A foam comprising starch and urea is described. A composition of the foam, by weight percent, includes a starch weight percent representative of the starch included in the foam and a urea weight percent representative of the urea included in the foam. The starch weight percent is greater than the urea weight percent.

The thermoplastic elastomer composition contains a thermoplastic elastomer and a pigment.

The present invention is concerned with expanded beads that are olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer expanded beads containing a coloring agent, wherein an apparent density of the expanded beads is 40 to 300 g/L, and an average surface layer membrane thickness (a) is 3 to 25 μm, and a molded article thereof, and is able to provide expanded beads capable of producing an expanded beads molded article which is excellent in in-mold moldability and excellent in tensile characteristics and an expanded beads molded article using the expanded beads.

The invention disclosed herein is an automotive acoustic panel including a porous sound-absorption material made from a polymer and an expanded perlite. One or more silane compounds may be coupled or coated onto the expanded perlite while a coupling agent and a chemical foaming agent may additionally be added to the automotive acoustic panel.

A method of forming foam material is provided, which includes mixing 100 parts by weight of a compound having cyclic carbonate groups and a foaming agent to form a foaming composition, wherein the foaming agent includes 3 to 13 parts by weight of carbamate salt and 15 to 65 parts by weight of amino compound. The foaming composition is heated to 100° C. to 170° C. for decomposing the carbamate salt into CO.sub.2 and amino compound, and the amino compound is reacted with the compound having cyclic carbonate groups to form the foam material.

A polyurethane foam may include an isocyanate polymer component and a polyol component. The polyol component may include a polyol having a molecular weight of at least about 500 kg/mol and not greater than about 6000 kg/mol. The polyurethane foam may have an elongation of at least about 500%. The polyurethane foam may further have a density of at least about 250 g/L and a tensile strength of not greater than about 1000 kPa.

A foamed sheet includes an aliphatic polyester resin and a filler. A degree of hydrophohization of the filler is 50% by mass or more, and a pH of the filler is 6.5 or lower. A manufacture includes the foamed sheet and a method can be used for producing the foamed sheet.

A foamed sheet includes an aliphatic polyester resin and a filler. An average foam diameter of the foamed sheet is 15 micrometers or less. An average thickness of the foamed sheet is 3,000 micrometers or less. A ratio of a length of a side of the foamed sheet in a longer direction or a side of the foamed sheet in a direction perpendicular to the longer direction to the average thickness is 250 or more.

The present invention is related to a process for the production of a vinyl aromatic (co)polymer comprising the steps of: a) mixing a fraction (A) comprising one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of styrene, alpha-methyl styrene, acrylonitrile, methyl (meth)acrylate, (meth)acrylic acid and butadiene with a fraction (B) comprising post-consumer recycled vinyl aromatic (co)polymer, wherein the weight ratio of fraction (B) to fraction (A) is comprised between 0.01/1 and 1/1, preferably between 0.05/1 and 0.5/1 b) subjecting the resulting mixture to a free-radical polymerization and polymerizing to a monomer conversion up to 90%, to obtain a polymerized mixture comprising vinyl aromatic (co)polymer; c) vacuum devolatizing the polymerized mixture and recovering vinyl aromatic (co)polymer characterized by a weight average molecular weight comprised between 100,000 and 400,000 g/mol;
wherein one or more bromine derivative capture agents are added before, and/or during and/or after at least one of the steps a) to c); and
wherein 100 parts of one or more bromine derivative capture agents comprises at least 50 parts by weight of hydrotalcite of the formula:

[Mg.sub.1-x Al.sub.x(OH).sub.2].sup.x+(CO.sub.3).sub.x/2.mH.sub.2O

wherein: 0<x≤0.5, and m is a positive number.

The present invention is also related to expandable and extruded expanded vinyl aromatic (co)polymer compositions obtained from vinyl aromatic (co)polymers comprising post-consumer and/or post-industrial vinyl aromatic (co)polymer and to a process for the production of said expandable and extruded expanded vinyl aromatic (co)polymer compositions.

Described herein is a Low TVOC flame-retardant polyurethane spray foam system, including at least one isocyanate as isocyanate component, and at least one substance reactive toward isocyanate, chain extender and/or crosslinking agent, flame retardant, blowing agent, catalysts, and additives and/or auxiliaries, as resin components, where the flame retardant includes expandable graphite and melamine, the amount of expandable graphite is in the range of from 5 wt % to less than 30 wt %, and the amount of melamine is in the range of from greater than 5 wt % to 30 wt %, each based on the total weight of the resin components. Also described herein are a polyurethane spray foam produced therefrom, the preparation thereof, and a method of use thereof in the application of heat insulation, sound insulation, cavity filling and damping packing.