BASF Joins Habitat for Humanity for Earth Day

BASF employee volunteers joined Morris Habitat for Humanity today to build homes for three families in Madison, N.J.

More than 30 BASF employees worked on various aspects of construction, installing roofs, exterior walls and exterior frames for the homes.

“BASF is a great example of partnership at its best with two organizations coming together to provide the opportunity for a hand up to home ownership for families in need,” says Blair Bravo, executive director, Morris Habitat for Humanity.

Morris Habitat for Humanity helps reduce the community’s carbon footprint by incorporating sustainable building practices during construction. All three homes will be ENERGY STAR certified for energy efficiency. New homeowners will contribute 300 hours of labor and learn the importance of sustainability at mandatory homeownership classes.

“BASF is pleased to support a project that builds sustainable homes for families in need,” says Charlene Wall-Warren, sustainability leader, BASF Corp. “Chemistry is the building block of construction. It helps save energy, makes materials stronger, and is used in almost every component of every structure—commercial, educational, infrastructure or residential.”

BASF’s commitment to sustainable construction is also demonstrated by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) double Platinum certification of its new North American headquarters building which features a variety of BASF enabled construction solutions.

The three new units will be developed in partnership with Morris Habitat for Humanity and the Madison Affordable Housing Corp. The homes will be sold in accordance with New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing rules and regulations.

BASF Launches Construction Center in Canada

BASF’s Construction Chemicals division has opened a Construction Center in Toronto, Ontario. A celebratory event was hosted at the site for more than 100 construction contractors, distributors, architects and engineers in the greater Toronto area.

“The new BASF Construction Center will service the Greater Toronto Area and the Canadian marketplace and will continue to build on BASF’s leadership position and commitment to providing product and system solutions to solve even the most demanding jobsite challenges in the construction industry,” says John Salvatore, head of BASF Construction Chemicals Americas.

BASF says the Construction Center offers on-site customer service and support, manufacturing and warehousing capabilities. Additional benefits include increased service to the Canadian marketplace and enhanced distribution and logistics to deliver products on time.

“Our Wall Systems business will offer a complete product line to meet the needs of the professional contractor in the Canadian construction market,” says Bill Kasik, head of BASF’s Wall Systems business. “This offering includes all Exterior Insulation and Finish System (EIFS) components, custom color matching and tint capability, local delivery service and a hands-on classroom and training facility.”

The BASF Construction Center will feature a full line of products from the Construction Chemicals business, including:
• Cementitious flooring products
• Concrete repair products
• Deck membranes
• Grouts
• Joint sealants
• Performance flooring products
• Wall coatings
• Water repellents
• Waterproofing products

EIFS products:
o Adhesives
o Air/water-resistive barrier products and coatings
o Insulation
o Base coats
o Reinforcing mesh
o Acrylic finishes and coatings
o Accessories and tools.

FlyAshDirect and BASF Develop Chemical Solution for Fly Ash Used in Concrete

FlyAshDirect has partnered with BASF to develop a chemical solution to beneficiate fly ashes used in concrete that have been exposed to Powder Activated Carbon (PAC), a material widely accepted as a method to control mercury emissions at coal burning power plants. 

PAC injection systems, when installed prior to the power plants' particulate control device, will deposit activated carbon onto the fly ash as it travels through the flue gas, subsequently elevating the level of carbon or Loss on Ignition (LOI) in the fly ash byproduct. Powder Activated Carbons, which can be up to a thousand times more absorptive than Natural Carbon, will absorb air entraining admixtures when used in concrete to provide freeze thaw durability, rendering the fly ash unusable. Due to ongoing air pollution legislation, environmental agencies are mandating mercury controls at hundreds of coal burning power generating stations across the United States and Canada, which have already negatively impacted the quality of millions of tons of fly ash. More than 10 million tons of fly ash is beneficially used in concrete as a partial replacement for cement every year in the United States. 

FlyAshDirect currently owns and operates CarbonBlocker at five power generating plants throughout the Ohio Valley region and has successfully treated more than 2 million tons of fly ash for use in ready mix concrete. FlyAshDirect, who holds separate patents on the injection system and chemistry, originally developed the technology to address the affects of "Natural or Unburned" carbon, which is caused by low NOx burners or other inefficient burning conditions in the boiler. 

Realizing the benefits of the technology, BASF Construction Chemicals Division saw an opportunity to assist FlyAshDirect in further developing the chemistry to address the more aggressive challenge posed by PAC tainted fly ashes and are now prepared to commercialize the new technology. CarbonBlocker is specifically designed to provide an efficient method to apply minute quantities of liquid chemistry to alter the properties of fine powders in a bulk flow environment. This is a key benefit that FlyAshDirect and BASF believe can be expanded to other new and unique chemistries for the purpose of treating a wide array of construction materials such as fly ash, cement and slag, providing unlimited opportunities.

BASF Launches Polyurethanes Website

BASF’s Polyurethanes business in North America has launched a new website, www.polyurethanes.basf.us.   Designed to provide visitors with easy access to product information, the website includes a new "Polyurethanes 101” section, an interactive “Ask the Expert” section, and downloadable tools such as videos, literature and case studies about the company’s high-value polyurethane products used in key applications such as construction, house and home, appliances, transportation and energy.

“Our newly constructed website, www.polyurethanes.basf.us offers visitors an entirely new experience,” said Gerry Podesta, senior VP, Polyurethanes, for BASF in North America.  “Information is organized based on the industry of interest, products are searchable four different ways, and visitors can request a custom formulation based on their needs. We also make our experts available via the interactive ‘Ask the Expert’ section - allowing visitors to submit questions as well as learn from other entries. All of this is accomplished for the visitor with a minimum of clicks.”   

In addition to its broad portfolio of urethane chemicals, elastomers and specialty systems, BASF offers deep application and formulation expertise centered on the multi-faceted polyurethane molecule.  While polyurethanes are found throughout a myriad of value chains, innovations in polyurethanes can also help end use manufacturers achieve their most difficult goals such as energy-efficient homes and buildings, lighter weight cars and reduced environmental impacts. 

BASF Wins ICRI Project of the Year Award

ICRI (International Concrete Repair Institute) today announced that BASF’s Building Systems business, together with ConTech Restoration, was honored with the prestigious ICRI 2011 Project of the Year Award for their work on the Royal Floridian Condominium Restoration in Ormond Beach, Fla.

BASF also was honored with an Award of Excellence in the Transportation category for the Conde McCullough Bridge Repair – South End in Coos Bay, Ore., as well as an Award of Merit in the Special Projects category for the Mill Cove Transmission Line Towers Piling Repairs in Jacksonville, Fla.

ICRI conducts an awards program each year to honor and recognize outstanding projects in the concrete repair industry. Projects are judged based on the uniqueness, use of state of the art methods, the use of materials, functionality, value engineering and aesthetics. Entries are received from around the world, and the winning projects are honored each year at the annual ICRI Awards Dinner and Reception at each ICRI Fall Convention. This year’s Awards Dinner took place Oct.13 in Cincinnati.