Abstract
Polyurethane (PUR) foams are due to their versatility highly demanded not only in traditional applications but also in biotechnological and environmentally-oriented processes in which they can reach the open environment. Therefore, new PUR foams with degradation-on-demand features are highly desirable and their (bio)degradation behavior has to be understood.
Herein, we have studied abiotic and microbial degradation of fully aliphatic PUR foam, developed as a biomass carrier for biofiltration. The progress of abiotic hydrolysis shows complete degradation of soft polyol segments and partial cleavage of hard isocyanate-derived segments.
Microbial in-vitro degradations showed much higher activity of fungus Fusarium solani than bacterium Pseudomonas sp. Biodegradation of the PUR foam in soil reveals that 77% of the soft segments are mineralized after 6 months reaching the final mineralization of 43%.
The results demonstrate that a non-hazardous and sustainable PUR foam can be successfully prepared for applications requiring material bioactivity (biorecycling, etc.). (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.