Production of reticulated polyurethane foam is a two-step process that begins with the creation of conventional (closed-cell) polyurethane foam, after which cell faces (or "windows") are removed. To do so, the fact that the higher surface area and lower mass of cell faces compared with cell struts (or edges) makes them much more susceptible to both combustion and chemical degradation is exploited. Thus, closed-cell foam is either filled with a combustible gas like hydrogen and ignited under controlled conditions, or it is exposed to a sodium hydroxide(lye) solution to chemically degrade the foam, which will remove cell windows whilst sparing the edges.[7]
