Palm Oil-based Polyurethane Research Articles

Fumed nanosilica as filler for semi-rigid palm oil-based polyurethane foam: Mechanical, material, thermal, and fire response

Incorporating nano-sized fillers into bio-based polyurethane (PU) foams typically enhances their properties. In present investigation, palm oil-based PU foams are fabricated with varied loadings (0 to 5 wt%) of fumed nanosilica. The foams are then characterized for their fire-retardancy, thermal stability, foam morphology, and also mechanical properties. Marginal improvement in Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) values, as well as failure to be rated under UL-94 Vertical Combustion Test indicate limited potential of fumed silica in improving flammability of organic polymeric foams; suggesting exorbitant amount is required for any distinguishable effect to manifest. Interestingly; results from Thermogravimetry Analysis (TGA) shows marked improvements in terms of char residue with more than seven-fold increase at 5 wt% filler loading, possibly owed to the inert filler nature of fumed nanosilica forming a char barrier and acting as fuel diluent. Filled PU foams displayed an increased open-cell content, likely because the filler functioned as a cell opener. Removing the influence of density, the normalized compressive properties showed notable improvement up until a certain loading, which could be credited to the increased stiffness imparted by the filler itself. The results portray the potential of fumed nanosilica as filler for bio-based PU foams, offering enhanced thermal stability and limited fire retardancy.

Influence of sodium-montmorillonite nanoclay on flammability, thermal stability, morphology, and mechanical properties of rigid water-blown palm oil-based polyurethane foam

This paper presents the experimental works on rigid palm oil-based polyurethane (PU) foam reinforced with sodium-montmorillonite (Na-MMT). Filler loading was varied between 1 and 10 wt %., and the obtained foam was characterized for its combustibility, morphology, thermal stability, and mechanical response. Exfoliated clay microstructure was exhibited at lower Na-MMT loadings. Addition of nanoclay into the PU foam failed to impart any discernable improvement with regards to its flammability, believed due to stronger influence of low-functionality palm oil polyol used. Apparent improvement in thermal stability was observed at low clay amounts. Foam with finer cell size was obtained in the presence of Na-MMT, however only until a certain loading limit. Compressive strength generally increases with increasing clay content, but after 3 wt % the property deteriorated. Peculiarly, compressive strength rose again at 5 wt % and 6 wt % – postulated due to additional load-bearing effect of ‘integral skin’ – before plummeting back again beyond this value.

Reclaimed rockwool fibers for thermally stable palm oil-based polyurethane foam

Reclaimed rockwool fibers for thermally stable palm oil-based polyurethane foam

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.

Sustainable Rigid Polyurethane Foam from Wasted Palm Oil and Water Hyacinth Fiber Composite-A Green Sound-Absorbing Material.

A novel rigid sound-absorbing material made from used palm oil-based polyurethane foam (PUF) and water hyacinth fiber (WHF) composite was developed in this research. The NCO index was set at 100, while the WHF content was set at 1%wt with mesh sizes ranging from 80 to 20. The mechanical properties, the morphology, the flammability, and the sound absorption coefficient (SAC) of the PUF composite were all investigated. When the WHF size was reduced from 80 to 20, the compression strength of the PUF increased from 0.33 to 0.47 N/mm2. Furthermore, the use of small fiber size resulted in a smaller pore size of the PUF composite and improved the sound absorption and flammability. A feasible sound-absorbing material was a PUF composite with a WHF mesh size of 80 and an SAC value of 0.92. As a result, PUF derived from both water hyacinth and used palm oil could be a promising green alternative material for sound-absorbing applications.

Effects of water hyacinth fiber size on sound absorption properties of advanced recycled palm oil-based polyurethane foam composite

This work aims to study the effects of the size of water hyacinth fiber (WHF) on the properties of a rigid sound absorption material from recycled palm oil-based polyurethane foam (PUF) Polyurethane Foam Compositecomposite. By fixing the NCO index of 100 with the WHF content of 1%wt, the sizes of WHF were varied from 80, 40, and 20 mesh to study the properties of PUF. The compression strength, optical microscopy, and sound absorption coefficient (SAC) of the PUF composite were tested. Reducing the mesh size of WHF from 80 to 20, the compression strength of PUF increased from 0.33 to 0.47 N/mm2. PUF with a WHF mesh size of 80 and a SAC value of 0.92 was suitable for sound absorption. Therefore, the PUF derived from both water hyacinth and used palm oil could be used as a promising alternative green material for sound absorption application.

Fourier-Transform Infra Red (FTIR) Analysis of UV Curing Biobased-Polyurethane from Epoxidized Palm Oil Using Acrylation and Thiols Addition

This study is conducted to synthesis bio-polyurethane from epoxidized palm oil (EPO). Palm oil-based polyurethane was synthesized by the acrylation process followed by thiols addition. The resulting oligomers were then reacted with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and dibutylin dilaurate (DBTDL) to form Thiolated Acrylated Epoxidized Palm Oil Urethane (t-AEPOU). t-AEPOU was then reacted under UV photoirradiation for further reaction and to pre-determine its curing activities. The polymerization of AEPO and t-AEPOU were confirms by using Attenuated Total Reflection - Fourier-Transform Infra Red (ATR-FTIR). This study affords new approach in synthesis of Palm Oil bio-based Polyurethane Coating.

Production of Biodegradable Palm Oil-Based Polyurethane as Potential Biomaterial for Biomedical Applications.

Being biodegradable and biocompatible are crucial characteristics for biomaterial used for medical and biomedical applications. Vegetable oil-based polyols are known to contribute both the biodegradability and biocompatibility of polyurethanes; however, petrochemical-based polyols were often incorporated to improve the thermal and mechanical properties of polyurethane. In this work, palm oil-based polyester polyol (PPP) derived from epoxidized palm olein and glutaric acid was reacted with isophorone diisocyanate to produce an aliphatic polyurethane, without the incorporation of any commercial petrochemical-based polyol. The effects of water content and isocyanate index were investigated. The polyurethanes produced consisted of > 90% porosity with interconnected micropores and macropores (37–1700 µm) and PU 1.0 possessed tensile strength and compression stress of 111 kPa and 64 kPa. The polyurethanes with comparable thermal stability, yet susceptible to enzymatic degradation with 7–59% of mass loss after 4 weeks of treatment. The polyurethanes demonstrated superior water uptake (up to 450%) and did not induce significant changes in pH of the medium. The chemical changes of the polyurethanes after enzymatic degradation were evaluated by FTIR and TGA analyses. The polyurethanes showed cell viability of 53.43% and 80.37% after 1 and 10 day(s) of cytotoxicity test; and cell adhesion and proliferation in cell adhesion test. The polyurethanes produced demonstrated its potential as biomaterial for soft tissue engineering applications.

Effect of Blowing Agent to the Dielectric Properties of Polyurethane-Empty Fruit Bunch Composite in X-Band Frequency

Nowadays, the usage of blowing agent in polyurethane preparation has been an essential enhance the characterization of polymers or composites material. The use of blowing agent may affect the properties of the materials and directly alter the performance of resulting product. In this paper, the effect of a blowing agent on dielectric properties of palm oil-based polyurethane (POlyOP) have been studied. The palm oil-based polyurethane ( POlyOP) has been prepared using the presence of water act as a blowing agent and tegostab 8486 act as a surfactant. The Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) was used in the composite as filler. The dielectric constant and loss factor analysis in this study was carried out by Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) at x-band frequency using Nicholson-Ross-Weir (NRW) technique. The dielectric study of PolyOP composite showed that the presence of blowing agent in composite enhance the value of dielectric properties of composite at x-band frequencies.

Green Flexible Polyurethane Foam as a Potent Support for Fe-Si Adsorbent.

This paper describes the preparation, characterisation, and potential application of flexible palm oil-based polyurethane foam (PUF) as a support for iron-silica (Fe-Si) adsorbent. Fe-Si/polyurethane composite (Fe-Si/PUC) was prepared by impregnating Fe-Si adsorbent onto the surface of PUF by using a novel immersion-drying method. Morphological analysis of Fe-Si/PUC proved that Fe-Si was successfully impregnated onto the surface of PUF. Compression test and thermogravimetric analysis were carried out to determine the flexibility and thermal stability of Fe-Si/PUC, respectively. The Fe-Si/PUC removed 90.0% of 10 ppm methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution in 60 min. The reusability study showed that Fe-Si/PUC removed 55.9% of MB on the seventh cycle. Hence, the synthesis of Fe-Si/PUC opens up a new path of implementing palm oil-based PUF to assist in the recovery of an adsorbent for environmental clean-up. The mechanism of physical interaction during the impregnation of Fe-Si adsorbent onto PUF was proposed in this paper.

Polyurethane/clay nanocomposites from palm oil for surface-coating applications

Synthesis of palm oil-based polyurethane (PU) and the formation of nanocomposite from a mixture of PU with clay filler has been performed. Polyol which is the basic material of PU is formed by epoxidation and hydroxylation process and then mixed with isocyanate. Clay used as filler in this study was obtained from the local area of North Aceh, which is a type of swelling of clay that has been modified with cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide surfactant. Nanocomposites are formed from PU with clay fill variations of 3%, 5%, and 8% by weight of the total mixture of 40 g. The resulting material is tested in character by some type of characterization. Based on the test results with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the hydroxyl polyol group was obtained in groups of 3390.870 (O–H) and –NH as the PU microdomain structure was obtained at a wavelength of 2987 cm−1. Morphological test results using scanning electron microscopy revealed that the addition of modified clay increases the adhesion in the paint and PU coatings and also increases the gloss from the surface and homogeneous material. The thermal endurance test with thermogravimetric analysis reported that the addition of clay fillers in PU showed enhanced effects for better thermal stability in nanocomposite materials when compared with neat polymers. Samples of PU/clay nanocomposites with the addition of 8 wt% clay filler were the most optimum composites among other variations with the thermal degradation temperature value of 296°C. This research generates prospects for applying various industrial surface coatings that are resistant to corrosion and heat, have good mechanical properties, and are more environmentally friendly.

Rigid palm oil-based polyurethane foam reinforced with diamine-modified montmorillonite nanoclay

This paper presents work on organically-modified montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay embedded in rigid palm oil-based polyurethane (PU) foam. MMT was modified with organic surfactant diamino propane (DAP). PU foam was fabricated in closed mold, and the amount of DAP-MMT was varied in each foam formulation. The obtained foam was tested for its microstructure and morphology. Appearance of peaks from infra-red spectra corresponding to N-H, C=O, and C-N confirms the formation of PU networks. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed fine, closed-cellular structure at low clay loading; increasing DAP-MMT content induced larger cell sizes with blowholes. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates fully-exfoliated clays at 1 wt. % and partial-exfoliation at 3 wt. % clay loading, suggesting clumping of clays as DAP-MMT content increased.

The Effect of Reactives Diluents to the Physical Properties of Acrylated Palm Oil Based Polyurethane Coatings

The development of polyurethane with hydroxyl access in a molecule leads to a new alternative of low toxicity green product. Palm oil is one of the major commodities in Malaysia. The potential of palm oil to be used as coatings raw material such as alkyd is limited due to low unsaturated side on fatty acid chains. To overcome this limitation, palm oil was modified through transesterification process to produce polyol. Acrylated isocyanate (urethane oligomer) was then grafted onto polyol to produce polyurethane with vinylic ends. The polyurethane was formulated with different cross-linkers (reactive diluents) and cured under UV radiation. The effect of three different diluents; monoacrylate, diacrylate and triacrylate on the properties of cured polymer were studied in this research. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Hydroxyl Value Titration, Gel Content, and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) were used for characterization. Physical testing performed were Pencil Hardness and Pull-Off Adhesion test. Novel palm oil-based polyurethane coatings have been found to have good properties with mono acrylate functionality.

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.

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 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.