Palm Oil-based Polyol Research Articles

Study on reduction potential of curing agent in sustainable bio-based controlled release coatings

Sustainable polyurethane coated fertilizer is attracting much attention. Reducing the amount of curing agent is promising to improve the bio-content and biodegradability of coating material. In order to achieve the aim, the research attempted to select palm oil with balanced unsaturation as feedstock, hydrochloric acid as both catalyst and nucleophilic reagent for bio-polyols with low hydroxyl values by the epoxidation/ring-opening reaction. The chemical structures of palm oil-based polyols and properties of polyurethanes were tailored by controlling hydrochloric acid amount, and the effect was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), etc. With the increase of hydrochloric acid amount, hydroxyl value, functionality and viscosity of palm oil-based polyol were gradually increased. The resultant coatings prepared by the palm oil-based polyol with hydroxyl value exceeding 120 mg KOH g−1 and functionality of more than 2 had good macroscopic performances including controlled nutrient release property as a result of high crosslinking density. The optimum amount was 10%, for the viscosity of the relative palm oil-based polyol was beneficial to the coating process. The bio-content of the coating was 67% and the nitrogen release duration of the coated urea was 73 days at the coating rate of 7% even without paraffin. Overall, the way offers a bio-based platform to create a variety of polyurethane coated fertilizer that promises economic and environmental benefits.

Synthesis of Polyethylene Glycol-9,10-dihydroxy Monostearate as Palm Oil-Based Polyol and Its Application on the Preparation of Polylactic acid/Polyurethane Block Copolymer

Synthesis of Polyethylene Glycol-9,10-dihydroxy Monostearate as Palm Oil-Based Polyol and Its Application on the Preparation of Polylactic acid/Polyurethane Block Copolymer

Fire retardancy, thermal, and physico-mechanical properties of semi-rigid water-blown polyurethane foam from palm oil-based polyol

This paper presents the experimental work undertaken to assess rigid palm oil-based polyurethane (PU) foam. The bio-composite foam was characterized to determine its foaming kinetics and morphology, as well as fire retardancy, thermal, and mechanical responses, which was later compared with its petrochemical-based counterpart. The palm oil-based foam displayed poor fire-retardancy performance based on Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) and UL-94 Vertical Combustion Test. Although less char residue was produced, the palm oil-based PU foam exhibited higher onset degradation temperatures, indicating improved thermal stability. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed finer cell sizes for the bio-based foam and a higher fraction of open cell structures, which affected its density and compressive properties. As a conclusion, the palm oil-based PU foam is a viable alternative to be utilized in low load-bearing and thermal environment applications.

Influence of different structures of palm oil-based polyol on the mechanical and thermal properties of hybrid resin from polyurethane-/polysiloxane-modified epoxy

Hybrid resin from polyurethane-/polysiloxane-modified epoxy (PPME) has been synthesized by using palm oil-based polyol as the polyurethane component. The palm oil-based polyol used are glycerol monooleate, polyethylene glycol monooleate, 1,4-butanediol monooleate and 1,4-butanediol,9-hydroxy-10-methoxy-monostearate. These polyols have a different chemical structure with each other. Here, we studied the influence of palm oil-based polyol structure on the mechanical and thermal properties of hybrid resin from PPME. Characterization of palm oil-based polyols structure was conducted by analysis FTIR and NMR. The qualitative analysis of palm oil-based polyols was carried out by determining acid value, ester value, iod value and hydroxyl value. The mechanical properties showed that PPME hybrid resin from 1,4-butanediol,9-hydroxy-10-methoxy-monostearate has the highest mechanical properties, while the thermal properties of hybrid resin showed that there is no significant influence of the polyols structure, but all of the PPME hybrid resins have higher thermal properties than unmodified epoxy. Nevertheless, the thermal degradation of PPME hybrid resin from 1,4-butanediol,9-hydroxy-10-methoxy-monostearate at 400–450 °C has the highest residual weight. It means that it shows the highest thermal stability.

Bio‐based flexible polyurethane foam synthesized from palm oil and natural rubber

AbstractAs environment friendly polymers are required to reduce the green‐house gas emissions and global warming, bio‐based polyurethane foam (PUF) is attracting interest from the industrial sector and researchers. Bio‐based polyols for PUF have been synthesized from various renewable resources, mostly plant oils. The present study explored a novel bio‐based PUF produced from a mixture of bio‐based polyols synthesized from palm oil and natural rubber. Palm oil‐based polyol (POP) was synthesized via an epoxidation reaction of double bonds of palm oil followed by complete oxirane ring‐opening. Hydroxy telechelic natural rubber (HTNR) was synthesized by oxidative degradation using periodic acid and sodium borohydride. For comparison, two diisocyanates were used: toluene‐2,4‐diisocyanate and polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate. POP and HTNR were miscible and all PUFs showed polyhedral semi‐closed cells and hardness was in the flexible foam range. One possible application of the novel PUF could be thermal insulation.

The study of palm‐oil‐based bio‐polyol on the morphological, acoustic and mechanical properties of flexible polyurethane foams

AbstractThe focus of this paper was to explore the acoustic properties of flexible polyurethane (FPU) foam modified by palm‐oil‐based polyol (POP). The presence of POP showed a marked influence on the microstructure and mechanical properties of FPU foam. A smaller mean pore diameter can be observed at lower POP content. Indeed, the introduction of POP caused a higher closed pore ratio and an increased air‐flow resistivity, which consequently improved the sound absorption coefficient and transmission loss. In particular, the acoustic performance of the all bio‐based FPU foam was enhanced at low frequency, and the density was lower than that of the reference foam. Additionally, the addition of POP also improved the compressive strength. Conversely, the tensile strength of FPU foam declined with increasing POP content. From this study, the outstanding acoustic ability of bio‐based FPU foam has been proved, with additional advantages of lower density and higher compressive strength. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

Effect of Aluminium Filler Content on the Mechanical Properties of Polyurethane Foam

Start In this work, the effects of Aluminium (Al) filler content in Polyurethane (PU) foam with different weight percentages (0.5 wt.% to 3.0 wt.%) were evaluated on morphology, density and compressive strength. The pure PU and PU/Al foam composites were produced from palm oil-based polyol (POP) and methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) with a ratio of 1:1. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) morphology showed that the cell structure of PU/Al foam composites is less homogeneous as compared to the pure PU. The PU/Al foam composites displayed a higher number of cells with a smaller cell size as the amount of Al content was increased. The addition of 1.5 wt.% Al on the PU foam showed the highest density and compressive strength in 0.073 g/cm3 and 0.56 MPa, respectively. Meanwhile, the further addition of Al on PU foam has decreased the density and compressive strength value. The experimental compressive strength results have compared to the theoretical results that tested by using ANSYS MULTIPHYSICS (15.0) software.

Mechanical Properties of Palm Oil Polyol based Polyurethane Foam Reinforced Wollastonite Clay

The palm oil polyol based polyurethane (PU) foam reinforced wollastonite clay was prepared to study the effects of wollastonite clay addition towards the mechanical properties of PU foam. The palm oil polyol based PU foam with NCO: OH ratio of 1:1.22 was synthesized by mixing palm oil-based polyol, p-MDI, DMCHA, PMDETA, distilled water and incorporation of different amount of wollastonite clay powder (1, 3, 5 and 7 wt%). The FTIR analysis showed the absence of NCO peak at 2280 cm−1 suggesting the complete conversion of isocyanates into urethane during the mixing process. Based on FESEM/EDX, it was found that the wollastonite clay were fitted into the PU matrix, whereby SEM showed an open cell structure of PU foam reinforced wollastonite clay. The density of PU foam reinforced wollastonite clay is increased as the amount of clay reinforcement is increased. This is due to the high viscosity of the mixture which hinder the foam from rising and hence produced a denser foam, thus reduced the pore sizes. Hence, the compressive strength increased as the density and wollastonite weight percentage in the foam is increased.

Open cell semi-rigid polyurethane foams synthesized using palm oil-based bio-polyol

Semi-rigid polyurethane foams were successfully prepared by blending up to 70wt.% of a palm oil-based bio-polyol with a petrochemical polyether polyol. Due to the high viscosity of the bio-polyol derived from palm oil, polyol premixes were heated before mixing with an isocyanate component. Despite this, a slowdown in the foaming and gelling reactions was detected as the content of the palm oil-based bio-polyol in the formulation increased. The thermal conductivity of the modified foams was higher than that of the reference one, even when they exhibited a lower apparent density. In addition, their mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties decreased as the palm oil-based polyol content in the final foams increased. These effects are attributed to the foams’ cellular structure since the closed cell content decreased as the amount of the petrochemical polyol replaced by the bio-polyol increased. However, the water absorption decreased as the bio-polyol concentration in the polyurethane formulation increased and the modified foams exhibited excellent dimensional stability Taking into account potential applications of polyurethane systems, the formulation containing 30wt.% of the bio-polyol could be used in the preparation of a new generation open cell semi-rigid foams permeable to moisture and with higher content of biomass-derived constituents.

Rigid Polyurethane Foam with Ionic Liquid Modified Multi Walled Carbon Nanotubes Composites

The rigid polyurethane (PU) were produced using ionic liquid (IL) modified multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by reaction of palm oil based polyol (POP) with methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI). The 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoborate (BMIMBF4) used as IL to disperse MWCNTs in PU foam by grinding in ratio 1:3 by weight of MWCNTs to IL till black paste were obtained. The effects of different percentage of modified MWCNTs (0.0 - 3.0 %) on Polyurethane / Multi Walled Carbon Nanotubes / Ionic Liquid (PMI) foam composites were evaluated in density, morphology and compressive strength. The density were increased higher 0.0538 kg / m3 at 3.0 % PMI. The average cell size value higher without addition modified MWCNTs and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed inhomogenously structure with addition of modified MWCNTs. Compressive strength with 0.5 % PMI showed the highest value 1.671 MPa compared to other PMI.

Compression Test and Energy Absorption of Polyurethane/Multi Walled Carbon Nanotubes Foam Composites

This paper describes the effect of multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the properties, especially the strength properties of rigid polyurethane (PU) foams produced from palm oil based polyol (POP) and methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI). The foam composites in the ratio of 1:1.1 (wt. %) mixed at speed 2000 rpm. The addition of MWCNTs into PU foam are varies from 0 wt. % to 3 wt. %. The properties evaluated were compressive strength, density and energy absorption. Compressive strength of PU foam composites with 0.5% of MWCNTs showed the highest value 1.162 MPa of compressive strength compared to other foam composites. It was proved by modeling displacement nodal magnitude using NX Software (version 8.5). The density was increased 15.69 % with addition of 0.5 % MWCNTs into the PU foam. Increasing the amount of MWCNTs in PU foam was found to improve the energy absorption from 22.89 J for pure PU to 24.53 J for foam composites with 3 % MWCNTs.

Development of Rigid Bio-Nanocomposite Polyurethane Foam for Load Bearing Application: Effect of Surfactant Composition

This paper presents the preliminary work on rigid palm oil-based polyurethane foam reinforced with nanoclay for load bearing purposes. In this work, palm oil-based polyol (POP) was reacted with polymeric 4,4’-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (p-MDI) along with distilled water as the blowing agent, silicone surfactant, and montmorillonite (MMT) clay as filler to produce rigid bio-nanocomposite PU foam. The produced foams are varied by the amount of surfactant used in every foam formulation. The foams are characterized for their morphology and compression strength. The cells inside the bio-nanocomposite foams are indicated to be closed cells. No apparent changes in cell size at higher surfactant content. The compression strengths shows gradual decrease as the surfactant composition increases, while gradual increase in density is observed when nanoclay content is increased, but up to 6 wt. % only. All in all, as indicated by this preliminary finding, rigid palm oil-based nanocomposite PU foam is a promising alternative for its conventional petroleum-based counterpart.

Effects of Silicone Surfactant on the Water Absorption and Surface Morphology of Rigid Palm Oil-Based Polyurethane Foam

Polyurethane (PU) foams are widely used today in automotive and as insulation system. Due to environmental issues, efforts have been made to replace petrochemical polyol with natural-based polyol in PU foam production, without sacrificing any properties. This study aims to produce palm oil-based PU rigid foam for non-load bearing applications such as wall panel or insulation for buildings. Two parameters studied were percentage of water uptake and surface foam morphology. Palm oil-based polyol (POP) was reacted with polymeric 4,4-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (p-MDI) at 1:1 NCO:OH ratio. Water was used as blowing agent and silicone surfactant was added to produce stable rigid PU foam. The content of silicone surfactant was varied at 2 and 3 part by weight (pbw). The percentage of water uptake increased slightly with increasing surfactant contents due to siloxane portion of the surfactants, is thought able to reduce the surface tension of the cell, thus absorbing more water than 2 pbw surfactant content. The findings were supported with micrographs of scanning electron microscope (SEM) that showed a larger cell window area and thicker strut.

Development of Rigid Biocomposite Polyurethane Foam for Load Bearing Application

Polyurethane (PU) foams are widely used today in automotive and as insulation system. Due to environmental issues, efforts have been made to replace petrochemical polyol with natural-based polyol in PU foam production, without sacrificing any properties. This study aims as to produce palm oil-based polyurethane composite foam for load bearing purposes. Palm oil-based polyol (POP) was reacted with polymeric 4,4-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (p-MDI) with water as blowing agent and silicone surfactant to produce rigid PU foams. The foams obtained were varied by NCO:OH ratios and water content and characterized for their morphology and compressive strength. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) indicated the cells within the obtained foams are closed cells. Compressive strength of obtained foams shows considerable improvement but only up to NCO:OH ratio of 1:1.35.

Preparation and Characterization of Flexible Polyurethane Foams from Palm Oil-Based Polyol

Flexible polyurethane (PU) foams were prepared by replacing commercial petroleum-based polyether polyol with palm oil-based polyol up to 50 wt%. Palm oil was converted to polyol by transesterification reaction with glycerol using calcium oxide as a catalyst. PU foams were then prepared from reaction between mixtures of palm oil-based polyol and petrochemical polyols with toluene diisocyanate (TDI) using water as blowing agent. The morphology and physical-mechanical properties including apparent density, indentation hardness, compressive deflection coefficient or support factor, tensile strength, and tear strength of the prepared foams were characterized and compared to those of reference foam prepared using only conventional petrochemical polyols. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the cellular structures of all the prepared foams were semi-open and the cell size decreased with higher amount of palm oil-based polyol. The apparent densities and the compressive deflection coefficient of the PU foams increased with the increasing amount of palm oil-based polyol, while the indentation hardness showed the opposite tendency. Furthermore, the obtained foam modified with palm oil-based polyol of 20 wt% were found to have the highest tensile and tear strengths.

Synthesis of palm oil-based trimethylolpropane ester as potential biolubricant: Chemical kinetics modeling

The environmental impact of large amounts of lubricants from mineral oils has become an increasingly important issue. The use of rapidly biodegradable lubricants, vegetable products as well as modified vegetable oil esters, could significantly reduce the environmental pollution compared to mineral oils. A kinetic/mathematical model describing chemical transesterification of palm oil-based methyl esters (POMEs) with trimethylolpropane (TMP) to polyol esters has been developed. The kinetics of the transesterification reaction was modeled as three distinct elementary reversible series–parallel reaction mechanisms. The model considers the transesterification reaction to take place in both forward and reverse directions. The resulting kinetics equations were solved using ode45 solver function in MATLAB, where the rate constants of the proposed kinetic model were determined by minimization of errors based on the optimum criteria of statistical analysis and by comparing the component concentrations at maximum and at equilibrium. The forward and reverse rate constants of all three steps involved in the transesterification reaction were reported. The validity of the model was tested by comparing the observed experimental values with the theoretical calculated data. A good correlation between simulated results and experimental data was observed, confirming that the model was able to predict the rate constants with plausible accuracy. The new proposed kinetic model would facilitate the design of a pilot-scale chemical reactor for the transesterification of POME with TMP to obtain palm oil-based polyol esters as a potential biolubricant.

Influence of Palm Oil-Based Polyol on the Properties of Flexible Polyurethane Foams

This paper describes the effect of the modification of polyurethane system with palm oil-based polyol on the cell structure and physical–mechanical properties of polyurethane foams. Flexible polyurethane foams were prepared by substituting a part of petrochemical polyether-polyol with the palm oil polyol. Selected physical–mechanical properties of these foams were examined and compared to the properties of reference foam. The properties such as apparent density, tensile strength, elongation at break, resilience, compressive stress and thermal stability were analyzed. It was found that the modifications of polyurethane formulation with palm oil polyol allow to improve selected properties of final products.

Effect of Compactabilization of Polymer on the Properties of Polyurethane-Palm Fiber Composites

Polyurethane (PU) composites were prepared using a palm oil-based polyol, polycaprolactone (PCL) and Oil Palm Trunk (OPT) fiber. Glass transitions and degree of phase separation were derived from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements. The analyses showed that between PU/PCL and OPT at higher Tg values. The different composition of polyurethane becomes more flexible at the higher polyol content in the polyurethane composite. FTIR spectra do not show the changes in presence of OPT fibers. Effect of PCL adding shows in the thermal degradation of polyurethane composite and influence the basic mechanism of biobased PU/OPT composite. The morphology of fractured surfaces of the composites, examined by a scanning electron microscope showed an improvement in the adhesion between the fiber and matrix was achieved. Compared to the characteristic features of neat PU material, more definite plastic deformation was observed in the fracture morphology of the PU composites.

Preparation and Properties of Palm Oil-Based Rigid Polyurethane Nanocomposite Foams

In this study, palm oil-based polyurethane (PU)/montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposite foams were produced via an in situ polymerization method. The palm oil-based polyol synthesized by transesterification reaction of palm oil and pentaerythritol was reacted with commercial polymeric diphenylmethane diisocyanate in the presence of water (blowing agent), N,N-dimethylcyclohexylamine (catalyst), polydimethylsiloxane (surfactant) and MMT to produce rigid PU nanocomposite foams. The obtained foams containing different MMT contents (1, 3, and 5 wt%) were characterized for their structure, morphology, density, hardness, compressive strength and thermal stability. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the nanocomposites formed were exfoliated. Scanning electron micrographs showed that the cells of the obtained PU foams were closed cells. The nanocomposite foams showed a higher number of cells with a smaller cell size as the amount of MMT increased. The density and the compressive strength of the foams increased with the increasing amount of MMT and were in the range of 38.5—46.6 kg/m3and 116.7—171.6 kPa, respectively. Moreover, addition of MMT also improved the thermal stability of the foams.

Preparation and characterization of polyurethane foams using a palm oil-based polyol

Polyurethane (PU) foams were prepared using a palm oil-based polyol (PO-p). At the first stage, palm oil was converted to monoglycerides as a new type of polyol by glycerolysis. A yield of the product reached 70% at reaction temperature of 90 degrees C by using an alkali catalyst and a solvent. At the second stage, PU foams were prepared from mixtures of the polyol and polyethylene glycol (PEG) or diethylene glycol (DEG) and an isocyanate compound. Characterization of the foams was carried out by thermal and mechanical analyses. The analyses showed that the chain motion of polyurethane becomes more flexible at the higher PO-p content in the whole polymer, which indicates that the monoglyceride molecules work as soft segments. The study here may lead to a development of a new type of polyurethane foams using palm oil as a raw material.