Stability and degradation of four agricultural wastes liquefied polyols based polyurethane foams

Abstract

Bio-based polyurethane foam has attracted growing attention worldwide due to its advantages of environmental friendliness and wide range of raw materials. However, the stability and degradation ability of the newly prepared foams need to be further explored for their practical application. Four agricultural wastes (XS: oilseed rape straw/OS, rice straw/RS, wheat straw/WS, and corn stover/CS) liquefied polyols were used to replace petroleum polyol for preparing polyurethane foams (XSPU). These bio-based foams were investigated by Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), two dimensional correlate infrared spectroscopy (2D-COS IR), water immersion test, soil burying test, and compression test to confirm their stability and degradation properties for applications. XSPU foams displayed excellent thermal stability with heating till to 240 C, appeared to change less than 0.3% in dry weight and contain more hydrogen bonds after immersing in water at 20 C for 14 days. The degradability of XSPU foams was significantly higher than that of petroleum polyol-based PU foam as their soft segments were easier to be decomposed, where the weight loss of XSPU was up to 46.7% after burying in the soil at 23 C and 50% relative humidity for 250 days. The compression recovery ability of these bio-based foams could reach approximately 98.2% after 1 $ 3 times of compression test. Generally, XSPU foams displayed excellent thermal stability, stability in water, degradability in soil, and elastic ability, which showed potential application in fields of insulation, degradable plastic, and elastomer.

Methods to Increase or Decrease Resistance to Photodegradation and Biodegradation of Polyurethane/Polyisocyanurate (PU/PIR) Foams

“…Foams degraded for 3 weeks (marked as 3t) are characterized by the highest transparency (L) in the range of about 43-54, while the nondegraded foams (marked as 0t) are characterized by the highest transparency (marked as 0t) in the range of about 71-83. Foams degraded for 2 and 3 weeks have the highest the value of a (approximately [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23], which represents the color red. Nondegraded foams have a value close to zero, but in the case of the content of 15% cocoa (K15) or 15% coffee (KR15), there is a slight decrease in the value of a in relation to the value of foams containing 5% of these fillers (K5 and KR5).…”

Evaluation of Polyurethane Foam Derived from the Liquefied Driftwood Approaching for Untapped Biomass

“…The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR; Jasco Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) spectra of PUF derived from PEG and liquefied driftwood were compared [31] and shown in Figure 8. As a sample name, PUF-PEG400 means that polyurethane foam is derived from polyethylene glycol.…”