Polyurethane Foams: Renewable, Recycled, Recyclable—The Green Economy Applied to the Polyurethane Industry

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 4853

Special Issue Editors

CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, Campus Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: energy efficiency in buildings; use of phase change materials (PCMs) and carbon nanomaterials; materials development; experimental testing of PCM solutions
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Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Marzolo, 9, 35131 Padova, Italy
Interests: thermal degradation and fire behaviour of polymeric systems, search for new halogen-free flame retardants; polyurethane and polyisocynaurate foams; chemicals and polymers from renewable or waste materials; polymeric nanocomposite: formulation, processing and application; nanostructured membranes based on nanofibers (electrospinning and electrospraying)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polyurethanes (PU) are one of the most versatile classes of polymers, whose consumption was predicted to be over 79 billion USD by 2021. They can be used as elastomers, paints or adhesives, but their main consumption is in the form of foams (PUF), corresponding to 67% of global PU consumption. Nevertheless, the disposal of PUF products is a current concern, facing ecological and environmental problems. In that sense, to avoid their landfill or incineration and its inherent problems, PUF wastes must be recycled. Another approach to this green economy philosophy is using renewable feedstocks in the production of PUF, increasing that way their ecoefficiency.

Overall, sustainability is considered of extreme importance to the world and to the competitiveness of companies in the long run, representing a big challenge in the present day to all people. Therefore, this Special Issue of Applied Sciences on “Polyurethane Foams: Renewable, Recycled, Recyclable—the Green Economy Applied to the Polyurethane Industry” aims to attract contributions related to the application of the green economy principles to PUF production, namely, renewable, recycled, and/or recyclable PUF.

Prof. Dr. Nuno V. Gama
Prof. Dr. Alessandra Lorenzetti
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Polyurethane foams
  • Recycling
  • Renewable
  • Recyclable
  • Circular economy
  • Green economy
  • Sustainability
  • Ecoefficiency

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

28 pages, 11953 KiB  
Article
Development and Characterization of Tailored Polyurethane Foams for Shock Absorption
by Boumdouha Noureddine, Safidine Zitouni, Boudiaf Achraf, Chabane Houssém, Duchet-Rumeau Jannick and Gerard Jean-François
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(4), 2206; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12042206 - 20 Feb 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4123
Abstract
In this paper, different types of polyurethane foams (PUR) having various chemical compositions have been produced with a specific density to monitor the microstructure as much as possible. The foam may have a preferential orientation in the cell structure. The cellular polyurethane tends [...] Read more.
In this paper, different types of polyurethane foams (PUR) having various chemical compositions have been produced with a specific density to monitor the microstructure as much as possible. The foam may have a preferential orientation in the cell structure. The cellular polyurethane tends to have stubborn, typical cellular systems with strong overlap reversibility. Free expansion under atmospheric pressure enables formulas to grow until they are refined. Moreover, the physicochemical characterization of the developed foams was carried out. They later are described by apparent density, Shore hardness, Raman spectroscopy analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, FTIR, TGA, DSC, and compression tests. The detailed structural characterization was used by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an optical microscope (MO) to visualize the alveolar polymer’s semi-opened cells, highlighting the opened-cell morphology and chemical irregularities. Polyurethane foams with different structural variables have a spectrum characterization that influences the phase separation and topography of polyurethane foam areas because their bonding capability with hydrogen depends on chain extender nature. These studies may aid in shock absorption production; a methodology of elaboration and characterization of filled polyurethane foams is proposed. Full article
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