PROCESS ECONOMIES AND USES FOR CRYOGENICALLY PULVERISED FLEXIBLE POLYESTER POLYURETHANE FOAM

摘要

The economics of cryogenic pulverisation of flexible polyurethane(PU) foam were vastly improved by densifying the foam prior to cryogenic cooling resulting in reduced cryogen usage and improved throughput. Resultant particles were introduced into foam formulations where sizes <100μm gave similar properties to virgin foam at 5% addition rate. Cell structure and compression properties increasingly diverged from virgin results as particle size increased. The particles may also find applications in rigid PU foams and natural rubber compounds at high filler loadings.