CIRCULAR FOAM FOR CUSHIONS AND MATRASSES, CUSHION AND MATRASS PROVIDED THEREWITH, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH FOAM

Abstract

A circular foam for cushions and mattresses, cushions and mattresses provided therewith, and method for manufacturing such foam. The circular foam for cushions and mattresses includes a circular polymer and a nucleating agent, where the circular polymer is a polyester and/or an aromatic polymer, the circular foam includes an open cell structure, and a fatigue of at most 15% as determined according to ISO 1856:2018.

Claims

1. A circular foam for cushions and mattresses, comprising a circular polymer and a nucleating agent, wherein the circular polymer is a polyester and/or an aromatic polymer, wherein the circular foam comprise an open cell structure and a fatigue of at most 15% as determined according to ISO 1856:2018.

2. The circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1, further comprising reclaimed foam, wherein the reclaimed foam comprises the circular polymer and a nucleating agent.

3. The circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1, wherein the fatigue of the circular foam is at most 10%.

4. The circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1, wherein the circular foam comprises at least 70 wt. % circular polymer.

5. The circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1, further comprising at most 30 wt. % virgin polymer, and wherein the virgin polymer is a biodegradable polymer.

6. The circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1, wherein the circular polymer is a biodegradable polymer.

7. The circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1, wherein the circular foam comprises a density of 20 kg m−3 to 100 kg m−3, and/or wherein the circular foam comprises a hysteresis loss rate of 10% to 75 determined according to NEN-EN-ISO 2439:2009 Method E, and/or wherein the circular foam comprises an indentation load deflection of 80 N to 220 N at 40% compression as determined according to NEN-EN-ISO2439:2009 Method B.

8-9. (canceled)

10. The circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1, wherein the open cell structure comprises an open cell content of at least 30% measured according to mercury porosimetry or gas physisorption, and/or wherein the circular foam further comprising an average cell size in the range of 0.001 to 3.0 millimetres, wherein the cells are interconnected voids.

11. (canceled)

12. The circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1, wherein the circular polymer is selected from the group of polybutylene sebacate terephthalate and/or polybutylene adipate terephthalate.

13. The circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1, wherein the circular polymer is one or more of the group polyhydroxyalkanoate, poly(lactic acid), polybutylene succinate.

14. The circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1, wherein the polyester and/or aromatic polymer is branched.

15. The circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1, wherein the nucleating agent is selected from the group of talc, cellulose, hydrotalcite, calcium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, potassium carbonate, potassium bicarbonate, aluminium carbonate, aluminium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate, calcium bicarbonate, calcium stearate, or a mixture thereof, and/or wherein the circular foam is an integrally extruded circular foam.

16. (canceled)

17. A cushion comprising a cover and circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1.

18. A mattress comprising a cover and circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1, wherein the circular foam is configured as a single layer.

19. The matrass according to claim 18, wherein the mattress further comprises pocket springs and at least one additional layer.

20. Method for producing circular foam, comprising the steps of: providing circular foam and/or circular polymer to an extruder; heating the circular foam and/or circular polymer forming a mixture; providing a physical blowing agent to the mixture; and substantially completely extruding of the mixture to form a circular foam substrate, comprising a circular polymer and a nucleating agent, wherein the circular polymer is a polyester and/or an aromatic polymer, and wherein the circular foam comprises an open cell structure and a fatigue of at most 15% as determined according to ISO 1856:2018; wherein the circular foam of the step of providing circular foam and/or circular polymer to an extruder comprises said circular foam.

21. A method for producing circular foam according to claim 20, further comprising the step of cutting the circular foam prior to the step of providing circular foam and/or circular polymer to an extruder, and/or further comprising the step of forming circular particles from the circular foam by heating the circular foam, wherein the circular particles are provided to the extruder.

22. (canceled)

23. Circular foam for cushions and mattresses according to claim 1 obtainable by the method according to claim 20.

24. Use of a circular foam according to claim 1 in a mattress comprising a cover and said circular foam, wherein said circular foam is configured as a single layer.

25. Use of a circular foam according to claim 1 in a cushion comprising a cover and said circular foam for cushions and mattresses.

Description

[0113] Further advantages, features and details of the invention are elucidated on the basis of preferred embodiments thereof, wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0114] FIG. 1 shows a schematic overview of part of the circular foam according to the invention;

[0115] FIG. 2 shows a schematic overview of a sample of the circular foam according to the invention;

[0116] FIG. 3A shows a schematic overview of a matrass comprising the circular foam according to the invention;

[0117] FIG. 3B shows a schematic overview of a chair comprising cushions according to the invention; and

[0118] FIG. 4 shows a schematic overview of the method according to the invention.

[0119] Part of circular foam 10 (FIG. 1) comprises cells 14, which may be open cells and form interconnected voids, and circular foam 12. Circular foam 12 forms cells 14.

[0120] Sample of circular foam 16 (FIG. 2) is made of circular foam according to the invention and comprises top 18, sides 22, and bottom 20. It is noted that sample of circular foam 16 is by no means limited to the shape of FIG. 2. For example, the shape of circular foam 16 may be round, oval, squared, and the like, or any other desirable shape.

[0121] Chair 24 (FIG. 3B) comprises frame 26 and cushions 28. Cushions 28 are made of circular foam according to the invention.

[0122] Matrass 30 (FIG. 3A) comprises cover 32, optionally cover 32 may comprise closing means such as a zipper or Velcro.

[0123] FIG. 3A shows also schematic overview 34 of an embodiment of the inside of matrass Overview 34 comprises pocket springs 36, additional layer 38, circular foam 40, and side view 42 of cover 32.

[0124] Method for producing circular foam for furniture 50 (FIG. 4) starts with step 52 of cutting the circular foam, to form small particles of the (old) circular foam, may be followed by step 54 of adding virgin polymer to the cut circular foam. Step 52 or step 54 is followed by step 56 of heating the circular foam and/or circular polymer forming a mixture. Step 56 may be followed by step 58 of forming circular particles from the circular foam by heating the circular foam, wherein the circular particles are provided to the extruder. Step 56 or step 58 is followed by step 60 of providing a physical blowing agent to the mixture and step 62 of substantially completely extruding of the mixture to form circular foam according to the invention.

[0125] Experiments showed that the desired indentation load deflection was achieved, wherein in the experiment a circular foam of 1 m×2 m×30 cm was used.

[0126] Further experiments showed that the volatile organic compounds (VOC) could be determined by DIN EN 16516. It was found the circular foam according to the invention provides volatile organic compounds values which are suitable for use by consumers. Results of the tests are shown in Tables 1 to 6.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reproductive toxic components Concen- tration after 3 days SERa Carcinogenic, mutagenic and reproductive [μg/ [μg/ toxic components* (m.sup.2 h)] (m.sup.2 h)] CMR 1: VOC (incl. very VOC and semi VOC) <1 <0.77 with the following categorisations: Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008: Category Carc. 1A and 1B, Muta. 1A and 1B, Repr. 1A and 1B; TRGS 905: K1A, K1B, M1A, M1B, R1A, R1B; IARC: Group 1 and 2A; DFG (MAK list): Categories III1, III2 C 1: VOC (incl. VVOC and SVOC) with the <1 <0.77 following categorisations: Regulation (EG) Nr. 1272/2008: Category Carc. 1A u. 1B *Excluding formaldehyde (Carc. 1B) due to an assumed “practical threshold” under which a significant carcinogenic risk is no longer to be expected (see German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (2006): Toxicological evaluation of formaldehyde and German Federal Environment Agency (2016): Reference value for formaldehyde in indoor air). In the case of a toxicological emission assessment, a single-substance analysis of the formaldehyde concentration is necessary. In the opinion of the committee for Indoor Air guide Values (Ausschuss für Innenraumrichtwerte) of the German Federal Environment Agency, the concentration of 0.1 mg formaldehyde/m.sup.3 indoor air, based on a measurement period of half an hour, should not be exceeded, also for a short time (Bundesgesundheitsblatt 2016, 59, 1040-1044, DOI 10.1007/s00103-016-23895).

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Total volatile organic compounds Concen- tration after 3 days SERa [μg/ [μg/ Total volatile organic compounds (m.sup.2 h)] (m.sup.2 h)] Sum of VOC according to DIN EN 16516 16 12 Sum of VOC according to AgBB 2018/DIBt 21 16 Sum of VOC according to eco-INSTITUT-Label 27 21 Sum of VOC according to ISO 16000-6 37 28

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Total semi volatile organic compounds Concen- tration after 3 days SERa [μg/ [μg/ Total semi volatile organic compounds (m.sup.2 h)] (m.sup.2 h)] Sum of semi VOC according to DIN EN 16516 <5 <3.85 Sum of semi VOC without LCI according to <5 <3.85 AgBB 2018/DIBt Sum of semi VOC without LCI according to <1 <0.77 eco-INSTITUT-Label Sum of semi VOC with LCI according to AgBB <5 <3.85 2018/DIBt

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Total very volatile organic compounds Concentration after 3 days SERa Total very volatile organic compounds [μg/(m.sup.2 h)] [μg/(m.sup.2 h)] Sum of very VOC according to AgBB 6 4.6 2018/DIBt and Belgian regulation Sum of very VOC according to 8 6.2 eco-INSTITUT-Label

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Other sums of volatile organic compounds Concen- tration after 3 days SERa [μg/ [μg/ Other sums of VOC (m.sup.2 h)] (m.sup.2 h)] VOC without LCI according to AgBB/DIBt and 16 12 Belgian regulation VOC without LCI according to eco-INSTITUT- 21 16 Label CMR 2: VOC (incl. very VOC and semi VOC) 8 6.2 with the following categorisations: Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008: Category Carc. 2, Muta. 2, Repr. 2; TRGS 905: K3; IARC: Group 2B; DFG (MAK list): Category III3 Sensitising compounds with the following categorisations: DFG (MAK list): Category IV, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment lists: Cat A, TRGS 907 Bicyclic Terpenes <1 <0.77 C.sub.9-C.sub.14: Alkanes/Isoalkanes as dekane-equivalent <1 <0.77 C.sub.4-C.sub.11 Aldehydes, acyclic, aliphatic <2 <1.54

TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Risk value for assessment of LCI Risk value for assessment of LCI R-Value R-value according to eco-INSTITUT-Label 0.03 R-value according to AgBB 2018/DIBt 0.01 R-value according to Belgian regulation 0.01 R-value according to AFSSET 0.05

[0127] It is noted that due to different requirements in the respective guidelines, the calculation of total VOC, total very VOC, total semi VOC and R-value may result in different values. Short-chain carbonyl compounds (C.sub.1-C.sub.5) are quantified via HPLC according to DIN ISO 1600-3:2013-01. Therefore, no toluene equivalents are given for very VOC. These substances are taken into concern by means of their substance specific calibration via the sum of very VOC according to DIN EN 16516:2018-01. For VOC however, the substance specific calibration takes place via HPLC (whereas the total VOC is calculated using the toluene equivalent determined via Tenax according to DIN EN 16516:2018-01).

[0128] The present invention is by no means limited to the above described preferred embodiments and/or experiments thereof. The rights sought are defined by the following claims within the scope of which many modifications can be envisaged.