How Is Emulsion Foam Made?

Emulsion Foam Composition

• Emulsion foam is made from the chemical reaction of two substances. The first is a diisocyanate (any chemical containing two chains of one nitrogen atom double-bonded to one carbon atom double-bonded to one oxygen atom). The second is a polyol (an alcohol containing multiple hydroxyl groups). Other chemicals are also often mixed in, such as surfactants, chain-extenders and cross-linking chemicals, which produce foams with different textures, weights and strengths.

Combining Components

• When a diisocyanate, a polyol and a catalyst are combined, the chemicals react and expand into a solid foam material. The polyols that many manufacturers use are polypropylene glycol or polyester polyol. The catalysts, amine compounds and organometallic complexes, initiate the reaction between the diisocyanate and polyol. Surfactants act as an emulsifier between all of the other components holding them together within the foam. Large machines mix these chemicals together in a precise order.

Forming Finished Products

• Because foam expands very quickly, extruders and dispensers for foam must be able to withstand high pressure. These machines mix the chemicals and extrude or dispense the foam into preformed molds where it sets up and cures quickly into the shape of the product the foam will be used in. Cutters may also cut the foam into various shapes. Once the foam is set, other machines use it to upholster furniture or form pillows and other foam products.

Other Types of Foam

• There are other types of emulsion foam that require different chemicals and manufacturing processes. One type is called Memory foam, the material used in mattresses and pillows. It has special surfactants and substances within it that create very dense, but not rigid foam with a tight cell structure. Machines dispense the foam into mattress-sized molds and cut it into various shapes for pillows.