Gouni Thirupathiah¹, Sukanya Satapathy¹, Aruna Palanisamy^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.8, pp. 775-785, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06399

Abstract An acidic cation exchange resin has been used to prepare epoxidised castor oil (ECO) which was used as a co-plasticizer with epoxidised soyabean oil (ESBO) for processing polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The structure of ECO was confirmed and its physico chemical properties were evaluated. PVC/ (ESBO&ECO) blends were prepared by melt mixing and compression molded into sheets. The specimens were evaluated for tensile properties, impact strength and hardness. While the tensile strength did not vary much, the elongation reduced with the replacement of ESBO with ECO. Dynamic mechanical studies revealed that the glass transition temperature increased with incorporation of ECO, however,… More >

Azam Sardari^1,2, Ali Asghar Sabbagh Alvani^1,2,3,*, Seyed Reza Ghaffarian^1,2

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.1, pp. 31-40, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00045

Abstract In this study, three sorts of polyols were successfully synthesized from castor oil using a Dean-Stark quick, eco-friendly and high-efficiency method. For this purpose, castor oil was epoxidized in the presence of two types of catalysts including γ-alumina and formic acid, named as ECOAl and ECOF, respectively. Epoxidized castor oils were then characterized by use of hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR) and oxirane oxygen content analysis. The relative percentages of conversion double bond to oxirane were obtained 96% and 74% for ECOAl and ECOF, respectively. Ring opening reaction of ECOAl was performed by two types of saponified castor oil as… More >

A. M. Borrero-López¹, F. J. Santiago-Medina¹, C. Valencia^1,2*, M. E. Eugenio³, R. Martin-Sampedro³, J. M. Franco^1,2

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.4, pp. 347-361, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634160

Abstract It is known that large amounts of residual lignin are generated in the pulp and paper industry. A new alternative for Kraft lignin valorization, which consists of first a chemical modification using a diisocyanate and then the efficient dispersion in castor oil to achieve stable gel-like systems, is proposed in this work. Rheological properties and microstructure of these materials were determined by means of small amplitude oscillatory shear tests and viscous flow measurements and atomic force microscopy observations, respectively. Moreover, both standardized penetration tests and tribological assays, usually performed in the lubricant industry, were carried out to evaluate the performance… More >