Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Fraunhofer researchers have developed a manufacturing method for polyurethanes that avoids use of toxic isocyanates while making use of carbon dioxide as a starting material. Biocompatible and sustainable plastics are the latest innovations from Fraunhofer.
Polyurethanes of a reproducible standard are being developed in collaboration with partners from industry.
Polyurethane is a multipurpose material. This type of plastic is used as foam for mattresses, as packaging material, as elastic material for sporting goods and as sealing material, paint, adhesive, construction foam and much more. The material is even used in medical applications – for example in the form of tubes for intravenous catheters. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research IAP, for Chemical Technology ICT, for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM and for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT are now exploring new ways to produce this type of plastic sustainably and without the use of toxic materials.
“Instead of using fossil fuels, e.g. crude oil or natural gas, as a carbon source for the polyurethanes, we use carbon dioxide and polyurethane recyclates,” explains Herfurth. “This way, we can recycle the carbon and ensure that a lower amount of damaging CO2 is released into the atmosphere.” This process is already up and running; pressure and elevated temperatures are required for this. The researchers at the Fraunhofer Institutes are currently working on ways to optimize the processes.
At first, the project team will focus on developing the building blocks for polyurethane production. The researchers will also investigate the relationships between the process parameters and structural properties: How do you achieve the properties that make conventional polyurethanes so versatile? Three different demonstrators will illustrate the various applications of this new form of polyurethane: The first will be sustainable tubes for medical applications. Here, only comparatively small quantities of polyurethanes are needed. This makes it easier to launch a new product. In a second application, adhesives are being developed at Fraunhofer IFAM optimized for the new polyurethanes to allow cannulas to be bonded to medical tubing, for example, for catheters. The third demonstrator on the agenda is foam, and with it processing technologies for mass-produced products.
Tags: biocomposite, Fraunhofer research, plastics, woodworking and manufacturing, woodworking event, woodworking industry
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