Building Blocks for your Polyether and Polyurethane (PU) Foam Applications
Formulating for performance slabstock foams with Shell CARADOL®
Customers require durability and comfort for consumer, commercial and industrial applications.
Manufacturers of furniture, mattress and footwear must meet these demands. Good performance begins with the proper foundation that polyether polyols provide. The Shell CARADOL® portfolio of polyols are formulated to your conventional, high resilience and viscoelastic slabstock foam needs. Available from our world class manufacturing facility in The Netherlands, Shell CARADOL products are available in conventional and sustainable grades to serve manufacturing needs throughout Europe.
Performance Benefits
Shell CARADOL polyols provide for continuous production with a wide processing latitude for slabstock foam needs, enabling tailored solutions to your manufacturing specifications. Our polyols grades are available with co-polymers such as Styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN) solids to improve hardness without compromising mechanical properties. Featuring high-quality yields, tunable porosity and performance characteristics for comfort and durability, Shell CARADOL products meet global standards for manufacturers to meet their customers’ expectations.
Foam Applications
Furniture
- High Resilience Foam
- Conventional Foam
- Viscoelastic Foam
- Cold Cure Molding (CCM)
Mattresses/Mattress Pads/Pillows
- High Resilience Foam
- Conventional Foam
- Viscoelastic Foam
Automotive Applications
- Cold Cure Molding (CCM)
Footwear
- Conventional Foam
- Viscoelastic Foam
Versatile building blocks, Shell CARADOL polyether polyols are the foundation of foams that can be designed to meet your manufacturing specifications.
Formulators have trusted the technical experts at Shell Chemicals for decades to collaborate and build solutions that meet a wide range of manufacturing requirements.
To meet manufacturers needs for amine free and low volatile organic compounds (VOC), fog and UV discoloration without sacrificing performance, the full portfolio of Shell CARADOL polyols now offers this antioxidant package.
High Resilience (HR) Foam
Mattress and furniture manufacturers require foams that offer exceptional durability and support. With higher elasticity, higher molecular weight and higher reactivity, Shell CARADOL polyether polyols can be formulated to a variety of flexible foam applications. They are manufactured to create responsive support while providing comfort with a low volatile organic compound (VOC) profile.
Flexible Conventional Foam
Manufactured with diisocyanates, Shell CARADOL can be formulated to meet a broad range of applications where low resilience and comfort are desired. With an open cell structure for breathability, it is ideal for cushioning in mattress, pillow, and upholstery applications.
Featuring low monol properties and containing an amine-free and low VOC antioxidant package, flexible polyols can be manufactured to conventional slabstock foam meeting specifications of quality labels well known in furniture applications.
The flexibility of Cold Cure Molding (CCM) makes it the preferred cushioning material for automotive seating.
Compared to slabstock foam, moulded foam can be produced directly in the required shape and is therefore better suited to produce car seats than slabstock foam.
Shell CARADOL polyols for CCM foam can be used in both toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) based CCM foam applications. These high reactive polyols allow the manufacturing of moulded foam to dampen vibrations and to distribute body pressure, critical to use in products such as automobiles to improve the driving experience.
Shell CARADOL polyols for viscoelastic foams can be tuned to meet various manufacturing needs, including when looking to conform to an object’s shape through pressure results in slow recovery time (e.g. bounce back).
Viscoelastic foams are enhanced by body heat further increasing their adaptability, making them an increasingly desirable characteristic for comfort product manufactures. Their high-density creates a soft feel that consumers particularly demand in mattress- and pillow-based applications.
HR slabstock
- Durability
- Porous/Open Cell
- Support
- Bounce back
- Comfort
- Maintains shape over time
- Breathability
- Strength
- Amine-free
- Low-VOC
- Tuneable porosity
- Wider Processing Spectrum
- High Quality Yield
- Compatible with Flame Retartants
- Sustainable Alternatives Available
- Continuous (Production)
Flexible Slabstock
- Durability
- Porous/Open Cell
- Support
- Maintains shape over time
- Firmness
- Low resilience
- Breathability
- Strength
- Low-monol
- Amine-free
- Low-VOC
- Tuneable porosity
- Wider Processing Spectrum
- High Quality Yield
- Compatible with Flame Retartants
- Sustainable Alternatives Available
- Continuous (Production)
- Low-Monol
Viscoelastic slabstock
- Durability
- Porous/Open Cell
- Support
- Bounce back
- Comfort
- Maintains shape over time
- Firmness
- Retains Heat
- Low resilience
- Breathability
- Strength
- Low-monol
- Amine-free
- Low-VOC
- Tuneable porosity
- Wider Processing Spectrum
- High Quality Yield
- Compatible with Flame Retartants
- Sustainable Alternatives Available
- Cold Cure
- Low Force to Crush
- Continuous (Production)
Cold Cure Moulding (CCM)
- Durability
- Porous/Open Cell
- Support
- Bounce back
- Comfort
- Maintains shape over time
- Firmness
- Retains Heat
- Low resilience
- Breathability
- Strength
- Low-monol
- Amine-free
- Low-VOC
- Wider Processing Spectrum
- High Quality Yield
- Compatible with Flame Retartants
- Sustainable Alternatives Available
- Cold Cure
- Low Force to Crush
The path to sustainable solutions
The mass balance accounting approach is a key component of Shell Chemicals’ sustainability portfolio including bio-based, lower carbon, and bio-circular solutions. It is not just about the final product; it is about transforming the way we create and manufacture to help you deliver on your sustainability goals.
Mass Balance allows personal care product manufacturers to partially replace conventional materials and products with more sustainable alternatives without establishing new manufacturing processes. The process is certified by an independent third-party which helps provide assurance, transparency, and credibility for sustainability claims. It also helps reduce resource consumption and minimize environmental impact while it helps assure the product quality and consistency.
Shell Chemicals has several third-party certification systems in place where the bio-based content is verified by an independent organization, and more are being added to provide options for our customers.
Companies can advance their sustainability goals when they incorporate bio-based Shell NEODOL, Shell NEODENE, and/or Shell IPA C+ in their formulations.
Understanding mass balance
Shell Chemicals’ bio-based content is verified by an independent, third-party certification organization such as (but not limited to) ISCC PLUS, REDcert and SCS global services. Certified by independent third parties.
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Supporting your business, every step of the way
Shell Chemicals is a leading producer and supplier of polyether polyols. Many manufacturers in the furniture, mattress and footwear industries already use Shell Chemicals’ products in their formulations and know that Shell is a reliable partner for technical and commercial assistance.
Our products are manufactured to global standards and provide transparency and accountability. The scientists at Shell Chemicals continually develop, refine, and improve our product lines.
Our team is always willing to offer industry-leading expertise to customers formulating with Shell CARADOL blend your need for cost effectiveness without sacrificing performance. Our application labs support our customers with:
- Formulation Support
- Product technical information
- Quality and testing support
- Start-up and training support
- Standards Compliance
At Shell Chemicals, we take product quality and stewardship very seriously. We hold ourselves accountable to high standards in health, safety, security, and the environment (HSSE) for our products. By collaborating both independently and with industry groups, we are constantly evaluating and elevating our product line to address our customers’ needs. By also offering sustainable alternatives you can enhance your products to meet growing consumer demand for more sustainable foam-based applications.
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