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Polyether polyols from scrap polyurethanes – for use in rigid and flexible foamsIbrahim Sendijarevic

von Ibrahim Sendijarevic, Jordan G. Harris, Stephen Hoffmann, Senad Heric, Nirali Lathia, Vahid Sendijarevic

InfiChem Polymers, LLC has developed a new range of polyols called InfiGreen polyether polyols produced with over 60 % of the feedstock coming from scrap polyurethane foams. These polyols have over 20 % of the aromatic content originating from urethane and urea linkages. Both rigid and high resilience (HR) polyurethane foams have been prepared with these novel polyols. Flexible foams have been prepared with 5 % and 10 % of the total polyol content based upon InfiGreen 320 by simple replacement of conventional polyether polyol and without any adjustment in the formulation.

Free-rise and moulded flexible foams based on InfiGreen 320 exhibited resilience characteristics expected of HR foams. Although most of the foam properties were affected by the introduction of the new polyols, almost all properties, including wet compression set, were in the range of values specified for automotive seating foams. Rigid PU foams prepared with InfiGreen 420 as the sole polyol using a mixture of water and HFC-245fa as blowing agents exhibited comparable properties to the reference foam prepared with a conventional polyether polyol. The thermal conductivity of the foam based on InfiGreen 420 was in the range of values reported for foams with the same density range prepared with similar levels of HFC-245fa using 100 % conventional polyols. In addition, rigid foams containing these recycled polyols exhibited lower burning rates than the reference foam.