Foaming of thermoplastic polyurethane using supercritical CO2 AND N2: Antishrinking strategy

• Published in: The Journal of supercritical fluids Vol. 211; p. 106311
• Main Authors: Belmonte, P., Céspedes, M., Ramos, M.J., Rodríguez, J.F., Garrido, I., García, M.T., García-Vargas, J.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.09.2024
• Subjects: Foaming; Mechanical analysis; Shrinking; Supercritical CO2; Supercritical N2; TPU; TPU; Shrinking; Foaming; Supercritical CO2; Supercritical N2; Mechanical analysis
• ISSN: 0896-8446; 1872-8162
• DOI: 10.1016/j.supflu.2024.106311

The transformation of thermoplastic polyurethanes into polymeric foams is attracting great interest nowadays. However, this technology has some challenges that it is necessary to resolve, being one of the most important the shrinkage suffered by the polymeric foams over time. For that reason, this work explores several alternatives to mitigate this phenomenon. These alternatives are divided into two groups: on the one hand, the refoaming of the shrunken foams using supercritical CO2 and N2 was explored; on the other hand, the foaming using mixtures of supercritical CO2 and N2 as foaming agents was carried out. After experiments, it was seen that, the refoaming with N2 of shrunken foams obtained by supercritical CO2 technology can increase and keep constant the initial expansion ratio of the shrunken foams. Moreover, it was also observed that ratios of CO2/N2 between 80/20 and 60/40 can avoid the shrinking issues suffered by the polymeric foams after foaming using supercritical technology. [Display omitted] •N2 refoaming of shrunken foams can slightly increase and keep constant the initial expansion ratio of the shrunken foams.•Ratios of CO2/N2 between 80/20 and 60/40 can avoid the shrinking issues suffered by the polymeric foams after foaming.•Using supercritical CO2 as refoaming agent it was possible to duplicate the initial expansion ratio of the foams obtained.•The starter morphology of the foams obtained can be slightly modified by the refoaming pressure.