Diethanolamides of Castor Oil as Polyols for the Development of Water-Blown Polyurethane Foam

Castor oil was chemically modified into a diethanolamide by a two step process. The first step was the hydroxylation of double bonds in castor oil and second step was the transamidation using diethanolamine to increase the hydroxyl value. Water blown polyurethane foams were developed with this castor oil based polyol using polypropylene glycol of molecular weight 1,000 as the copolyol and polymeric MDI. The density and mechanical properties namely compression and flexural strength depended on the composition of the foam formulation. The hydroxyamide content and molecular weight of commercial polyol had significant effect on the micro structure as observed by optical microscopy.     

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?Cmechanical properties of polyurethane foams. Flexible polyurethane foams were prepared by substituting a part of petrochemical polyether-polyol with the palm oil polyol. Selected physical?Cmechanical 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.     

Modification of Soy Protein Plastic with Functional Monomer with Reactive Extrusion

Chemical modification of soy protein with monomers such as maleic anhydride, glycidyl methacrylate and styrene was accomplished using reactive extrusion technology. Thermal and mechanical properties of the modified soy protein plastics were characterized with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) and a United Testing System load frame. It was found that the denaturation temperature and the glass transition temperature of soy protein plastic changed. In addition, the tensile properties of modified soy protein plastic improved. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the structure of modified soy proteins. A suggestion of the interaction between soy protein and functional group in functional polymers is given. Through the in-situ interaction between the polymer and soy protein plastic, the mechanical properties of the soy protein plastic can be adjusted and controlled.     

Effects of Wood Fiber and Microclay on the Performance of Soy Based Polyurethane Foams

Various polyurethane (PU) foams were prepared by in situ reaction of isocyanate and soy-based polyol. The effects of wood fiber and microclay on the foam morphologies, mechanical properties and thermal behaviors of PU foams were investigated. NCO index had fundamental impacts on the influences of wood fiber and microclay on the performance of PU foams. The reinforcement behavior of flexible foams was different to that of both semi-rigid and rigid foams. Both fiber and microclay improved the compressive strength at a high NCO index of 140–250, and contributed to relative high decomposition temperatures. Unlike the compressive strength, the tensile strength was decreased due to the amount of hard polyurea formation from secondary reactions at the highest NCO level. In addition, wood fiber had different reinforcement mechanism from microclay. Wood fiber desired to form chemical bonds during foaming while microclay had potential to form physical insertions. This difference was expressed by the change of their thermal degradation temperature.     

Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium Bromide Modified Kaolin as a Reinforcing Filler for Natural Rubber

Cure characteristics, Mooney viscosity and physico-mechanical properties of natural rubber (NR) containing CTAB modified kaolin have been studied. NR mix containing 6 phr (parts per hundred part rubber) of CTAB modified kaolin showed significant increases in cure rate and state of cure as compared to gum NR compound and a mix containing the same amount of unmodified kaolin. Lower Mooney viscosity of the NR mix containing CTAB modified kaolin suggested improved processability. Reinforcing effect of CTAB modified kaolin in NR was evident from higher chemical crosslink density index, tensile modulus, hardness, tensile strength and tear strength. Besides, the NR vulcanizate containing 6 phr of CTAB modified kaolin showed lower abrasion loss and heat build-up which could be beneficial for applications such as tire treads.     

Sunflower Oil Industry By-product as Natural Filler of Biocomposite Foams for Packaging Applications

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The use of agroindustry by-products as reinforcements and/or composites filler is an innovative and economically attractive option that is still under...     

Effect of Brown-Rotted Spruce as Lignin-Enriched Filler on the Properties of Reinforced Polyurethane Foam

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The study investigated the effect of lignocellulosic biomass filler decayed by brown-rot fungi on the preparation and properties of polyurethane (PU) foam....     

Thermally Stable Pyrolytic Biocarbon as an Effective and Sustainable Reinforcing Filler for Polyamide Bio-composites Fabrication

Natural fibers are limited in their use as reinforcement to commodity polymers. They cannot be used to reinforce engineering polymers due to their low thermal stability at high processing temperatures. This study presents an approach to successfully reinforce polyamides using a derivative of natural fibers as reinforcement without the effects of thermal degradation during melt processing. Biocarbon from miscanthus fibers was used to reinforce polyamide 6 up to 40 wt%. At 40 wt% filler content, the tensile and flexural strengths increased by 19.6 and 47% respectively in comparison to the neat polyamide. The moduli were also increased by 31.5 and 63.7% respectively. A maximum increase in impact strength of 43.7% was achieved at 20 wt% biocarbon loading. The morphology of the tensile fractured samples showed stretched polyamide ligaments attached to the biocarbon particles, indicating the presence of interaction between filler and matrix. Interestingly, more bonded interfaces were observed between the polyamide and biocarbon particles with increasing biocarbon content possibly stemming from increased biocarbon surfaces with functional groups. These composites show great potential to substitute in part or whole, some particulate filled polyamides currently used in the automotive industry.     

Characterization of Waste Printed Circuit Boards Nonmetals and its Reutilization as Reinforcing Filler in Unsaturated Polyester Resin

Waste printed circuit boards (WPCB) nonmetals were firstly recycled as reinforcing filler in a kind of novel room temperature cured unsaturated polyester (UPE) composites. The compositions and characteristics of WPCB nonmetals were detailly analyzed by SEM, FTIR, TGA and Py-GCMS, and the effects of the content of WPCB nonmetals on the mechanical performance and thermal behaviors of UPE composites were also systematically studied. Results suggested that UPE composites incorporated with WPCB nonmetals at appropriate content showed superior tensile strength, flexural strength and heat distortion temperature than UPE matrix. Based on the analysis of thermal degradation kinetic, the thermal stability of UPE composites were significantly enhanced by the incorporation of WPCB nonmetals. The highlight of this work lies in the fact that high-valued utilization of WPCB nonmetals is realized in room temperature cured UPE matrix, which may not only achieve favorable economic and social benefits, but also open up new opportunities for the preparation of high performance plastic composites.     

Protein-Polymer Grafts via a Soy Protein Derived Macro-RAFT Chain Transfer Agent

Methodology to produce materials derived from renewable resources is of great importance in decreasing both environmental impact as well as dependence on fossil fuels. We report a straightforward method of polymer grafting to soy protein hydrolysates, which are available in surplus. Benzylthiocarbonate moieties were installed on the protein surface via amidation of free amino groups, creating a protein macro chain transfer agent (CTA) for reversible addition fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization. We found that subjection of this soy protein macro-CTA (SP-CTA) to RAFT polymerization conditions with polar acrylate monomers resulted in protein-polymer nanometer-scale particles with solubility properties dictated by monomer polarity. Polymer grafting, particle size and polymerization were characterized by elemental analysis, transmission electron microscopy and gel permeation chromatography. We anticipate that this method of grafting will be of use in generation of new materials based on renewable resources.     

Revaluation of a Soy Protein By-product in Eco-friendly Bioplastics by Extrusion

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Agri-food waste and by-products are being increasingly revalued, exploiting their potential. One of the attractive alternatives is their use as raw...     

Processing and Characterization of Glycerol-Plasticized Soy Protein Plastics Reinforced with Citric Acid-Modified Starch Nanoparticles

Citric acid-modified starch nanoparticles with an average size of 82 nm were prepared through precipitation from gelatinized starch solution by ethanol and further modification with citric acid. When being incorporated in glycerol-plasticized soy protein plastics, citric acid-modified starch nanoparticles displayed dramatic reinforcing effect. The resulted nanocomposite plastics exhibited improvement in mechanical performance. Also, the water uptake decreased, indicating an increase of water resistance. The modified starch nanoparticles had a good compatibility with soy protein matrix. Possessing a relative hydrophobic surface, the filler would prefer to interact with protein-rich domains in glycerol-plasticized soy protein. The work provided a green approach of biodegradable materials based on naturally occurring biopolymers.     

Development and Characterization of the Reinforced Soy Protein Isolate-Based Nanocomposite Film with CuO and TiO2 Nanoparticles

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The present study aimed to develop and characterize the soy protein isolate (SPI) nanocomposite film incorporated with CuO and TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) for...     

Baked Foams Based on Cassava Starch Coated with Polyvinyl Alcohol with a Higher Degree of Hydrolysis

The aims of this work were to produce trays based on cassava starch, coated with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with a higher degree of hydrolysis (98%), and to study the effects of the coating on the mechanical and water sorption properties of the trays. Two types of PVA were tested: SELVOL? 325 (degree of polymerization?=?1000–1500) and SELVOL? 107 (degree of polymerization?=?350–650). A decrease in the water absorption capacity of 50% was observed when the coated samples were compared with the control sample after 30 min of immersion in water. It was observed in both coated samples a reduction of the initial rate of water adsorption sorption and a decrease in hydrophilicity compared with the control sample. Tensile strength and elongation were increased with application of the coatings. The use of the two types of PVA resulted in materials with similar mechanical and water sorption properties.     

Thermo-Chemical Decomposition Study of Polyurethane Elastomer Through Glycerolysis Route with Using Crude and Refined Glycerine as a Transesterification Agent

Due to the increasing amount of polyurethane waste, chemical recycling of these materials is a topic of growing interest for many researchers. The primary purpose of polyurethane feedstock recycling is to recover the starting polyol. In this study glycerolysis using glycerine from two sources and two purity grades is proposed as a method of chemical recycling. The main effort of this paper focuses on the employment of commercial glycerine of analytical grade and waste glycerine without purification derived from the biodiesel production, as a decomposing agent for polyurethane recycling. In this study, the influence of polyurethane to glycerine mass ratio (PU/GL) and the type of decomposing agent on the chemical structure by FTIR, ¹H NMR and GPC was examined. FTIR analysis of the glycerolysates showed absorption peaks similar to the virgin polyol. Those results are in compliance with GPC chromatograms, which showed for all samples, well-defined peak at ca. 13 min of retention time. The molecular weight of glycerolysates was ranging from 800 to 1300 g mol^?1 depending on PU/GL mass ratio. The novel decomposition agent, namely waste glycerine derived from biodiesel production was successfully used in glycerolysis process.     

Thermal Degradation and Kinetics of Alginate Polyurethane Hybrid Material Prepared from Alginic Acid as a Polyol

Alginate polyurethane hybrid materials are prepared by varying mole ratio of 2, 4-TDI as a di-isocyanate and alginic acid as a polyol in presence of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a solvent. FT-IR and ¹³C one-dimensional (1D) solid state NMR (SSNMR) spectroscopy indicates that alginic acid is converted into alginate-polyurethane hybrid material via urethane linkage. Surface morphology of alginate-polyurethane hybrids changes by varying alginic acid: TDI ratio. The peak at near 221 °C in DSC thermogram of alginic acid (Alg) is shifted to higher temperature in alginate-polyurethane hybrid (Algpu1 and Algpu2). TGA study shows that alginate-polyurethane hybrid prepared using alginic acid: TDI = 1:1 (Algpu2) is more stable than alginic acid: TDI = 1:0.5 (Algpu1) at 300 °C. Kinetic analysis was performed to fit with TGA data, where the entire degradation process has been considered as three consecutive 1st order reactions. This study shows that thermal stability of alginate-polyurethane hybrid material was increased by adjusting mole ratio of 2, 4-TDI and alginic acid.     

CoFe2O4@Methylcelloluse as a New Magnetic Nano Biocomposite for Sonocatalytic Degradation of Reactive Blue 19

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Reactive Blue 19 (RB19) removal from synthetic textile wastewater was investigated by using a CoFe2O4@methylcellulose (MC) activated with peroxymonosulfate...     

以活性染料为主要成分的印染废水的混凝脱色试验

用硫酸亚铁、碱式氯化铝(PAC)和聚丙烯酰胺(PAM)对以活性染料为主要成分的印染废水进行混凝脱色试验,阐述了混凝脱色机理,对脱色影响因素和控制条件等进行了试验研究.