Preparation of Polyester Polyol from Epoxidized Palm Olein

Abstract

In this work, polyester polyols with high weight average molecular weight (Mw) (Mw10000–15000) were prepared from epoxidized palm olein (EPOo) and a series of dicarboxylic acids (C6–C12) at elevated temperature under non-catalyzed condition. The optimal reaction conditions were determined as 180°C for 4 h. Longer carbon chain length of dicarboxylic acids was more reactive when reacted with EPOo. The physical appearance of the product was observed as liquid at room temperature. This palm oil-based polyester polyol is proposed as starting material for flexible polyurethane. For reaction monitoring purposes, FTIR was used while 1H NMR analysis was carried out to characterize the important functional groups of the products. The effects of reaction time and temperature on the Mw of the reaction mixture were also studied by GPC.