Influence of Chemical Structure of Petrochemical Polyol on Properties of Bio-polyurethane Foams

Abstract

In this study, the influence of the chemical structures of petrochemical polyols on the foaming process of polyurethane compositions as well as on selected properties of the foams obtained has been investigated. Two types of petrochemical polyols were used-polyester and polyether polyols as well as their blends with a rapeseed oil-based polyol. Dielectric polarization, temperature and expansion velocity were determined during the foaming process of the polyurethane systems with different polyol components. The results show the highest reactivity of the polyester polyol and a decrease of the polyurethane system's reactivity as a result of a partial replacement of the petrochemical polyol with the bio-based polyol. The content of the closed cells in the materials obtained strongly depends on the petrochemical polyol used. The results indicate that the chemical structure of the petrochemical polyol had a significant effect on the cellular structure as well as the physicalmechanical properties of the final products. A significant worsening of the foams' mechanical properties was observed as an effect of a partial replacement of the polyester polyol with the rapeseed oil-based polyol. In contrast, a partial replacement of the polyether polyol caused an improvement of the cell structure keeping the mechanical properties of the modified foams at the same level.

Optimisation of Epoxide Ring-Opening Reaction for the Synthesis of Bio-Polyol from Palm Oil Derivative Using Response Surface Methodology

“…Polyol is commonly used as raw materials in polymer chemistry in order to manufacture polyurethane products (coatings, elastomers and foam) by reacting with isocyanates [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Therefore, due to its versatility, polyurethane is extensively used in daily life and it has been predicted that the demand will expand from 14.2 million tons in 2011 to 22.2 million tons by 2020 [ 7 ]. However, the recent polyol industry has been heavily dependent on petroleum resources, which aggravates the depletion of inadequate natural resources.…”

Bio-Based Polyurethane Composite Foams with Improved Mechanical, Thermal, and Antibacterial Properties

“…Legislative requirements connected with environmental protection lead the chemical industry towards the development of new green composite materials [3][4][5]. One of the solutions that meet these regulations is the introduction of polyols derived from natural sources, such as vegetable oils [6][7][8][9]. Several studies have reported bio-polyols based on different vegetable oils, such as castor oil [10], soybean oil [11,12], palm oil [13,14], rapeseed oil [15,16], tung oil [17], sunflower oil [18] or canola oil [19] to develop a new kind of environmentally friendly bio-based PU foam [20,21].…”

Preparation and mechanism study of intrinsic hard segment flame‐retardant polyurethane foam

“…Besides, bubble coalescence phenomenon arose in the interior of PURE, which is due to foaming reaction is so fast that cell wall is not strong enough to bind gas, that is, carbon dioxide, during the process of foaming expansion. After mixing THPO, bubble coalescence phenomenon attenuated, implying that THPO can elevate the strength of cell wall, this is ascribed to the high activity of OH in THPO 47–49 . Further analysis of the effect of THPO on the cell morphology of foams was performed by combining the SEM.…”

“…After mixing THPO, bubble coalescence phenomenon attenuated, implying that THPO can elevate the strength of cell wall, this is ascribed to the high activity of O H in THPO. [47][48][49] Further analysis of the effect of THPO on the cell morphology of foams was performed by combining the SEM. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the cell size of foams descended when HSFR loading is less than 15 phr.…”