Soybean meal or soymeal is an inexpensive protein–carbohydrate
biomass and a coproduct of soybean processing. The composition of
soymeal was determined before using it for the polyol synthesis. The
soluble carbohydrates (SC) content of soymeal was determined by separating
the carbohydrates from the other components using an ethanol–water
solution. The protein content of soymeal was determined by the factor
method. The moisture and ash content of soymeal was also determined.
The entire soymeal without any purification was directly converted
to a biobased polyol in a one-pot, two-step sequential process. The
reaction of soymeal with ethanolamine yielded intermediate amine derivatives
which were reacted with propylene carbonate to obtain the desired
soymeal polyol. Both steps were conducted sequentially in the same
reactor without any separation or purification. Different mass ratios
(1:2, 1:3, 1:5) of soymeal to ethanolamine produced polyols with different
hydroxyl values. The synthesized soymeal polyols had hydroxyl values
of 550–650 mg of KOH/g and contained less than 2% insoluble
matter. 13C NMR was used to determine the ratio of primary
hydroxyl groups to secondary hydroxyl groups. The newly synthesized
polyols contain urethane and amide backbone linkages which are less
susceptible to degradation by UV-radiation and hydrolysis. The soymeal
polyol was successfully used in the synthesis of biobased rigid polyurethane
foams (PUF) containing 20% and 50% biobased polyol content. The compressive
strength of a biobased PUF was higher than 200 kPa for a foam with
a density of 40 kg/m3. Scanning electron microscopy was
used to study the foam morphology.