Sunflower Oil as a Renewable Resource for Polyurethane Foams: Effects of Flame-Retardants
Currently, polyurethane (PU) manufacturers seek green alternatives for sustainable production. In this work, sunflower oil is studied as a replacement and converted to a reactive form through epoxidation and oxirane opening to produce rigid PU foams. Confirmatory tests such as Fourier-transform infr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-12-01
|
| Series: | Polymers |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/23/5282 |
| _version_ | 1797462238912577536 |
|---|---|
| author | Magdalene A. Asare Prashant Kote Sahilkumar Chaudhary Felipe M. de Souza Ram K. Gupta |
| author_facet | Magdalene A. Asare Prashant Kote Sahilkumar Chaudhary Felipe M. de Souza Ram K. Gupta |
| author_sort | Magdalene A. Asare |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Currently, polyurethane (PU) manufacturers seek green alternatives for sustainable production. In this work, sunflower oil is studied as a replacement and converted to a reactive form through epoxidation and oxirane opening to produce rigid PU foams. Confirmatory tests such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and hydroxyl value among others were performed to characterize the synthesized polyol. Despite the versatility of rigid PU foams, they are highly flammable, which makes eco-friendly flame retardants (FRs) desired. Herein, expandable graphite (EG) and dimethyl methyl phosphonate (DMMP), both non-halogenated FR, were incorporated under different concentrations to prepare rigid PU foams. Their effects on the physio-mechanical and fire-quenching properties of the sunflower oil-based PU foams were elucidated. Thermogravimetric and compression analysis showed that these foams presented appreciable compressive strength along with good thermal stability. The closed-cell contents (CCC) were around 90% for the EG-containing foams and suffered a decrease at higher concentrations of DMMP to 72%. The burning test showed a decrease in the foam’s flammability as the neat foam had a burning time of 80 s whereas after the addition of 13.6 wt.% of EG and DMMP, separately, there was a decrease to 6 and 2 s, respectively. Hence, our research suggested that EG and DMMP could be a more viable alternative to halogen-based FR for PU foams. Additionally, the adoption of sunflower polyol yielded foams with results comparable to commercial ones. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:33:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-46432037026d48b5bf78377a0892b4fa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:33:39Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-46432037026d48b5bf78377a0892b4fa2023-11-24T12:01:31ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602022-12-011423528210.3390/polym14235282Sunflower Oil as a Renewable Resource for Polyurethane Foams: Effects of Flame-RetardantsMagdalene A. Asare0Prashant Kote1Sahilkumar Chaudhary2Felipe M. de Souza3Ram K. Gupta4Department of Chemistry, Pittsburg State University, 1701 S. Broadway Street, Pittsburg, KS 66762, USADepartment of Chemistry, Pittsburg State University, 1701 S. Broadway Street, Pittsburg, KS 66762, USADepartment of Chemistry, Pittsburg State University, 1701 S. Broadway Street, Pittsburg, KS 66762, USADepartment of Chemistry, Pittsburg State University, 1701 S. Broadway Street, Pittsburg, KS 66762, USADepartment of Chemistry, Pittsburg State University, 1701 S. Broadway Street, Pittsburg, KS 66762, USACurrently, polyurethane (PU) manufacturers seek green alternatives for sustainable production. In this work, sunflower oil is studied as a replacement and converted to a reactive form through epoxidation and oxirane opening to produce rigid PU foams. Confirmatory tests such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and hydroxyl value among others were performed to characterize the synthesized polyol. Despite the versatility of rigid PU foams, they are highly flammable, which makes eco-friendly flame retardants (FRs) desired. Herein, expandable graphite (EG) and dimethyl methyl phosphonate (DMMP), both non-halogenated FR, were incorporated under different concentrations to prepare rigid PU foams. Their effects on the physio-mechanical and fire-quenching properties of the sunflower oil-based PU foams were elucidated. Thermogravimetric and compression analysis showed that these foams presented appreciable compressive strength along with good thermal stability. The closed-cell contents (CCC) were around 90% for the EG-containing foams and suffered a decrease at higher concentrations of DMMP to 72%. The burning test showed a decrease in the foam’s flammability as the neat foam had a burning time of 80 s whereas after the addition of 13.6 wt.% of EG and DMMP, separately, there was a decrease to 6 and 2 s, respectively. Hence, our research suggested that EG and DMMP could be a more viable alternative to halogen-based FR for PU foams. Additionally, the adoption of sunflower polyol yielded foams with results comparable to commercial ones.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/23/5282bio-based polyolsunflower oilepoxidationexpandable graphitedimethyl methyl phosphonate |
| spellingShingle | Magdalene A. Asare Prashant Kote Sahilkumar Chaudhary Felipe M. de Souza Ram K. Gupta Sunflower Oil as a Renewable Resource for Polyurethane Foams: Effects of Flame-Retardants Polymers bio-based polyol sunflower oil epoxidation expandable graphite dimethyl methyl phosphonate |
| title | Sunflower Oil as a Renewable Resource for Polyurethane Foams: Effects of Flame-Retardants |
| title_full | Sunflower Oil as a Renewable Resource for Polyurethane Foams: Effects of Flame-Retardants |
| title_fullStr | Sunflower Oil as a Renewable Resource for Polyurethane Foams: Effects of Flame-Retardants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sunflower Oil as a Renewable Resource for Polyurethane Foams: Effects of Flame-Retardants |
| title_short | Sunflower Oil as a Renewable Resource for Polyurethane Foams: Effects of Flame-Retardants |
| title_sort | sunflower oil as a renewable resource for polyurethane foams effects of flame retardants |
| topic | bio-based polyol sunflower oil epoxidation expandable graphite dimethyl methyl phosphonate |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/23/5282 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT magdaleneaasare sunfloweroilasarenewableresourceforpolyurethanefoamseffectsofflameretardants AT prashantkote sunfloweroilasarenewableresourceforpolyurethanefoamseffectsofflameretardants AT sahilkumarchaudhary sunfloweroilasarenewableresourceforpolyurethanefoamseffectsofflameretardants AT felipemdesouza sunfloweroilasarenewableresourceforpolyurethanefoamseffectsofflameretardants AT ramkgupta sunfloweroilasarenewableresourceforpolyurethanefoamseffectsofflameretardants |