A reaction system, such as for forming a rigid polyurethane foam, includes a flame retardant polyol that is a brominated reaction product of a cardanol component, a bromine component, and an additive component. The cardanol component includes at least 80 wt % of cardanol, based on the total weight of the cardanol component, and the bromine component including at least 80 wt % of bromine, based on the total weight of the bromine component.

Methods for recovering monomers from polymers, such as polyurethanes (including thermoset polyurethanes) include heating the polymer to depolymerize the polymer and release the monomer. The monomer may be directly recovered. The polymer may include a poly(β-methyl-δ-valerolactone) (PMVL) block and the monomer recovered may be β-methyl-δ-valerolactone (MVL).

A process of making a polyurethane or polyisocyanurate foam comprises the step of mixing under low pressure: (A) An isocyanate; (B) A compound reactive with the isocyanate, e.g., a polyol; (C) A liquid blowing agent; and (D) Carbon dioxide.

Polyurethane foams which are highly flame resistant are described, as well as the production of such polyurethane foams by the reaction between a natural polyol, such as sucrose or a blend of mono- or disaccharides in place of the standard hydrocarbon-based polyol component, a polyisocyanate and water in the presence of a suitable polyurethane forming catalyst and a flame retardant, and optionally one or more components such as surfactants and/or emulsifiers. The resultant polyurethane foam has a bio-based solid content ranging from about 17% to 30%, may be formulated in a variety of foam densities for a variety of applications, and exhibits a high degree of fire and burn resistance, as exhibited by the flame spread index and the smoke spread values.

The present invention relates to a process for preparing a porous material, at least comprising the steps of providing a mixture (I) comprising a composition (A) comprising components suitable to form an organic gel and a solvent (B), reacting the components in the composition (A) in the presence of the solvent (B) to form a gel, and drying of the gel obtained in step b), wherein the composition (A) comprises at least one compound (af) comprising phosphorous and at least one functional group which is reactive towards isocyanates. The invention further relates to the porous materials which can be obtained in this way and the use of the porous materials as thermal insulation material and in vacuum insulation panels, in particular in interior or exterior thermal insulation systems as well as in water tank or ice maker insulation systems.

A fire-retardant polyurethane foam mattress and a method of manufacture thereof are provided. The mattress comprises a polyurethane foam prepared from a composition comprising at least a polyol, an organic polyisocyanate and a fire retardant and is provided with an outer layer encapsulating the polyurethane foam, the outer layer comprising a waterproof membrane of silicone rubber. A fire-resistant barrier layer is disposed substantially between the waterproof membrane and the polyurethane foam.

A surfactant and a method of forming the surfactant having the formula (I) where a is an integer from 1 to 10, b is an integer from 0 to 10, R.sub.1 is —CH.sub.3 or —H, n is an integer from 0 to 20, and R.sub.2 is a moiety selected from the group consisting of (II), (III), (IV), (V), (VI), (VII) or (VIII) where m is an integer from 0 to 4. The surfactant can be used in a method for preparing a rigid polyurethane foam.

##STR00001##

Polyurethane/polyisocyanurate foam insulation described herein is derived from a composition that contains an organic polyisocyanate, an isocyanate reactive material containing at least about 20% by weight, based on the total weight of the composition, of an aromatic polyester polyol, a hydrocarbon blowing agent, a first catalyst selected from the group consisting of a carboxylate salt of an alkali metal, a carboxylate salt of an alkaline earth metal, a carboxylate salt of a quaternary ammonium, and combinations thereof, and a second catalyst comprising a non-reactive tertiary amine, wherein a molar ratio of the first catalyst to the second catalyst is less than about 1.25, the composition gels quickly, and the composition has an isocyanate index greater than about 175. Such an insulating foam has a ratio of thermal conductivity at 75° F. to thermal conductivity at 25° F. between about 0.98 and about 1.10.

A process and composition is described for the inclusion of polyether polyols in concentrations greater than 10% loading on the B-side formulation with a catalyst package less than 1% loading on the B-side formulation. In one specific example, the use of glycerin as a fluorine ion scavenger is utilized to improve performance of the polyurethane systems through a twelve-month shelf life.

The present invention relates to a self-emulsifying polyisocyanate composition including a reaction mixture of (a) an anionic compound having a specific structure, (b) nonionic hydrophilic group-containing monofunctional alcohol having a specific structure, (c) organic polyisocyanate, and (d) tertiary amine, a two-part coating composition that contains the composition, and a coating film that can be obtained from the coating composition.