Environmental Improvement Potential of Flexible Polyurethane Foam for Aviation Applications - A Case Example Analysis

The assessment of the environmental impacts of an aircraft and its components parts should go beyond the use phase when assessing its sustainability and circularity. Environmental impacts from the manufacturing phases e.g. related to consumption of resources, pollutions, and the use of hazardous materials as well as those from the end-of-life phase of an aircraft must not be neglected. Hence, a life cycle assessment (LCA) screening of the environmental impacts has been conducted based on a case example of polyurethane flexible foams (PUR-FF) for application on aircraft seating cushions. This analysis covers the production of PUR-FF with a particular focus on three perspectives: (i) production of bio-materials instead of fossil-based material; (ii) reduction and replacement of hazardous chemicals like heavy metal catalysts and flame retardants; and (iii) recovery of polyol by chemical solvolysis of PUR-FFs. The main results of the environmental improvement potentials of the PUR-FF are presented here.