🧽How it is made

01 Feedstock

Ore, monomer, fibre, mineral or scrap that can legally become Polyurethane foam.

02 Conversion

Otto Bayer 1937; fridge foam 1950s

03 Forming

Cast, spin, weave, sinter, foam, laminate or coat — the step that sets anisotropy.

04 Heat / cure

Temper, vulcanise, calcine or dry: skip it and the datasheet is fiction.

05 Finish

Coatings, sizings, facers, galvanizing, anodising, painting.

06 Install

Fasteners, adhesives, DFT, compression, dryness — site quality is a material property.

Primary

Virgin route around Germany.

Recycled / secondary

Recycling exists but quality or energy often disappoints.

Specialty

High-spec grades leave the commodity mill.

Site-applied

Coatings, sprays, casts — the factory is sometimes a jobsite.

Polyurethane foam process path

Feedstock to installed product.

1. Feed — in
2. Convert — mill
3. Form — shape
4. Finish — coat
5. Install — out
6. Spec — code
7. Scrap loop — rec

Polyurethane foam heat & fire

Energy in, class out.

1. Heat — in
2. Polyurethane — mat
3. λ / char — out
4. Ignition — fire
5. Euroclass — class
6. Assembly — sys

Envelope

Melting/softening pyrolyses; does not melt cleanly; conductivity λ ~0.022–0.028 W/m·K (aged PIR boards, bands).

Environment

Moisture, UV, chlorides, alkalis or oxygen — pick the one that actually kills Polyurethane foam.

Code

Fire class typically E–B with facers; not A1 is a starting letter, not a wall rating.