scholarly journals Modification of Rigid Polyurethane Foams with the Addition of Nano-SiO2 or Lignocellulosic Biomass

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinqin Zhang ◽  
Xiaoqi Lin ◽  
Weisheng Chen ◽  
Heng Zhang ◽  
Dezhi Han

Many achievements have been made on the research of composite polyurethane foams to improve their structure and mechanical properties, and the composite foams have been widely utilized in building insulation and furniture. In this work, rigid polyurethane foams (RPUFs) with the addition of different fillers (nano-SiO2, peanut shell, pine bark) were prepared through the one-step method. The effects of inorganic nano-SiO2 and organic biomass on foam properties were evaluated by means of physical and chemical characterization. The characterization results indicate that the compressive strength values of prepared foams could fully meet the specification requirement for the building insulation materials. The inorganic and organic fillers have no effect on the hydrogen bonding states in composite RPUFs. Furthermore, compared to the biomass fillers, the addition of nano-SiO2 greatly influenced the final residual content of the fabricated foam. All composite foams exhibit closed-cell structure with smaller cell size in comparison with the parent foam. The prepared composite foams have the potential for utilization in building insulation.

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 760-771
Author(s):  
Qirui Gong ◽  
Niangui Wang ◽  
Kaibo Zhang ◽  
Shizhao Huang ◽  
Yuhan Wang

A phosphaphenanthrene groups containing soybean oil based polyol (DSBP) was synthesized by epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) and 9,10-dihydro-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO). Soybean oil based polyol (HSBP) was synthesized by ESO and H2O. The chemical structure of DSBP and HSBP were characterized with FT-IR and 1H NMR. The corresponding rigid polyurethane foams (RPUFs) were prepared by mixing DSBP with HSBP. The results revealed apparent density and compression strength of RPUFs decreased with increasing the DSBP content. The cell structure of RPUFs was examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) which displayed the cells as spherical or polyhedral. The thermal degradation and flame retardancy of RPUFs were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis, limiting oxygen index (LOI), and UL 94 vertical burning test. The degradation activation energy (Ea) of first degradation stage reduced from 80.05 kJ/mol to 37.84 kJ/mol with 80 wt% DSBP. The RUPF with 80 wt% DSBP achieved UL94 V-0 rating and LOI 28.3. The results showed that the flame retardant effect was mainly in both gas phase and condensed phase.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026248932198897
Author(s):  
Serife Akkoyun ◽  
Meral Akkoyun

The aim of this work is the fabrication of electrically insulating composite rigid polyurethane foams with improved thermal conductivity. Therefore, this study is focused on the effect of aluminum nitride (AlN) on the thermal and electrical conductivities of rigid polyurethane foams. For this purpose, aluminum nitride/rigid polyurethane composite foams were prepared using a three-step procedure. The electrical and thermal conductivities of the foams were characterized. The thermal transitions, mechanical properties and morphology of the foams were also examined. The results reveal that AlN induces an increase of the thermal conductivity of rigid polyurethane foam of 24% which seems to be a relatively noticeable increase in polymeric foams. The low electrical conductivity of the foams is preserved.


2009 ◽  
Vol 1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Liu ◽  
Zoran S. Petrovic ◽  
Yijin Xu

AbstractStarting from a bio-based polyol through modification of soybean oil, BIOH™ X-210, two series of bio-based polyurethanes-clay nanocomposite foams have been prepared. The effects of organically-modified clay types and loadings on foam morphology, cell structure, and the mechanical and thermal properties of these bio-based polyurethanes-clay nanocomposite foams have been studied with optical microscopy, compression test, thermal conductivity, DMA and TGA characterization. Density of nanocomposite foams decreases with the increase of clay loadings, while reduced 10% compressive stress and yield stress keep constant up to 2.5% clay loading in polyol. The friability of rigid polyurethane-clay nanocomposite foams is high than that of foam without clay, and the friability for nanofoams from Cloisite® 10A is higher than that from 30B at the same clay loadings. The incorporation of clay nanoplatelets decreases the cell size in nanocomposite foams, meanwhile increases the cell density; which would be helpful in terms of improving thermal insulation properties. All the nanocomposite foams were characterized by increased closed cell content compared with the control foam from X-210 without clay, suggesting the potential to improve thermal insulation of rigid polyurethane foams by utilizing organically modified clay. Incorporation of clay into rigid polyurethane foams results in the increase in glass transition temperature: the Tg increased from 186 to 197 to 204 °C when 30B concentration in X-210 increased from 0 to 0.5 to 2.5%, respectively. Even though the thermal conductivity of nanocomposite foams from 30B is lower than or equal to that of rigid polyurethane control foam from X-210, thermal conductivity of nanocomposite foams from 10A is higher than that of control at all 10A concentrations. The reason for this abnormal phenomenon is not clear at this moment; investigation on this is on progress.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 1077-1091
Author(s):  
Zehui Ju ◽  
Qian He ◽  
Tianyi Zhan ◽  
Haiyang Zhang ◽  
Lin Sun ◽  
...  

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 102
Author(s):  
Marcin Zemła ◽  
Aleksander Prociak ◽  
Sławomir Michałowski

Rigid polyurethane foams (RPURF) containing a bio-polyol from rapeseed oil and different phosphorus-based flame retardants were obtained. Triethyl phosphate (TEP), dimethyl propane phosphonate (DMPP) and cyclic phosphonates Addforce CT 901 (20 parts per hundred polyol by weight) were used in the synthesis of RPURF. The influence of used flame retardants on foaming process, cell structure, and physical–mechanical properties as well as flammability of RPURF were examined. The addition of flame retardants influenced the parameters of the cellular structure and decreased compressive strength. All obtained foam materials had a low thermal conductivity coefficient, which allows them to be used as thermal insulation. The research results of bio-based RPURF were compared with foams obtained without bio-polyol. All modified materials had an oxygen index above 21 vol%; therefore, they can be classified as self-extinguishing materials. The analysis of parameters obtained after the cone calorimeter test showed that the modified RPURF have a lower tendency to fire development compared to the reference foams, which was particularly noticeable for the materials with the addition of DMPP.


2017 ◽  
Vol 134 (48) ◽  
pp. 45582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangyu Zhang ◽  
Qinqin Zhang ◽  
Yumin Wu ◽  
Huan Zhang ◽  
Jingqiang Cao ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 630-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Sendijarevic ◽  
Karol W Pietrzyk ◽  
Christi M. Schiffman ◽  
Vahid Sendijarevic ◽  
Alper Kiziltas ◽  
...  

The objective of this study was to produce a polyol from spent coffee grounds via acid liquification process that meets performance requirements for use in polyurethane applications. The spent coffee grounds based polyol was characterized and evaluated on a fully catalyzed model rigid polyurethane foam system. The pH of the polyol was 6.8, acid value 4.12 mg KOH/g, and hydroxyl value 302.6 mg KOH/g, which are in the range of polyols used in rigid polyurethane foams. The reactivity study confirmed enhanced reactivity of the spent coffee grounds polyol compared to standard sucrose-glycerol initiated polyether polyols, which can be attributed to higher content of primary reactive hydroxyls. Scanning electron microscopy microphotographs of the foams prepared with 10%, 20%, and 30% spent coffee grounds polyol based on total polyols in the formulation revealed a drained dodecahedron type cell structure with intact cell windows as a clear indication of the closed cell structure typical for the rigid polyurethane foams used in thermal insulation applications. Results of this study confirmed the feasibility to produce polyols from spent coffee grounds with performance characteristics suitable for polyurethane application. The fact that spent coffee grounds are readily available industrial waste generated in instant coffee manufacturing, makes this biomass residue a sustainable source of raw materials for scalable production of polyols for polyurethanes.


Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangyu Zhang ◽  
Yumin Wu ◽  
Weisheng Chen ◽  
Dezhi Han ◽  
Xiaoqi Lin ◽  
...  

Bio-based polyurethane materials with abundant open-cells have wide applications because of their biodegradability for addressing the issue of environmental conservation. In this work, open-cell rigid polyurethane foams (RPUFs) were prepared with bio-based polyols (BBPs) derived from the liquefaction of peanut shells under different post-processing conditions. The influences of the neutralization procedure and filtering operation for BBPs on the foaming behaviors, density, dimensional stability, water absorption, swelling ratio, compressive strength, and microstructure of RPUFs were investigated intensively. The results revealed that a small amount of sulfuric acid in the polyols exhibited a great impact on physical and chemical properties of RPUFs while the filtering operation for those polyols had a slight effect on the above properties. The RPUFs prepared from neutralized BBPs possessed higher water absorption, preferable dimensional stability and compression strength than that fabricated from the non-neutralized BBPs. Moreover, the prepared RPUFs exhibited preferable water absorption of 636–777%, dimensional stability of <0.5%, compressive strength of >200 KPa, lower swelling rate of ca. 1%, as well as uniform cell structure with superior open-cell rate, implying potential applications in floral foam.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1772
Author(s):  
Milena Leszczyńska ◽  
Elżbieta Malewska ◽  
Joanna Ryszkowska ◽  
Maria Kurańska ◽  
Michał Gloc ◽  
...  

The reported study concerns the introduction of renewable raw materials into the formulation of rigid polyurethane foams in the quest for the sustainable development of polymer composites. In this study, rigid polyurethane foam composites were prepared using 75 wt.% of rapeseed oil-based polyol and 15 parts per hundred parts of polyol (php) of natural fillers such as chokeberry pomace, raspberry seeds, as well as hazelnut and walnut shells. The influence of the used raw materials on the foaming process, structure, and properties of foams was investigated using a FOAMAT analyzer and a wide selection of characterization techniques. The introduction of renewable raw materials limited reactivity of the system, which reduced maximum temperature of the foaming process. Moreover, foams prepared using renewable raw materials were characterized by a more regular cell structure, a higher share of closed cells, lower apparent density, lower compressive strength and glass transition temperature, low friability (<2%), low water absorption (<1%), high dimensional stability (<±0.5%) and increased thermal stability. The proper selection and preparation of the renewable raw materials and the rational development of the polyurethane recipe composition allow for the preparation of environmentally-friendly foam products with beneficial application properties considering the demands of the circular economy in the synthesis of rigid foams.


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