Glycolysis of flexible polyurethane wastes using stannous octoate as the catalyst

Flexible polyurethane foam wastes can be advantageously treated by two-phase glycolysis to recover the polyols with an improved quality compared to single-phase processes. This reaction has been traditionally catalyzed by alkanolamines, titanium compounds, or acetates. Recently, the employment of new catalysts based on potassium and calcium octoates has opened up a new way to catalyze the glycolysis of polyurethanes. In this work, the use of stannous octoate, which has never before been applied in the glycolysis reactions of polyurethanes, is proposed. The catalytic activity of stannous octoate in such a process was studied. The decomposition rate and the purity of polyol obtained were greater than those obtained using other catalysts previously employed for this application.     

Carbon nanotubes and cyclodextrin polymers for removing organic pollutants from water

Some organic compounds are major water pollutants. They can be toxic or carcinogenic even at low concentrations. Current technologies, however, fail to remove these contaminants to parts per billion (ppb) levels. Here we report on the removal of organic pollutants from water using cross-linked nanoporous polymers that have been copolymerized with previously functionalized carbon nanotubes. These novel polymers can remove model organic species such as p-nitrophenol by as much as 99% from a 10 mg/L spiked water sample compared to granular activated carbon and native cyclodextrin polymer that removed only 47 and 58%, respectively. These polymers have also demonstrated the ability to remove trichloroethylene (10 mg/L spiked sample) to non-detectable levels (detection limit <0.01 ppb) compared to 55 and 70% for activated carbon and native cyclodextrin polymers, respectively.