One of the oldest marketable foamed plastics is urea-formaldehyde-foam (UF-foam). It has been argued that the formaldehyde liberated during the curing stage should be reduced. Formaldehyde emission during the solidification of aminoplast precondensates is a common effect and airborne concentrations well above the odour threshold are irritating to the mucosa. Therefore an improved foam formulation was compared with a present standard foam for formaldehyde emission in laboratory experiments, and also in the field. It proved to be feasible to reduce the emission potential such that there was no noticeable ambient concentration.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BaumannH., FSK 12th International Foamed Plastics Symposium: 50 Years of Foamed Plastics, 1983.
2.
StaudingerH., Die Hochmolekularen Organischen Verbindungen, Springer, Berlin, 1932.
3.
RossiterW. J., Thermal Insulation Materials, and Systems for Energy Conservation in the '80s, ASTM STP 789, GovanF. A., GreasonD. M. and McAllisterJ. D. (Eds), 1983, p. 665.
