28. May 2025
Biodegradable flexible polyurethane foam containing tapioca starch and castor oil
A research project, now published in the journal Scientific Reports, focused on developing flexible polyurethane foams with high biodegradability, suitable as substrates for growing vegetables or cereal sprouts.
These foams incorporated acetylated tapioca starch as a filler and castor oil, and their properties were evaluated. Experiments assessed how varying concentrations of acetylated starch and castor oil affected the foams’ density, tensile properties, compression set, moisture absorption, biodegradability, and microstructure.
Results indicated that increasing acetylated starch concentration led to higher density, compression set, biodegradability, and closed cell percentage, while tensile strength, elongation at break, water absorption, and mean cell diameter decreased.
The influence of castor oil concentration on the foams’ physical and mechanical properties was inconsistent. Additionally, the germination amount of grown green basil seeds on commercial flexible polyurethane foam was higher than that of selected prepared foam (84.7% vs. 81.3%), but the germination rate of grown green basil seeds on selected prepared foam was higher than that of commercial foam at all times, including the ninth day (4.7 vs. 4.2 cm).
Find more details at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03292-1
Photo: Castor plant (source Renewable Carbon Plastics)