Pesquisadores desenvolvem espuma de poliuretano reciclável a partir de derivados de açúcar

Almofadas de espuma de poliuretano de fonte renovável

Researchers Develop Recyclable Biobased Polyurethane Foam from Sugar-derived Material

Polyurethanes in products from cushy sofas to stretchy spandex have made sitting, sleeping and walking more comfortable. But once they have served their purpose, most of the non-degradable materials pile up in landfills. Now scientists report in the journal ACS Macro Letters a potential way to reduce future waste: a chemically recyclable foam made using a new sugar-derived material.

Polyurethanes are highly versatile materials. In addition to furniture and clothing, manufactures use them in electronics, cars, floors and medical devices. But the materials come from petroleum, and efforts to recycle them are limited. To tackle the huge amount of waste this creates, scientists are pursuing more sustainable options. Marc A. Hillmyer and colleagues developed an efficient method to make a sugar-derived rubbery polyester compound called poly(β-methyl-δ-valerolactone), or PMVL, that can be used in new chemically-recyclable polyurethanes.

Using this new polymer, the researchers made flexible polyurethane foams that were comparable in performance to commercial analogs. To test whether the foams could be recycled, the team first added a catalyst, then heated the materials to a high temperature. Through this process, the researchers recovered up to 97 percent of the starting β-methyl-δ-valerolactone (MVL) monomer in high purity. The researchers then used what they recovered to re-make PMVL with essentially identical properties.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Science Foundation supported Center for Sustainable Polymers and the University of Minnesota Graduate School.

About American Chemical Society (ACS) – The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 158,000 members at all degree levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related fields. It is one of the world’s largest scientific societies by membership.

Fontes – American Chemical Society ACS / SpecialChem / Omnexus

Boletim do Instituto Ideais de 23 de maio de 2016

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