Latest Innovations in Polyurethane Foam

As an innovation-first UK manufacturer and supplier of foam, we make every effort to identify the newest developments in our industry – developments that will soon, directly or indirectly, affect consumers, particularly around environmental efforts. As an ethical, environmentally conscious supplier, eFoam continually looks for new ways to keep this at the forefront of everything we do.

Polyurethane foam is a lightweight, malleable polymer used in countless everyday products, including sponges, insulation, footwear, mattresses and sofas. In this post, we cover three key innovations in polyurethane foam.

CO2-based polyurethane

One of the most interesting recent developments comes from researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, who discovered a process to make polyurethane foam using carbon dioxide and recycled materials. This lets the foam we use in so many applications be produced far more sustainably. The process avoids isocyanates – a material that can be toxic without properly regulated management and disposal – offering a safer production method and achieving biocompatibility, in other words a more sustainable, environmentally friendly product.

Where foam production warehouses operate without proper environmental measures, traditional isocyanates can pose occupational risks known as hazardous exposures, including lung problems, eye, nose and throat irritation, and carcinogenic effects, and without responsible disposal they can also harm the environment. The Fraunhofer work removes this worry, a huge step towards a greener production process.

The Institute's new process uses dicarbamate in place of isocyanates and requires very high temperatures and considerable pressure. The team's next aim is to optimise it into an efficient, industrially feasible process that takes running costs into account, and to experiment with additional agents in place of dicarbamate to see whether other materials can produce biocompatible polyurethanes. They also improved sustainability by avoiding fossil fuels: where oils and natural gases are typically used as a carbon source, the Institute used carbon dioxide and polyurethane recyclates instead. According to project co-ordinator Dr Christoph Herfurth, this ensures the carbon used is recycled, so less carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. The work was promoted at the Medica event in Düsseldorf in November. Our goal is to be the UK's most sustainable foam supplier, and we're proud our initiatives work towards reducing emissions from our processes.

Polyurethane-eating bacteria

Another fantastic innovation is the work of German researchers who identified a specialist strain of bacteria, known as Pseudomonas sp. TDA1, that breaks down some of polyurethane's chemical building blocks. It was originally discovered in a landfill site of brittle plastic waste. Because of polyurethane's complex make-up, it can be extremely difficult to break down, as thermosetting polymers don't melt easily. To do our part, we ensure all our foam offcuts are repurposed into new products rather than sent to landfill.

The UK and many countries have guidelines and practices in place to reduce plastic, and specifically polyurethane, waste. However, in some parts of the world such waste guidelines are not yet in place, so researchers are committed to finding more ways for microorganisms and bacteria to degrade plastics, with many current studies focusing on fungi.

Researchers from Leipzig's Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) announced the bacteria are "extremophilic", able to tolerate toxic and non-toxic organic compounds. As many polyurethanes produced elsewhere don't yet meet non-toxic standards, this is excellent for breaking down chemically complex, toxic waste polyurethane – the bacteria can attack polyurethane bonds directly. After a genomic analysis, researchers found the bacteria metabolise the chemical compounds to sustain themselves. As Dr Hermann Heipieper, one of the researchers, explained, the bacteria use these compounds as their primary source of carbon, nitrogen and energy, making them very efficient at breaking down even the most difficult plastics. The centre has since begun identifying the specific genes that code for this ability.

We continuously monitor the latest developments in the sector to help protect and conserve the environment, and we're proud that our own processes use non-toxic chemicals and that any waste offcuts are repurposed. To learn more about our environmental practices, see our guide to foam as an eco-friendly packaging material.

Wheat straw to polyurethane foam

Researchers from the University of Córdoba have developed a method of turning waste wheat straw – a common agricultural by-product – into a material suitable for making polyurethane foam. A key component in foam production is petroleum by-products, which are very versatile, but as wheat straw is produced in vast quantities (about 730 million tonnes a year) and largely left to waste, researchers wanted to find a way to salvage it.

Through a partnership between the University of Córdoba and Chile's Advanced Polymers Research Center (CIPA), wheat straw was liquified and refined to extract the polyols then used in producing polyurethane foam. As reported in the journal Polymers, these polyols successfully played their role in the chemical reaction that develops polyurethane foams.

For many years, castor oil has been the leading contender to replace petroleum by-products, but issues remain, notably how its polyols react when exposed to air: castor oil polyols don't offer the complete hardness or dryness of wheat straw or petroleum-based polyols, which is essential for making foam as we know it. Castor oil still has excellent properties, though, so in this trial staff experimented with a 50/50 mix of castor oil and wheat straw to achieve characteristics similar to non-renewable products, reaching almost maximum performance from 96% of the wheat used – a fantastic result for an industry striving for sustainability. The leftover wheat straw is also far more biodegradable than petroleum by-products, so it decomposes quickly and minimises its effect on the environment.

We're proud to see so many fantastic innovations in the sector, and we pride ourselves on our own environmental policies. For related reading, see our guides to chemical recycling of polyurethane foam and dissolvable foam, or contact us to discuss sustainable foam options.

Frequently asked questions

What is CO2-based polyurethane?

Researchers at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute developed a process to make polyurethane foam using carbon dioxide and recycled materials, using dicarbamate in place of toxic isocyanates and avoiding fossil fuels. The result is a safer, more sustainable and biocompatible foam.

Can bacteria break down polyurethane?

Yes. German researchers identified a strain known as Pseudomonas sp. TDA1, found in a landfill of brittle plastic waste, that breaks down some of polyurethane's chemical building blocks, using the compounds as its primary source of carbon, nitrogen and energy.

Can wheat straw be used to make foam?

Yes. Researchers at the University of Córdoba, with Chile's CIPA, liquified and refined waste wheat straw to extract the polyols used in producing polyurethane foam. The leftover wheat straw is far more biodegradable than petroleum by-products.