WHAT IS POLYURETHANE?
The discovery of polyurethane is attributed to the ingenuity of Otto Bayer, who came up with the new material in 1937, when he was trying to make a new polymer at the Bayer laboratories in Germany.
Created in Germany in the early 40s, the first polyester-based polyurethane foam immediately found a use in the construction industry as an insulation material.
It was the late 50s when this material, further developed, was successfully used in the manufacture of soft furnishings, effectively replacing waste flax fibre.
Its main characteristics are elasticity and resilience, properties which enable it to withstand considerable deformation under pressure and return to its original form once this is removed, spontaneously recovering its shape and preventing the formation of dips and hollows.
Research led to the creation and marketing of materials increasingly geared to the needs of consumers.
The microcellular structure of flexible expanded polyurethane allows air to be exchanged and moisture to disperse, preventing allergies linked to the proliferation of mites and bacteria, and allowing the human body to enjoy natural transpiration.
For these reasons we have absolutely no hesitation in stating that this is a non-allergenic and hygienically safe compound. Furthermore, expanded polyurethane is easy to recycle: new systems are actually being developed such as physical recycling by bonding the agglomerate with suitable adhesives; chemical recycling, which decomposes the polymer into its various components to obtain a polyol, and energy recovery by burning the material in special incinerators.
