polyiso insulation by conducting a complete and thorough life cycle assessment. According to a Bayer press release surrounding the recently released paper written about this study, their research, “explores the value of increasing the level of polyiso insulation beyond current building codes. In addition to energy and environmental benefits, doing this also offers financial advantages due to the cost savings accumulated over the insulation life cycle.”

Below you will find a flow chart representing the complete life cycle of the material, from the origin of the raw materials used in polyiso manufacturing, all the way to the disposal of the material at the end of the products useful life.

Polyisco Life Cycle

A. Raw Material Extraction & Refining: Involves extraction of crude oil and natural gas, mining of coal, cultivation of crops, refining of crude oil into benzene, pentane, diesel, propane, etc.

B. Raw Material Manufacture: Includes processing of raw materials for making chemicals such as diphenylmethane dilsocyanate (MDI), polyester polyol, pentane blowing agent, & additives such as flame retardants & catalysts/surfactants.

Recycled materials are used for manufacturing facer and some chemicals such as polyester polyol.

C. Polyiso Manufacturing: Major chemical raw materials (MDI, polyester polyol) are mixed with additives and blowing agents. The chemical mix reacts as it is sprayed onto the facers, which bond to each side of the foam on a moving belt laminator, forming foam insulation boards.

D. Polyiso Insulation: Polyiso product is wrapped in plastic and shipped from the polyiso manufacturing plant to the building site. Polyiso is lifted by cranes for attachment to the roof deck.

E. Polyiso Use: Rigorous Whole Building Energy Analysis based on the US DOE EnergyPlus simulation program was applied to estimate energy savings and GWP emissions prevented during the use phase. Integrated whole building simulation is essential for modeling realistic energy consumption. ASHRAE 90.1 Appendix G procedures were followed to provide credible data on energy consumption comparisons.

 Energy savings from increasing insulation from R-15.3 to R-20.4 amount to 15 million MJ, with embodied energy being only 5% compared to the energy saved. Energy Savings from increasing insulation from R-15.3 to R-30.6 total 31 million MJ, while the embodied energy for additional insulation is only 7% compared to energy saved.

Global Warming Potential (GWP) emissions prevented in the use phase by increasing insulation from R-15.3 to R-20.4 are nearly 1 million kg CO2-equivalent, while GWP emissions generated from all other life cycle phases are about 4% compared to GWP emissions prevented. GWP emissions prevented in the use phase by increasing insulation from R-15.3 to R-30.6 total 2.1 million kg CO2-equivalent, while the GWP emissions contributed from all other phases are only 6% compared to GWPemissions prevented.

 

Energy Savings Chart

 


The chart above supports the author’s findings that, “the potential energy benefits of increasing commercial roofing insulation to levels beyond current standards can amount to cumulative energy savings of approximately 10 to 22 times the amount of incremental embodied life cycle energy in the polyiso product.”

The recently released Energy and Environmental Benefits of Insulating Commercial Buildings with Polyiso, was written by Co-authors Jerry Phelan, marketing manager, lamination, and George Pavlovich, product safety manager, both of Bayer MaterialScience.

For the complete press release from Bayer, please click here.

For more information about Bayer MaterialScience's, polyiso insulation technology:

Call: 1-800-662-2927,
E-mail: naftainfo@bayerbms.com, or
Visit: www.bayermaterialsciencenafta.com

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