Title: METHOD FOR PRODUCING A MOLDED FOAM ELEMENT

 Number/Link: WO2012135888

Applicant/Assignee: EUROFOAM GMBH

Publication date: 11-10-2012

“Gist”: Use of cyclic oligosaccharides to reduce smell in PU flex foam

Beta-cylodextrin (Wikipedia)

Why it is interesting: Because they are often used in confined spaces like living rooms, bedrooms and cars, smells and and ‘volatile organic compounds’ (VOC)  in general have always been a problem with flexible PU foams. During the last decade, awareness of the health risks of VOC has grown among comsumers and producers alike  and emmision specifications have been adapted.  Advances have been made in reducing VOC  using reactive amine catalysts for example, but other volatiles, like certain aldehydes, can still pose  problems.  The VOC-reducing additives used in this case are cyclodextrines: a class of cyclic oligosaccharides which have a cavity that can trap small molecules.  A certain type of modified cyclodextrin is used as the main component of the air refreshner  FEBREZE (TM) – which has been proven to work very well.