The Biodegradation Study of Polyurethane Foam Mixed with Local Additives

Abstract

In this paper, three types of local additives including ash, powder of peel garlic and powder of cooked tea leaves are used. These additives are usually considered as a waste, so this research was based on the principle of using recycled waste to improve the properties of polyurethane foam. Three different weights ranged between 1 g to 17 g mixed with polyurethane were prepared for (1:1) weight ratio of polyol and isocyanate. All samples which mixed with these additives above had been cut to specific forms. The biodegradation of the polymers mixed with these additives had been studied by burial them in three types of soil such as: clayey, sandy and river soil. The burial process continued in the soils for 100 days. The biodegradation of samples had been calculated through measuring the difference in weight before and after the burial. The results showed that there was a kind of simple biodegradation resulted from the addition of these local cheap additives.