(PhysOrg.com) -- Until now polyurethane has been considered non-biodegradable, but a group of students from Yale University in the US has found fungi that will not only eat and digest it, they will do so even in the absence ...
There may be a small answer to one of the biggest problems on the planet.
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 27, 2020
2
2586
In the movie "Terminator 2," the shape-shifting T-1000 robot morphs into a liquid state to squeeze through tight spaces or to repair itself when harmed. Now a phase-changing material built from wax and foam, and capable of ...
Engineering
Jul 14, 2014
2
0
As the world's most popular shoe, flip-flops account for a troubling percentage of plastic waste that ends up in landfills, on seashores and in our oceans. Scientists at the University of California San Diego have spent years ...
Materials Science
Aug 7, 2020
0
470
A trio of researchers with the University of Nevada, Reno, the California Institute of Technology and GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences reports evidence that suggests some waterfalls self-form in the absence of external ...
Efforts to build larger wind turbines able to capture more energy from the air are stymied by the weight of blades. A Case Western Reserve University researcher has built a prototype blade that is substantially lighter and ...
Engineering
Aug 30, 2011
6
0
It created something of a stir back in 2022, when researchers from Aarhus University announced a new and inexpensive way of breaking down polyurethane (PU) plastic into its original components, which can then be recycled ...
Polymers
Aug 1, 2023
0
69
Organisms discovered by Yale undergraduates growing within fungi in the Amazon Rainforest can degrade polyurethane, a findings that may lead to innovative ways to reduce waste in the world's landfills.
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 2, 2011
2
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- There are few things in life that are more annoying than having your iPod's beautiful face marred by scratches. But what if those scratches could "heal" themselves? New technology developed at the University ...
Polyurethane plastics are ubiquitous, used everywhere from mattresses to shoes. But once these products are no longer wanted, these materials litter landfills and oceans across the world.
Polymers
Aug 29, 2023
1
55
A polyurethane (PUR and PU) is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer (with at least two isocyanate functional groups) with another monomer (with at least two hydroxyl or alcohol groups) in the presence of a catalyst.
Polyurethanes are applied to the manufacture of flexible, high-resilience foam seating; rigid foam insulation panels; microcellular foam seals and gaskets; durable elastomeric wheels and tires; automotive suspension bushings; electrical potting compounds; high performance adhesives; surface coatings and surface sealants; synthetic fibers (e.g. Spandex); carpet underlay; and hard-plastic parts (i.e. for electronic instruments). Moreover, polyurethane products often are inaccurately called “urethanes”, but must not be confused with urethane proper (ethyl carbamate), because polyurethanes neither contain nor are produced from ethyl carbamate.
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