Lignin as a Partial Polyol Replacement in Polyurethane Flexible Foam
This study was focused on evaluating the suitability of a wide range of lignins, a natural polymer isolated from different plant sources and chemical extractions, in replacing 20 wt.% of petroleum-based polyol in the formulation of PU flexible foams. The main goal was to investigate the effect of un...
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doaj-4d826de5a239452498264bb65d1c38ad2021-04-15T23:06:27ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492021-04-01262302230210.3390/molecules26082302Lignin as a Partial Polyol Replacement in Polyurethane Flexible FoamAkash Gondaliya0Mojgan Nejad1Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USAChemical Engineering and Materials Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USAThis study was focused on evaluating the suitability of a wide range of lignins, a natural polymer isolated from different plant sources and chemical extractions, in replacing 20 wt.% of petroleum-based polyol in the formulation of PU flexible foams. The main goal was to investigate the effect of unmodified lignin incorporation on the foam’s structural, mechanical, and thermal properties. The hydroxyl contents of the commercial lignins were measured using phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance (<sup>31</sup>P NMR) spectroscopy, molar mass distributions with gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and thermal properties with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. The results showed that incorporating 20 wt.% lignin increased tensile, compression, tear propagation strengths, thermal stability, and the support factor of the developed PU flexible foams. Additionally, statistical analysis of the results showed that foam properties such as density and compression force deflection were positively correlated with lignin’s total hydroxyl content. Studying correlations between lignin properties and the performance of the developed lignin-based PU foams showed that lignins with low hydroxyl content, high flexibility (low T<sub>g</sub>), and high solubility in the co-polyol are better candidates for partially substituting petroleum-based polyols in the formulation of flexible PU foams intended for the automotive applications.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/8/2302ligninpolyurethane (PU), flexible foambiobased |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Akash Gondaliya Mojgan Nejad |
spellingShingle |
Akash Gondaliya Mojgan Nejad Lignin as a Partial Polyol Replacement in Polyurethane Flexible Foam Molecules lignin polyurethane (PU), flexible foam biobased |
author_facet |
Akash Gondaliya Mojgan Nejad |
author_sort |
Akash Gondaliya |
title |
Lignin as a Partial Polyol Replacement in Polyurethane Flexible Foam |
title_short |
Lignin as a Partial Polyol Replacement in Polyurethane Flexible Foam |
title_full |
Lignin as a Partial Polyol Replacement in Polyurethane Flexible Foam |
title_fullStr |
Lignin as a Partial Polyol Replacement in Polyurethane Flexible Foam |
title_full_unstemmed |
Lignin as a Partial Polyol Replacement in Polyurethane Flexible Foam |
title_sort |
lignin as a partial polyol replacement in polyurethane flexible foam |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Molecules |
issn |
1420-3049 |
publishDate |
2021-04-01 |
description |
This study was focused on evaluating the suitability of a wide range of lignins, a natural polymer isolated from different plant sources and chemical extractions, in replacing 20 wt.% of petroleum-based polyol in the formulation of PU flexible foams. The main goal was to investigate the effect of unmodified lignin incorporation on the foam’s structural, mechanical, and thermal properties. The hydroxyl contents of the commercial lignins were measured using phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance (<sup>31</sup>P NMR) spectroscopy, molar mass distributions with gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and thermal properties with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. The results showed that incorporating 20 wt.% lignin increased tensile, compression, tear propagation strengths, thermal stability, and the support factor of the developed PU flexible foams. Additionally, statistical analysis of the results showed that foam properties such as density and compression force deflection were positively correlated with lignin’s total hydroxyl content. Studying correlations between lignin properties and the performance of the developed lignin-based PU foams showed that lignins with low hydroxyl content, high flexibility (low T<sub>g</sub>), and high solubility in the co-polyol are better candidates for partially substituting petroleum-based polyols in the formulation of flexible PU foams intended for the automotive applications. |
topic |
lignin polyurethane (PU), flexible foam biobased |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/8/2302 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT akashgondaliya ligninasapartialpolyolreplacementinpolyurethaneflexiblefoam AT mojgannejad ligninasapartialpolyolreplacementinpolyurethaneflexiblefoam |
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