Imperial Chemical Industries Limited

Louis Muller

Gabriel Verhelst

Tu Pham

Alain Parfondry

Ernst O Dueber

Mireille B De Witte

Arun Watts

The invention provides a fire retardant composition comprising a dispersion of a solid fire retardant such as melamine, ammonium polyphosphate or guanidine carbonate in a liquid organic polyisocyanate which contains dispersed polymer particles. The preferred content of solid fire retardant is from 10 to 100% by weight and the preferred content of polymer particles is from 2 to 30% by weight. The compositions of the invention are suitable for the preparation of flexible and rigid polyurethane foams.

Fire retardant compositions

A method for the preparation of flexible polymeric foam by reacting a polyisocyanate component with an isocyanate-reactive component comprising at least 50% by weight of water, the polyisocyanate component comprising at least two polyisocyanate compositions, one of them being a low NCO isocyanate terminated prepolymer and the second being a high NCO polyisocyanate.

Manufacture of polymeric foams

Process for preparing a flexible foam by reacting an isocyanate prepolymer having a free NCO content of 2-15% by weight, an isocyanate prepolymer having a free content of 25-31% by weight and an isocyanate-reactive composition comprising water.

Process for preparing flexible polyurethane foams

A continuous process for the preparation of an isocyanate-terminated prepolymer having an NCO content in the range from 2 to 15% by weight, said process comprising the steps of:

Chemical process

The invention provides a process for the manufacture of polymeric foams by reacting at least one isocyanate-containing component and water, in which process the isocyanate-containing component comprises a dispersion of a solid fire retardant additive in a liquid isocyanate prepolymer having a free NCO content between 2 and 15% by weight. The invention also provides new fire retardant compositions comprising a dispersion of a solid fire retardant in liquid isocyanate-containing prepolymer compositions based on a diphenylmethane diisocyanate component and a polyol component.

Manufacture of fire retardant foams

The invention relates to a liquid isocyanate-containing prepolymer composition having an average isocyanate functionality greater than 2 and an NCO content of from 2 to 15% by weight, as obtainable by reacting an isocyanate reactive polymer having an average nominal functionality of from 2 to 6 with a stoichiometric excess of a diphenylmethane diisocyanate composition containing at least 2% by weight of 2,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate and having an average isocyanate functionality in the range from 2 to 2.3. The invention also relates to a method for preparing a polyurethane foam, which comprises reacting such a prepolymer composition with water.

Isocyanate composition and process for making flexible foams therefrom

Substantially water blown flexible polyurethane foams, based on methylene diphenyl isocyanates, having a density ranging from 15-45 kg/m.sup.3. Such foams may be obtained through a process substantially avoiding halocarbon blowing agents, which comprises reacting methylene diphenyl isocyanates with water and one or more isocyanate-reactive compounds selected from polyols and polyamines with a functionality of 2-4 and an average equivalent weight ranging from 750-5000, while the isocyanate index ranges from 10 to 60, and weight ratio of the isocyanate-reactive compound(s) to water is less than 20.

Manufacture of polyurethane foam

Flexible polyurethane foam based on methylene diphenyl isocyanates and isocyanate-reactive compounds selected from polyols and polyamines, for which the ratio of the density expressed in kg/m.sup.3 to the compression hardness at 40% compression, expressed in kPa, has a value of at least 20. Such foams may be obtained through a process which comprises reacting methylene diphenyl isocyanates with one or more isocyanate-reactive compounds selected from polyols and polyamines with a functionality of 2-4 and an average equivalent weight ranging from 750-5000 and from 0 to 5 parts by weight of water per 100 parts of polyols and/or polyamine, optionally together with additives conventional in the art, and optionally together with blowing agents other than water, whereas the isocyanate index ranges from 10 to 60.

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Ottenburg, Belgium

Louis Muller