James Leverette Guthrie

Flexible Water-Absorbent Foams from MDI

The term &dquo;Flexible Foam&dquo; suggests oneshot TDI-based foams intended for cushioning, which depend on poly (propylene oxide) polyols for flexibility. Typically, they do not absorb water. This paper will discuss flexible foams made by a prepolymer technique without TDI which are based almost entirely on poly(ethylene oxide) polyols, and which can absorb many times their own weight of water. In fact, the main value of these foams is that they can hold or transmit water and that they can bind substantial amounts of functional ingredients, such as medicinals, carried by water during foaming. These products are the HYPOL° foamable polymers produced by the Organic Chemicals Division of W. R. Grace & Co. The main