Abstract
Polyurethane (PUR) foams are due to their versatility highly demanded not only in traditional applications but also in biotechnological and environmentally-oriented processes in which they can reach the open environment. Therefore, new PUR foams with degradation-on-demand features are highly desirable and their (bio)degradation behavior has to be understood. Herein, we have studied abiotic and microbial degradation of fully aliphatic PUR foam, developed as a biomass carrier for biofiltration. The progress of abiotic hydrolysis shows complete degradation of soft polyol segments and partial cleavage of hard isocyanate-derived segments. Microbial in-vitro degradations showed much higher activity of fungus Fusarium solani than bacterium Pseudomonas sp. Biodegradation of the PUR foam in soil reveals that 77% of the soft segments are mineralized after 6 months reaching the final mineralization of 43%. The results demonstrate that a non-hazardous and sustainable PUR foam can be successfully prepared for applications requiring material bioactivity (biorecycling, etc.).
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