Buoyant plant habitat and process for its manufacture

A process for manufacturing a buoyant plant habitat, said process comprising:

• adding an expansion gas to a molten resin having a temperature to produce an uncured foam;
• depositing said uncured foam as at least one strip between an upper matrix sheet and a lower matrix sheet, each of said upper and lower matrix sheets comprising fibers having a melting point;
• and
• pressing said upper matrix sheet and said lower matrix sheet together, thereby forcing said uncured foam into at least a portion of said upper matrix sheet and said lower matrix sheet;
• allowing said uncured foam to cure in place producing a bonded multi-layer matrix composite.

A process for manufacturing a buoyant plant habitat, said process comprising:

• cutting a hole in a matrix sheet, said matrix sheet comprising a nonwoven blanket;
• depositing a pre-manufactured thermoplastic foam body in said hole;
• and
• retaining said pre-manufactured thermoplastic foam body in said hole by friction fit or by melting.

A process for manufacturing a buoyant plant habitat, said process comprising:

• providing a plurality of layers of matrix material;
• depositing a plurality of extruded foam rods between each pair of said layers to produce an assembly;
• and
• bonding the components of said assembly together to produce a sandwich with internal buoyancy provided by said extruded foam rods.

A process for manufacturing a buoyant plant habitat, said process comprising:

• providing one or more layers of nonwoven matrix material and placing such layers adjacent to one another vertically;
• cutting a hole through one or more adjacent layers of matrix;
• and
• extruding uncured foam into said hole and allowing said foam to cure.

A buoyant plant habitat comprising:

• a nonwoven matrix having a top surface and comprising fibers;
• and
• a plurality of buoyant foam units into said nonwoven matrix to produce a buoyant mass;
• wherein said buoyant foam units are comprised of an expanded, cured polyurethane resin that envelopes a portion of said fibers to produce foamed zones.

A buoyant plant habitat comprising:

• a top layer of nonwoven matrix material;
• a bottom layer of nonwoven matrix material;
• a plurality of edge pieces of nonwoven matrix material that are attached by means of closed-cell polymer plugs to said top layer and said bottom layer;
• and
• a plurality of closed-cell polymer foam pieces that are disposed between said top layer and said bottom layer.