The Preparation and Characterization of Polyurethane Foam with Coconut Oil Polyol and Rapeseed Oil Polyol

The bio-based acoustic materials have flourished with the future depletion of petroleum resources in recent years. This paper dedicates on the synthesis of polyurethane (PU) using rapeseed oil polyol, coconut oil polyol and petroleum polyol by one step procedure. The influence of rapeseed oil polyol and coconut oil polyol content on cellular structure were measured by density, porosity, air-flow resistivity, cell size distribution, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Meanwhile, to understand the aging behavior of PU in this paper, the microstructure and macrostructure characterizations were performed for pristine and aged foams. Additionally, acoustic properties and mechanical properties were determined for the obtained bio-based PU. According to the conclusion of this paper, due to the cellular structure of the coconut and rapeseed oil-based polyurethane (CRPU) was open and relatively mean, and their acoustic properties were excellent compared to petroleum-based polyurethane (PPU) in the low frequency. The mechanical properties of the coconut oil-based polyurethane (CPU) were greatly improved about 200%. Taken as a whole, the sample C30-R5 (CRPU) had relatively good overall performance in the all PUs.

Automated summary

Bio-based acoustic materials synthesized with coconut oil and rapeseed oil polyurethane show superior acoustic and mechanical properties compared to petroleum-based polyurethane, making them a promising alternative for future applications.