Polyols

Polyurethanes are essential building blocks driving innovation across various industries. At Dow, we are excited about the industry's potential and our commitment to our customers allows us to be at the forefront of innovation. Our new polyols highlight our customer intimacy and strong integration with manufacturing, showcasing what we do best. Our polyols are precisely engineered—from soft and flexible to sturdy and durable—to meet the unique needs of each application. This adaptability is especially valuable in foam manufacturing, where different polyol formulations can produce everything from cushiony comfort to tough, weight-bearing materials. As the industry evolves, these advanced materials help manufacturers deliver high-performance products while meeting crucial goals for energy savings and environmental protection.

Our broad portfolio offers high-performance formulators with the products needed to create quality materials for various markets including consumer, industrial, and insulation. Late last year at Dow’s PO/PG and Polyols plant in Freeport, Texas, we began the production of VORANOL™ WK5750, a cutting-edge polyether polyol, to match the high-performance needs of our consumer comfort customers. With its ability to serve as a powerful cell opener, VORANOL™ WK5750 can be utilized for viscoelastic and high resiliency foam applications, showcasing our commitment to advancing flexible foam capabilities for furniture and bedding to automotive seating and more. Our strong integration with manufacturing and our expertise in combining ethylene oxide (EO) and propylene oxide (PO) enable us to deliver consistent, high-quality polyols. Customers come to Dow because we are integrated in PO, and this new product exemplifies our strengths and dedication to innovation.

We keep the holistic nature of sustainability in mind, ensuring we are increasing the resiliency of our polyurethane products while producing the least amount of waste possible. Achieving circularity requires attention to detail at every step in the product’s lifecycle. This is evident in our Mattress Recycling Program from Renuva™. Dow and its partner company Orrion Chemicals Orgaform operate the world’s first recycling facility at industrial scale for end-of-life mattresses in France, which transforms end-of-life mattress polyurethane foam back into liquid, raw material polyols with up to 50% recycled content (polyol) for the manufacturing of new, more sustainable mattresses. Additionally, ensuring our manufacturing facilities’ operations are sustainable is also a top priority. Around the globe, we have numerous plants that have obtained the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS, a world-leading international certification standard for fully traceable and environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable supply chains. With our newest ISCC PLUS certification at our polyols manufacturing site in Freeport, Texas, we are aiming to set a precedent for more sustainable material production in North America and beyond.

As the demand for energy-efficient construction materials increases, we anticipate significant growth in the polyol market. Our focus in North America is on utilizing alternative feedstocks to displace virgin fossil resources, enabling a circular economy for industrial waste and mitigating carbon emissions for us and the markets we serve. We are inspired by the future of polyols and the ways they can be utilized in sustainable, innovative manufacturing. The evolving ways we provide data will alter our customers’ expectations regarding sustainability, durability, and performance, and we are excited to explore these transformations with our circular solutions.