Biodegradable polyester-based polyurethane foams

1. A biodegradable foam, comprising:

a) polyester-based polyurethane foam; and

b) a soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria, or a mixture comprised of a soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria embedded in a carrier compound, said soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria or mixture substantially homogeneously dispersed throughout said polyester-based polyurethane foam, said polyester-based polyurethane foam containing said soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria characterized in that it exhibits biodegradation rates higher than the same polyester-based polyurethane foam absent the soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria.

2. The biodegradable foam according to claim 1 , wherein said soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria comprises at least one strain of the genus Bacillus.

3. The biodegradable foam according to claim 1 , wherein said soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria is Bacillus subtilus, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus cerus, Bacillus alvei, Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus simplex, Bacillus brevis , or Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.

4. The biodegradable foam according to claim 1 , wherein said carrier compound is Calcium carbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate or Zeolite.

5. The biodegradable foam according to claim 1 , wherein said soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria is present in the carrier compound in an amount of at least 0.001 wt % of said mixture.

6. The biodegradable foam according to claim 1 , wherein said soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria embedded in a carrier compound is present in said polyester-based polyurethane foam, in a range from about 0.0001 wt % to about 25.0 wt % of the total foam.

7. The biodegradable foam according to claim 1 , wherein said soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria embedded in a carrier compound is present in said polyester-based polyurethane foam, in a range from about 0.01 to about 0.5 wt % of the total foam.

8. The biodegradable foam according to claim 1 , characterized by a tensile modulus in a range from about 5.0 kg/cm 2 to about 100 kg/cm 2 .

9. The biodegradable foam according to claim 1 , characterized by a density in a range from about 5 kg/m 3 to about 1000 kg/m 3 .

10. The biodegradable foam according to claim 1 , characterized by an elongation at break in a range from about 15 to about 700%.

11. The biodegradable foam according to claim 1 , having a percent modern carbon in a range from about 0 to about 100%.

12. The biodegradable foam as in any one of claims 1 to 11 , characterized in that it has a modulus equal to or greater than 50 kg/cm 2 .

13. A method of producing a biodegradable foam according to claim 1 , comprising:

a) mixing polyester polyol with

i) one or more catalysts,

ii) water and

iii) soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria, or a soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria embedded in a carrier compound,

to produce a mixture, and

b) mixing isocyanate into said mixture to induce a chemical reaction between the isocyanate and the water to produce carbon dioxide gas, and simultaneously induce a chemical reaction between the isocyanate and the polyester polyol to produce a polyester based polyurethane polymer with carbon dioxide bubbles trapped within to produce said biodegradable polyester-based polyurethane foam, said biodegradable polyester-based polyurethane foam characterized in that it exhibits biodegradation rates which are higher than the same polyester-based polyurethane foam absent the soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria.

14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said carrier compound is calcium carbonate, zeolite, or sodium bicarbonate.

15. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria embedded in the carrier compound is present in said mixture in a range from about 0.001 to about 10.0 wt % of the total foam.

16. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said isocyanate is 4,4′-Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, 2,4-Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, 2,2′-Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, 2,4-Toluene diisocyanate, 2,6-Toluene diisocyanate, polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, or carbodiimide-modified methylene diphenyl diisocyanate.

17. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the one or more catalysts are selected to catalyze the reaction between isocyanate and water and simultaneously between isocyanate and polyester polyol.

18. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said one or more catalysts are a tertiary amine catalyst.

19. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said one or more catalysts are triethylenediamine, N-methylmorpholine, N-methylimidazole, bis(dimethylaminopropyl)amine, dimethylaminoethoxyethanol, Bis-(2-diemthylaminoethyl)-ether, dimethylaminopropylurea, N-dimethylaminopropyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-methylamine, or N-dimethylaminoethyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-methylamine.

20. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said one or more catalysts are dibutyltin dilaurate, Tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate bismuth neodecanoate, potassium octoate, potassium acetate, zinc carboxylates, or nickel carboxylates.

21. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria comprises at least one strain of the genus Bacillus.

22. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said soil-dwelling carbon-digesting bacteria is Bacillus subtilus, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus cerus, Bacillus alvei, Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus simplex, Bacillus brevis , or Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.

23. The method according to claim 13 , further including mixing into said mixture surfactants, plasticizers and chain extenders.

24. The method according to claim 13 , further including mixing into said mixture flame retardants, anti-oxidants, cell openers, emulsifiers, hardening agents, non-functional fillers, cross-linking agents, dyes, pigments, or other hydroxy or amine functionalized materials.

25. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said biodegradable polyurethane foam is characterized by having a modulus in a range from about 2 kg/cm 2 to about 100 kg/cm 2 .

26. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said biodegradable polyurethane foam is characterized by having a density in a range from about 5 kg/m 3 to about 1000 kg/m 3 .

27. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said biodegradable polyurethane foam is characterized by having an elongation at break in a range from about 15 to about 700%.

28. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said biodegradable polyurethane foam is characterized by having a percent modern carbon in a range from about 0 to about 100%.

29. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said biodegradable polyurethane foam is characterized by having an isocyanate index in a range from about 70 to about 200.

30. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said biodegradable polyurethane foam is characterized by having an average isocyanate functionality in a range from about 2.0 to about 6.0.

31. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said biodegradable polyurethane foam is characterized by having a polyester polyol molecular weight in a range from about 500 to about 5000 g/mol.

32. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said biodegradable polyurethane foam is characterized by having a polyester polyol average hydroxyl functionality in a range from about 1.1 to about 6.0.

33. The method according to claim 13 , wherein said biodegradable polyurethane foam is characterized by having a polyester polyol hydroxyl number in a range from about 20 to about 300 mg KOH/g polyol.