Press release
PU Additives
April 7, 2022

Improved vehicle interior air quality with Evonik's new Aldehyde Scavenger for polyurethane applications

  • ORTEGOL® LA 3 scavenges formaldehyde and acetaldehyde to improve vehicle interior air quality
  • New scavenger designed for good processability and high emission reduction performance
  • Supports automotive industry to meet increasingly stringent emission demands 

Essen, Germany. One of the biggest challenges for the automotive industry is to remove odors from car interiors. With a key requirement to reduce emissions from aldehydes, Evonik has developed its new second-generation aldehyde scavenger, ORTEGOL® LA 3. The additive is specifically designed to reduce formaldehyde and acetaldehyde levels in automotive molded foams, helping to reduce the “new car smell”.

Increasing consumer demand for neutral odors inside the vehicle has placed an ever-increasing focus on additive formulators like Evonik to develop modern, high-performance scavengers that enable automotive OEMs to reduce VOC and FOG levels. The industry’s continuing drive to lower aldehyde levels must also be balanced with maintaining good processability and the final quality of the polyurethane (PU) foam products. Evonik’s new scavenger works by reacting with the aldehyde – this ensures easy processing without compromising the quality of the PU application.

“With strong pressure coming from consumers in Asia to completely remove the ‘new car smell’, reducing odors inside the cabin has become a key focus area for us,” said Roland Hubel, Head of Evonik’s PU additive business for flexible foams. “We have a broad portfolio of additives that includes low odor and low VOC surfactants, as well as our latest NE (Negligible Emission) range of catalysts and aldehyde scavengers such as ORTEGOL® LA 3 to help our customers meet today’s more stringent emission demands.”  

Recommended for use in conjunction with DABCO® NE 300 and DABCO® NE 1550 or DABCO® NE 1600, ORTEGOL® LA 3 is unique 

in that it can scavenge several aldehyde species (formulation dependent). ORTEGOL® LA 3 is registered for use in all major regions including US (TSCA), Canada (DSL) and Europe (REACH). Additionally, ORTEGOL® LA 3 does not contribute to emissions in VDA 278 or VDA 276 (Chamber Test).

To support these new low VOC and low emission solutions, Evonik has established its own certified odor panel in Shanghai, China to facilitate its in-house odor testing during new product development and to better support customers in the region.

For more details, please visit our

  • digital customer portal “Explore PU” where you can download our latest product brochure and technical datasheets for automotive foams

https://explorepu.evonik.com/   
 

  • LinkedIn channel “Evonik Polyurethane Additives”

https://www.linkedin.com/company/evonik-polyurethane-additives/

Company information

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The company is active in more than 100 countries around the world and generated sales of €15 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of €2.38 billion in 2021. Evonik goes far beyond chemistry to create innovative, profitable, and sustainable solutions for customers. About 33,000 employees work together for a common purpose: We want to improve life today and tomorrow. 

About Specialty Additives

The Specialty Additives division combines the businesses of versatile additives and high-performance crosslinkers. They make end products more valuable, more durable, save more energy and simply better. As formulation experts in fast growing markets such as coatings, mobility, infrastructure and consumer goods, Specialty Additives combines a small amount with a big effect. With its 3,700 employees the division generated sales of €3.71 billion in 2021. 

Disclaimer

In so far as forecasts or expectations are expressed in this press release or where our statements concern the future, these forecasts, expectations, or statements may involve known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may vary, depending on changes in the operating environment. Neither Evonik Industries AG nor its group companies assume an obligation to update the forecasts, expectations or statements contained in this release.