Synthesis and Characterization of Polyurethanes from Residual Palm Oil with High Poly-Unsaturated Fatty Acid Oils as Additive

Abstract

In the effort to produce renewable and biodegradable polymers, more studies are being undertaken to explore environmentally friendly sources to replace petroleum-based sources. The oil palm industry is not only the biggest vegetable-oil producer from crops but also one the biggest producers of residual oil that cannot be used for edible purposes due to its low quality. In this paper the development of biopolymers from residual palm oil, residual palm oil with 10% jatropha oil, and residual palm oil with 10% algae oil as additives were explored. Polyols from the different oils were prepared by epoxydation with peroxyacetic acid and alcoholysis under the same conditions and further reacted with poly isocyanate to form polyurethanes. Epoxidized oils, polyols and polyurethanes were analyzed by different techniques such as TGA, DSC, DMA, FTIR and H-NMR. Overall, although the IV of algae oil is slightly higher than that of jatropha oil, the usage of algae oil as additive into the residual palm oil was shown to significantly increase the hard segments and thermal stability of the bio polyurethane compared to the polymer with jatropha oil. Furthermore, when algae oil was mixed with the residual palm oil, it was possible to identify phosphate groups in the polyol which might enhance the fire-retardant properties of the final biopolymer.

Special Issue: Synthesis, Processing, Structure and Properties of Polymer Materials

“…In this Special Issue, 33 original articles have been published on various topics, including the preparation, characterization, and some examples of application of polymeric materials. This issue includes review articles [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ] and research articles [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

“…The scope of research articles of papers included a Special Issue is very wide. It includes papers on the synthesis and study of the properties of new thermoplastic polymers [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ], obtaining of composites [ 14 , 15 , 16 ], nanocomposites [ 17 , 18 , 19 ], microspheres [ 20 , 21 ], polymeric blends [ 22 , 23 , 24 ], hydrophobic nanostructures [ 25 ], polymeric membranes [ 26 , 27 ], hydrogels [ 28 ] and others [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

“…In the next two articles, the authors presented a method of obtaining new polyurethanes. Gomez et al [ 11 ] described the preparation and properties of bio-polyurethanes obtained from residual palm oil without and with jatropha oil or algae oil as additions. Such polymers have a high potential for the production of environmentally friendly bio-based polyurethanes.…”

Thermal Insulating Rigid Polyurethane Foams with Bio-Polyol from Rapeseed Oil Modified by Phosphorus Additive and Reactive Flame Retardants

“…Currently, the polyurethane market is increasingly interested in the materials obtained using plant-derived bio-polyols. This is due to the intention to reduce the consumption of petrochemical raw materials in favour of renewable ones [ 31 , 32 ]. The use of bio-polyols in the manufacture of polyurethanes makes their production more environmentally friendly and consistent with the sustainable development policy [ 33 ].…”

“…However, most vegetable oils do not have hydroxyl groups in their structure capable of reacting with isocyanate groups. The introduction of hydroxyl groups is most often achieved by epoxidation of double bonds in unsaturated vegetable oil, followed by the opening of oxirane rings [ 31 , 37 , 38 ], and also by transesterification [ 39 , 40 ] and transamidization [ 41 , 42 , 43 ].…”