The project ran between May 2020 and June 2023.
The overall long-term target was to establish production of an environmentally and commercially sustainable alternative to flexible PU foam material – using byproducts from the agricultural and the poultry industries. This should provide any producers/users of foams with sustainable alternatives to the existing sources. The technology would thus function as a link between the poultry industry/the agricultural industry on the one hand, and the foam manufacturers/users on the other. In a narrower sense, the aim was to develop a biobased and biodegradable replacement for the PU foams that are currently being used to produce bra cups. These foams are molded into cups and these are mostly made of PU foam sheets. While this is a relatively small market compared to mattresses or furniture, we thought it was important to start somewhere and place a product on the market, which can function as a good example. The target was to have a process for producing foams that fit the needs of MUEHLMEIER’s bra cup manufacturing equipment, enabling the equipment to produce cups that satisfy the needs of H&M, and to have a clear understanding of the production cost for doing this in the larger scale.
As reported several times we have had difficulties and the project has been extended. During the spring we have been able to produce small quantities of foams – unfortunately with inferior properties. Despite testing many formulations, we now believe that those raw materials and technology is not working for the application.
Participants
Bioextrax, Högskolan i Borås, MUEHLMEIER and H&M.
Budget & time plan
The project’s budget was 3,3 MSEK.
Read about PhatherTex: Biobased and biodegradable textiles from bioplastics and feathers – Step 1.