Aromatic Polyester Polyol Foam for Fire Retardant Elimination
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Solution Overview
Problem
The use of fire retardant additives in polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foam compositions increases costs and can cause storage and handling issues, while also affecting the economic viability and practicality of these foam products in building construction due to uneven distribution and reactivity changes.
Innovation Solution
A polyurethane foam composition is developed that reduces or eliminates the need for fire retardant additives by incorporating an isocyanate compound, an imide moiety-containing aromatic polyester polyol compound, a blowing agent, and optional additives, which maintains flammability properties without the use of traditional fire retardants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fire retardant additives are added to foam composition, then flammability properties are improved, but cost increases and storage/handling issues occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes fire retardant additives from the foam composition entirely, replacing them with an aromatic polyester polyol compound that inherently provides fire resistance. This extraction eliminates storage and handling issues associated with additives while maintaining flammability properties through the base polymer structure itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters by incorporating aromatic polyester polyol with specific structural characteristics (aromatic rings, polyester backbone) that inherently provide fire resistance. This parameter change transforms the fire resistance mechanism from additive-based to polymer-structure-based, eliminating the need for separate fire retardant additives.
2Reliability
If fire retardant additives are added to foam composition, then flammability properties are improved, but overall cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates fire retardant additives from the formulation, replacing their function with the inherent properties of aromatic polyester polyol. This removal eliminates the additional cost of purchasing and incorporating separate fire retardant chemicals, making the foam more economically viable while maintaining fire safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The aromatic polyester polyol compound serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as the base polymer providing foam structure, and it provides inherent fire resistance properties. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate fire retardant additives, reducing overall material costs while maintaining flammability compliance.
3Reliability
If fire retardant additives are added to foam composition, then flammability properties are improved, but uneven distribution and reactivity changes occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves homogeneous composition by incorporating fire resistance directly into the aromatic polyester polyol structure itself, rather than adding separate fire retardant additives. This ensures uniform distribution of fire-resistant properties throughout the foam matrix, eliminating issues with additive segregation, uneven distribution, and reactivity changes that plague additive-based formulations.
Data Source
AI summary
A polyurethane foam composition comprising: (a) an isocyanate compound; (b) one or more isocyanate reactive compounds at least one of the isocyanate reactive compounds comprises an aromatic polyester polyol compound comprising an imide moiety wherein the aromatic polyester polyol is the reaction product of: (i) a cyclic anhydride compound; (ii) a phthalic acid based compound, (iii) a primary amine compound, (iv) an aliphatic diol compound; (v) optionally, a high functionality, low molecular weight polyether polyol compound; (vi) optionally, a hydrophobic compound; and wherein the weight ratio of Component (i) to Component (ii) is from 1:24 to 24:1; and wherein the aromatic polyester polyol is liquid at 25° C. and comprises a hydroxy value ranging from about 30 to about 600; and (c) a blowing agent.