OSU partners with startup to commercialize glycerin foam tech

Biodiesel Magazine
By Luke Geiver March 09, 2011

Ohio State University has teamed up with a biodiesel producer from Ohio on research based in glycerin technology that converts crude glycerin into polyurethane foam. The process was created by Yebo Li, a biosystems engineer for OSU’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center located in Wooster, Ohio. Li has developed a process that converts crude glycerin created via biodiesel production into biopolyol, which is then used as the main component for the foam. The foam can be used in a wide range of products including automotive seats and bumpers, appliance applications such as thermal insulation systems from refrigerators, insulation boards, packaging materials, or the construction industry. “We have already tested our biopolyol products in automobile headrests,” Li told Biodiesel Magazine.

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Momentive, Cargill partner for soy-based replacement for polyurethane foam

BioTechDigest.com
October 29, 2010

In New York, Momentive Performance Materials and Cargill are joining together to lower the need for petroleum based polyurethane foam. Momentive’s Niax L-670 surfactant, combined with Cargill’s soy derived BiOH polyols, have the ability to replace some of the petroleum derived polyurethane foams used in such products as foam bedding and padding in furniture.

Yusuf Wazirzada, Business Unit Leader, Cargill Biobased Polyurethanes stated, “Our collaboration with Momentive is an important step in decreasing the industry’s dependence on petroleum-based polyols and developing higher performing products. By developing technology that pushes the limits of what is possible, Momentive is helping us meet the customer need for foam products that are focused on the exciting new consumer trend around sustainability.”

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