Process for the elaboration of a formulation based on polyurethane and the mucilage of Opuntia ficus-indica with applications in the manufacturing of synthetic skin-like flexible coatings

A process for preparing a skin-like flexible coating on a textile, comprising:

• preparing an Opuntia ficus-indica powder by
• collecting cladodes between 1.5 and 2.5 years old;
• preparing a solution of potable water, cupric hydroxide and chlorine in a container;
• pouring the cladodes in the container with the solution;
• removing impurities and spines of the cladodes from the solution;
• triturating the cladodes into fragments and dehydrating the fragments into chunks of dehydrated chunks of cladodes;
• and
• pulverizing the chunks of dehydrated cladodes to a size from 0.149 mm to 0.177 mm of Opuntia ficus-indica powder;
• separating coarse particles from the powder so as to produce fine particles between 0.140 mm to 0.150 mm;
• passing the fine particles through a magnetic field, eliminating ferric impurities;
• creating a homogeneous mixture by mixing liquid polyurethane, pigments and additives at a rate of mixing;
• reducing the rate of mixing and adding the Opuntia ficus-indica powder to the homogeneous mixture;
• using a formulation based on the polyurethane and Opuntia ficus-indica homogeneous mixture as a skin-like flexible coating on the textile.