BIODEGRADABILITY OF FLEXIBLE POLYURETHANE FOAMS

Biodegradability of commercial flexible polyurethane foams and those c ontaining Biopol was investigated by a soil burial method. The weight loss of the samples (5 X 5 X 1 cm) was determined within 3 % of analys is errors. The soil burial experiment was carried out at two different test fields (Byoho and Hakyuchi). Both the soils had greatly differen t degradation activities for degradation of ether- and ester-type poly urethane foams, and biodegradability of the ester-type foams was large r than that of ether-type foams. TR, JM and SG (polyurethane sample na mes shown in Table 1) degraded in soil up to 40 approximately 60% weig ht loss after 12 months, comparable to the value for Buna wood. Biodeg radability of the polyurethane foam containing Biopol was dependent up on the chemical structure of the polyurethane except the degradation d uring the initial period (about 3 months), and the additional Biopol d id not promote the biodegradation.