look what we did!Innovations From Polyurethane Manufacturers

2018 Polyurethane Innovation Award Honors Technical Achievement

Since its introduction to the world in the 1930s, polyurethane has continued to impact and improve daily life for much of the global population. Today, thanks to the actions of an active, imaginative and inquisitive polyurethane industry, the boundaries of scientific achievement and discovery are ever expanding. Each new year brings scientific breakthroughs; results once thought only to be the stuff of imagination a few short years ago are now commonplace.

While the introduction of a new polyurethane-based product to the marketplace can bring short-term excitement, the product itself is often the result of years of research, technical labor and...

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Behind the World’s Most Prevalent Polymer

By now, you may think you know everything there is to know about polyurethane and the many ways this incredible polymer touches our daily lives. But are you familiar with how it originated?

It all started in 1937 with Dr. Otto Bayer. The German-born chemist came across the polymer when he was looking for a compound that could be used as a substitute for rubber, which at the time was expensive and hard to obtain.

The versatility of polyurethane and its ability to substitute for scarce materials spurred numerous applications. In the years following its initial discovery, the polymer started...

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Researchers Look to Polyurethane to Heal Bone Fractures

According to a recent study, hip fractures are on the rise in much of Asia. While on the surface this may seem like a gloomy statistic, it is actually indicative of a positive trend. Life expectancy around the world is increasing, thanks in large part to breakthroughs in health science and technology. The global standard of living is also improving with more people than ever before having access to nutritious foods, clean drinking water and medical care.

However, as life expectancy around the world increases, science must seek out new and innovative solutions to the health-related issues that come along...

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Polyurethane Helps Improve Neurovascular Surgery

A medical device innovation, made from polyurethane, has received FDA approval — giving hope for better healing for those recovering from brain surgery. The device — called an embolization plug — is used to reduce or obstruct the flow of blood within an artery or vein, helping to form a clot and stabilize the blood vessel.

The embolization plug is made with shape-memory polymer technology, which uses low-density polyurethane. The plug can be customized to a range of sizes and with various properties. It can be compressed into a catheter-deliverable shape that expands to its original shape once it reaches...

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Warm Beer? Thermoplastic Polyurethane to the Rescue!

Polyurethane is great at keeping your summer beverages cold when they’re in the refrigerator or cooler, but what about once you’re drinking them? Beer Blizzard™ is a freezable disk made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) that’s designed to fit into the indentation on the bottom of a soda or beer can. Tucked inside a koozie, it continues to cool your drink from the bottom up.

TPU is an excellent choice for this application because it can be frozen and defrosted thousands of times without cracking, and can be created in any color. Created by Mike Robb and Tom Osbourne, Beer Blizzard™...

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Polyurethane Foam Helps Musical Equipment Travel Safely

The summer concert season is upon us, and musicians of all genres will go on tour to the delight of their fans. Have you ever wondered how all the instruments and equipment you see on stage get transported around the world? After all, the average event requires some 250 metric tons of equipment, some of it irreplaceable.

Professional flight cases are the answer. These cases — hard and protective on the outside, cushioned with polyurethane foam on the inside — transport concert necessities ranging from grand pianos to lights and sound equipment to elaborate performance sets.

On the outside, flight...

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Polyurethane Helps Hot-Air Balloons Soar

Originally invented in France in the late 1700s, hot-air balloons use air displacement to rise gracefully into the sky. Air displacement is caused by heating a lifting gas such as helium, hydrogen or oxygen underneath a thin material called an envelope. When the balloon is connected to a basket or other container, air displacement allows the basket to carry passengers up to 32 miles into the atmosphere.

Balloons have been used in wars and raced in competitions. Hot-air balloons have helped conduct weather and other experiments, and they routinely provide a beautiful venue for aerial photography and wedding proposals.

In...

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Biocompatibility Makes Polyurethane Work in Medical Devices

It may surprise you to learn that polyurethanes are commonly used in short-term implants and other medical devices that need to be compatible with the human body.

The reason is that TPUs — also known as polyurethane elastomers — have a molecular structure that’s very similar to that of human proteins. As a result, they can be used to mimic certain bodily functions without causing the same level of blood coagulation that is caused by other materials. That helps in preventing dangerous blood clots from forming.  They are also often softer than other materials, which can make them more comfortable...

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How Polyurethane Foam Made the Space Shuttle Possible

One of many daunting challenges facing the NASA engineers who built the Space Shuttle was the task of keeping its massive supply of rocket fuel insulated from heat without adding significant weight. The fuel tank (the large, central cylinder on the spacecraft pre-launch) was made of aluminum that was a mere 1/8” thick. When filled with the fuel for a journey to space, it weighed almost 1.7 million pounds.

The miracle material that engineers turned to was polyurethane foam. This special blend of polyols had all the strength, insulation, durability and lightweight properties that polyurethane foam is known for, with...

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