The objective of this work is to compare automobile seats made of coconut fiber mats with latex (MFCL) versus polyurethane foam (EPU), evaluating the possibility of the first replace the second due to the fact of the renewability and biodegradability of the natural fiber. These materials were submitted to analysis of the pyrolysis by-products was made, using the gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer. Also, it was made thermogravimetric analysis. It was observed that at 800ºC the materials presented a higher number of toxic vapors, and it was noticed that all components that were present in this pyrolysis of coir fiber and of MFCL were also found in the EPU, and even other components as hydrogen cyanate and nitrile compound were found in EPU pyrolysis. Therefore, it can be stated that pyrolysis by-products at 800ºC of EPU are much more hazardous than those produced by the natural materials at the same conditions. Regarding the thermal analysis, it was observed that above 270ºC begins the thermal decomposition of all the studied materials.
Pyrolysis; TGA; polyurethane foam; coconut fiber; latex; automobile seats
