Of the 72 initial entries from across the whole European region, Rohm and Haas were placed within the Top 10. Rohm and Haas's submission, was presented by Nolwenn Colmou, scientist, and Dr Houshang Kheradmand, product steward and sustainable design manager, Rohm and Haas Europe, was entitled ‘Aquaset - a new generation of formaldehyde free binders.’ Aquaset is a new generation of heat curable binders that are made without formaldehyde or formaldehyde-generating materials that do not release formaldehyde under normal operating conditions. They are a safe, environmentally preferable alternative to formaldehyde binders like phenol-formaldehyde, urea-formaldehyde or melamine-formaldehyde binders used for mineral and synthetic fibre bonding. This technology is applicable in a wide variety of industries, particularly building and construction, as well as for the automotive and furniture industries. Aquaset binders can be favourably formulated from an acrylic resin and biodiesel production by-products such as glycerol and glycerol derivatives. This technology makes significant contributions to improved air quality. The importance of Aquaset was also recognised in 2006 when the American Chemistry Council awarded its ‘Heroes of Chemistry Award’ to the research team behind its development. At the ceremony in Paris, Gray Wirth, Rohm and Haas European president, emphasised the company's historical dedication to environmental sustainability. Rohm and Haas pioneered the concept of eco-sustainable coatings chemistry almost 40 years ago resulting in a huge positive environmental impact in the industries served by the company. ‘It is an honour for us to be nominated one of the 10 finalists for this prestigious award,’ he said. ‘Rohm and Haas continues to be dedicated to innovation and sustainability - 50% of our R&D budget for 2007 was dedicated to sustainable development projects. We are proud of our history of innovation in high-performance water-borne technologies - it's something we're definitely going to continue into the future. We see environmental and economic benefits working hand in hand.’
