Technology
March 18, 2024
Purple and Tempur Reach Agreement
PURPLE INNOVATION AND TEMPUR SEALY INTERNATIONAL REACH AGREEMENT
News provided by Purple Innovation, Inc.
12 Mar, 2024, 16:03 ET
Framework for Mattress Firm Partnership and Confirmation of Purple’s Patents
LEHI, Utah, March 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Purple Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRPL) (“Purple” or the “Company”), a comfort innovation company known for creating the “World’s First No Pressure® Mattress,” today announced that it has entered into a settlement agreement with Tempur Sealy International, Inc. (“Tempur Sealy”). The parties have agreed to a post-acquisition framework for Purple’s partnership with Mattress Firm Inc. (“Mattress Firm”), the nation’s largest mattress specialty retailer, subject to FTC approval of TSI’s acquisition of Mattress Firm, and amicably resolved their various intellectual property disputes. Purple is pleased to reaffirm its valid patent and trademark rights in and to its proprietary Hyper-Elastic Polymer® gel material, the key component in Purple’s GelFlex® Grid.
If the FTC does not object to Tempur Sealy’s acquisition of Mattress Firm, Tempur Sealy agrees that Purple will retain its current relationship with Mattress Firm for a minimum of twelve months, versus the two-month commitment in place previously. According to Rob DeMartini, CEO of Purple Innovation:
“Mattress Firm is an important and respected partner. We believe our Purple brand and products bring a high number of unique consumers into Mattress Firm stores. We appreciate working on an even playing field today and want to continue to work collaboratively with Mattress Firm. This agreement will give us time to explore expansion opportunities.”
Purple and Tempur Sealy have also agreed to amicably resolve all differences regarding their various intellectual property disputes. Although the specific terms of the deal are confidential, Purple retains all control and ownership over its brand, its patented mattress technology and its Hyper-Elastic Polymer and GelFlex Grid marks. That the parties were able to resolve their differences is a strong signal to the marketplace that Purple is an innovator in hybrid mattress technology and deter future threats to Purple’s business. DeMartini adds:
“The marketplace’s interest in gel technology recognizes the strength of what makes Purple’s unmatched sleep innovation disruptive and cutting edge, and the best way of delivering deep, uninterrupted sleep. We are pleased to focus on expanding Purple’s business and bringing the many benefits of our GelFlex Grid to more customers.”
About Purple
Purple is a digitally native vertical brand with a mission to help people feel and live better through innovative comfort solutions. Today Purple markets and sells its products through direct-to-consumer online channels, traditional retail partners, third-party online retailers, and Purple-owned retail showrooms. Purple designs and manufactures a variety of innovative, premium, branded comfort products, including mattresses, pillows, cushions, frames, sheets and more. Its products are the result of over 30 years of innovation and investment in proprietary and patented comfort technologies and the development of our own manufacturing processes. Our proprietary gel technology, Hyper-Elastic Polymer®, underpins many of our comfort products and provides a range of benefits that differentiate our offerings from other competitors’ products. For more information on Purple, visit purple.com.
February 5, 2024
Insulation Alternative
Whirlpool insulation creates waves
14th November 2023
USA: Home appliance manufacturer Whirlpool has introduced a new insulation technology which is up to 66% thinner and allows up to 25% more refrigerator capacity than conventional foam.
The new insulation, dubbed SlimTech, is described as a significant step forward in refrigeration technology, providing a more compact alternative to polyurethane foam. It is also said to create better temperature stability and could increase energy efficiency by up to 50%.
SlimTech employs a proprietary material that is vacuum-sealed within the door or sides of the refrigerator itself. It is said to reduce the wall thickness by up to 66% – allowing for up to 25% more capacity inside the refrigerator.
According to Whirlpool, the material used in SlimTech insulation technology also has the potential to be recycled, and says it is working to map out a path to reclaiming the material at a refrigerator’s end of use. While Whirlpool has not revealed the identity of the material, the company does hold a number of insulation patents based on silica-based materials.
“For years low recyclability due to polyurethane foam has created a significant barrier to making refrigerators more sustainable and reducing environmental impact,” said Pamela Klyn, Whirlpool Corporation executive vice president of corporate relations & sustainability. “This is an extremely important leap forward on the journey to a more circular approach to home appliances. Implementation of SlimTech insulation marks the beginning of the end for foam insulated refrigerators.”
Other potential benefits would include the ability to increase the thickness of SlimTech insulation to reduce thermal conductivity and allowing a refrigerator to be up to 50% more energy efficient.
Whirlpool claims that the SlimTech insulation can keep food fresh for longer by reducing temperature swings from door openings by cooling up to 30% faster.
Refrigerators with SlimTech insulation will be built at Whirlpool’s operation in Ottawa, Ohio. The company has invested $65m in the plant.
https://www.coolingpost.com/world-news/whirlpool-insulation-creates-waves/
January 25, 2024
PFA Call for Papers for the Spring Meeting
PFA Call For Papers, 2024 Spring Technical Program
Abstract Deadline: March 22, 2024
The Polyurethane Foam Association is accepting proposals for technical presentations for its Spring Technical Program, May 23, at the Vinoy Autograph resort in St. Petersburg, FL.
Authors must submit an abstract with request for presentation. Presentations must not exceed 25 minutes in length. A written paper and slide file are also required to become part of PFA’s online information library.
The Paper Selection Process
To be eligible for presentation, papers must have a non-commercial focus and specifically address topics related to slabstock or molded flexible polyurethane production, raw material developments, environmental performance, occupational safety, product evaluation, novel commercial applications, or production control, and be based on actual production applications.
Deadline for submitting an abstract for proposed presentation is March 22, 2024.
To submit a proposal or for more information, please contact Russ Batson by email (rbatson@pfa.org) or telephone (865.657.9840). Based on a program that includes at least 6 technical papers, the presentations will be scored to compete for a $500 Technical Excellence Award provided by the Herman Stone Family Endowment.
January 17, 2024
Mattress Tagging in Europe
Euro bedding giant Aquinos to tag a million mattresses by 2027, starting next year
January 17, 2024
US materials science and digital identification company Avery Dennison is working with European mattress manufacturer Aquinos Group to tag bedding products from 2024 with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology so fewer go to waste, and the company plays an active role in the circular economy, according to a press statement. The project will make Aquinos the first company in its sector to comply with new European Union (EU) Digital Product Passport (DPP) rules.
Avery Dennison makes labeling materials, bonding solutions, and tagging solutions for industrial, medical, and retail applications. It has engaged RFID specialist TripleR on the project. Aquinos Group is one of Europe’s largest mattress manufacturers and operates 20 European factories. It sells products under the BEKA, Lattoflex, Schlaraffia, Sembella, Superba, and Swissflex mattress brands. It forecasts RFID tags will be used in one million of its mattresses by 2027, and “usher in a new era of transparency and circularity” for the firm.
Data from the RFID tags will connect to Avery Dennison’s atma.io platform via RFID readers as they are scanned, creating a digital twin of their whereabouts and history. Data will show information about the origins and materials used in the production of the mattresses. They will also be scanned at recycling centres so that “product dismantlers” can separate materials from the mattresses more efficiently for recycling, and reuse. Consumers will also be able to scan QR codes with smartphones to access product information before and after purchase.
The EU’s new DPP rules will deliver information about products’ environmental sustainability, accessible by scanning a data carrier. Data will include attributes such as the durability and reparability, the recycled content or the availability of spare parts of a product. The DPP scheme is due to come into force for mattresses in 2027. By then, it will have already shipped a million tagged units, it reckons. DPP rules for mattresses will be active sooner in certain European markets, such as Belgium (by 2025), where Aquinos is based.
Aquinos said it will be the “first producer to comply with the DPP scheme at a pan-EU scale”. Aquinos and TripleR are in alliance with the Belgian industry association Valumat as part of a collaboration that also includes product dismantlers.
Benjamin Marien, international commercial director for bedding at Aquinos, said: “DPP sets the next important step in circularity. By being the first in the industry to begin compliance, we want to lead by example to inspire the markets, our industry partners, and the bedding sector to advance environmentally responsible practices…. We will use the power of [our] brands to raise external awareness of the importance of DPPs… We are moving bedding sustainability beyond niche implementation to mainstream. This will be crucial to put an end to bedding materials going to waste.”
Michael Goller, senior director for atma.io at Avery Dennison, said: “We are proud to be working on this project with Aquinos and TripleR. Mattresses are complex and bulky products that require a highly sophisticated sorting and dismantling process. To date, it has proven difficult to do this in a cost-efficient manner – leading to millions of mattresses going to landfill each year. This is precisely why DPPs have been established and we are excited to push boundaries with our partners towards greater traceability, efficiency, and circularity.”
Stefaan Cognie, co-founder at TripleR, commented: “This project is an important milestone and sets a benchmark for how the DPP scheme will operate across Europe to enable sustainability and circularity. We have already developed a digital Identification standard in the bedding industry in Belgium and are engaging with extended producer responsibility (EPR) bodies and mattress associations in different European countries, as well as with the overarching European Mattress Association EBIA to bring DPP compliance to fruition.”
November 30, 2023
Chlorohydrin Process Propylene Oxide in China
The Evolution of Chlorohydrination Process for Manufacturing PO
PUdaily | Updated: November 30, 2023
On July 14, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the National Industrial Restructuring Guidance Catalogue (2023 Edition) to seek public comments. In the new edition of the Catalogue, PO projects using chlorohydrination process based on calcium saponification are included in the eliminated category for the petrochemical and chemical industries (such projects are required to be eliminated by December 31, 2025). Restrictions on PO projects using chlorohydrination process can be traced back to the National Industrial Restructuring Guidance Catalogue (2011 edition).By the end of 2022, the share of PO projects using chlorohydrination process in China had decreased to 27.1%.
In chlorohydrination process, PO is manufactured using propylene and chlorine as the raw materials through chlorohydrination, saponification and rectification. Firstly, excess propylene is added to the mixture of water and chlorine to produce chloropropanol through chlorohydrination. The remaining propylene as well as hydrogen chloride and some organic chlorides (such as dichloropropane) produced in the reaction are discharged from the top of the reactor. and the hydrogen chloride and organic chlorides are removed through condensation for recovering the propylene. The chloropropanol solution containing 4% hydrochloric acid was discharged from the bottom of the reactor. Secondly, saponifier is added (caustic soda, instead of lime milk used in the traditional chlorohydrination process, is used in modified chlorohydrination process) to saponify chloropropanol for making crude PO. Thirdly, crude PO is transferred to the rectification column for separation and refining. The chlorohydrination process is composed of chlorohydrination, saponification and rectification.
As a mature technology, chlorohydrination process features production of a single product, easy operation of the facilities, low purity requirement for propylene and low building costs for the facilities. But it consumes a large amount of lime, chlorine and water, and results in a large amount of waste water and residue, which not only pollute the environment, but also cause corrosion to the equipment. Over the past decades, many firms at home and abroad have refined the process in different ways, represented by
1. Dow Chemical: The company replaces lime milk (Ca(OH)2) with electrolyte NaOH (mass fraction between 10% and 20%) in the saponification to significantly reduce the mass concentration of propanediol and dichloropropane in the saponified waste liquid and thus obtain relatively pure saline solution (NaCl and H2O). The saline solution is refined to make it saturated one, which is then transferred to the electrolytic bath for electrolysis that produces chlorine, hydrogen and sodium hydroxide. The chlorine is used as a raw material for the chlorohydrination process, and the sodium hydroxide is again used in the saponification. The recycling makes the process more economical. This refinement dramatically reduces the amount of waste water and residues (mainly composed of CaCl2) produced from saponification and as a result reduces the pollution of soil and water sources. However, the electrolytic process is energy-intensive.
2.ABB Lummus Global: The company comes up with the concept of closed-loop circulation, in which Cl2 and NaOH react with isobutanol to produce butyl hypochlorate as the chlorohydrating agent to reduce the use of Cl2; butyl hypochlorate react with propylene in the organic solvent to produce isobutanol and chloropropanol;and chloropropanol is saponified with the electrolyte to manufacture propylene oxide. Compared with the traditional chlorohydrination process, this refined process greatly reduces industrial wastewater, waste gases and residues. With a high mass concentration, the saline solution produced from saponification can be transferred to the electrolytic plant for electrolysis. The produced Cl2 and NaOH can be reused. But the process also has drawbacks, including large consumption of isobatyalcohol and high building costs for the facility.
A domestic firm has also developed its own environmentally friendly process for manufacturing PO, in which the recovered lime milk is saponified with the waste water and CaCl2 in the residual liquid. This process has been industrialized, producing significant social, environmental and economic benefits.