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Exploring the Potential to Repurpose Flexible Moulded Polyurethane Foams as Acoustic Insulators.

ABSTRACT: Polyurethane flexible foams are widely used for a variety of applications to improve comfort and durability. Their long-term frequent use inevitably leads to the generation of waste that needs to be treated. The recycling and reuse of polyurethane waste are essential to achieve an environmentally friendly economy. The present study investigates the potential to reuse and repurpose flexible polyurethane foam from automotive seat cushion waste materials. Flexible foams were prepared with different hardnesses using isocyanate-polyol ratios between 0.8 and 1.2 NCO-index. Dry heat aging tests were performed to mimic the long-term usage of the materials. The decrease in compressive strength was compared with the change in acoustic damping properties before and after the aging tests using an acoustic tube, and the change in foam cell structures was also analyzed by micro-CT. On the basis of the results obtained, although the foam systems are no longer suitable to be used as seat cushions due to aging, they can still be used as sound insulation materials within a given frequency range, as their sound absorption capacity is suitable for such purpose.

SUBMITTER: Mester E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8747745 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Exploring the Potential to Repurpose Flexible Moulded Polyurethane Foams as Acoustic Insulators.

Mester Enikő E Pecsmány Dániel D Jálics Károly K Filep Ádám Á Varga Miklós M Gráczer Kitti K Viskolcz Béla B Fiser Béla B

Polymers 20211231 1

Polyurethane flexible foams are widely used for a variety of applications to improve comfort and durability. Their long-term frequent use inevitably leads to the generation of waste that needs to be treated. The recycling and reuse of polyurethane waste are essential to achieve an environmentally friendly economy. The present study investigates the potential to reuse and repurpose flexible polyurethane foam from automotive seat cushion waste materials. Flexible foams were prepared with different ...[more]

PMID: 35012185

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Project description:The role of various additives (emulsifier, anti-dripping agent) and formulation procedures (pre-dispersion of solid additives in polyol via milling) which influence the flame retardancy of 6,6'-[ethan-1,2-diylbis(azandiyl)]bis(6H-dibenzo[c,e][1,2]oxaphosphin-6-oxid) (EDA-DOPO) containing flexible polyurethane foams has been investigated in this work. For comparison, the flame retardancy of two additional structurally-analogous bridged 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO)-based compounds, i.e., ethanolamine-DOPO (ETA-DOPO) and ethylene glycol-DOPO (EG-DOPO) were also evaluated together with EDA-DOPO in flexible PU foams of various formulations. The flame retardancy of these three bridged-DOPO compounds depends on the type of PU formulation. For certain PU formulations containing EDA-DOPO, lower fire performance was observed. Addition of emulsifier and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to these PU formulations influenced positively the flame retardancy of EDA-DOPO/PU foams. In addition, dispersion of EDA-DOPO and PTFE via milling in polyol improved the flame retardancy of the PU foams. Mechanistic studies performed using a microscale combustion calorimeter (MCC) and its coupling to FTIR showed no difference in the combustion efficiency of the bridged-DOPO compounds in PU foams. From MCC experiments it can be concluded that these bridged-DOPO compounds and their decomposition products may work primarily in the gas phase as flame inhibitors. The physiochemical behavior of additives in PU formulation responsible for the improvement in the flame retardancy of PU foams was further investigated by studying the dripping behavior of the PU foams in the UL 94 HB test. A high-speed camera was used to study the dripping behavior in the UL 94 HB test and results indicate a considerable reduction of the total number of melt drips and flaming drips for the flame retardant formulations. This reduction in melt drips and flaming drips during the UL 94 HB tests help PU foams achieve higher fire classification.

Dataset Information

Exploring the Potential to Repurpose Flexible Moulded Polyurethane Foams as Acoustic Insulators.

Publications

Exploring the Potential to Repurpose Flexible Moulded Polyurethane Foams as Acoustic Insulators.

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