Polyurethane foams are made by reacting a di-isocyanate molecule with a polyol in the presence of a blowing agent. Solubility of blowing agent in the polyol plays an important role in determining the dimensional stability and quality of the polyurethane foam.

Traditionally, blowing agents were ozone-depleting CFCs and HCFCs, though recent work has turned towards HFCs with their zero Ozone Depeletion Potential. However, some HFCs are now linked with an undesirable Global Warming Potential as well which makes the need for blowing agents with zero ODP and low GWP a priority in this industry.

A main evaluation criteria for blowing agent + polyol match is the solubility of the blowing agent in the polyol. In the current work, we have evaluated three equations of state for their ability to correlate and predict the solubility of various HFCs in a variety of polyols. The equations of state evaluated are: Simha-Somcynsky (SS), Sanchez-Lacombe (SL) and SAFT. The blowing agents used were: R-125, R-152a, R-143a, R-32 and R-245fa. The polyols used were Pluracol 975, Pluracol 355 and Terol 352.

However, there is very limited experimental data available in the literature to evaluate the predictive ability of the equations of state for these systems. To this end, we have built a degassed, vapor-pressure apparatus to experimentally determine the solubility of the 15 systems discussed above. The experimental results along with the predictions from the equations of state will be presented. From this work, we will be able to identify (1) which of the models, if any, can best predict the properties of these systems and (2) identify potential blowing agent + polyol systems to be used for polyurethane foam manufacture.