Shegufta Shetranjiwalla, Shaojun Li, Laziz Bouzidi, Suresh S. Narine^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 333-344, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634102

Abstract The impact of polymerization protocol on phase structure and properties of entirely lipid-derived thermoplastic poly(ester urethane)s (TPEU)s was investigated. The TPEUs were synthesized from 1,7-heptamethylene diisocyanate, polyester diols and 1,9-nonanediol (ND) as chain extender. A two-stage polymerization method was used to prepare two TPEUs; one in which ND was added in the first stage of polymerization as part of the prepolymer and another in the second stage after the prepolymer was formed. Two very different morphologies exhibiting different degrees of phase separation were obtained, driven by the sequence of addition of the chain extender. The More >

Nicole Segura Salas¹, Felipe Orozco Gutiérrez³, Luis Daniel Mora Murillo², Yendry Corrales Ureña³, Shakira Johnson¹, José Vega Baudrit³, Rodolfo Jesús González-Paz^3*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.3-4, pp. 313-322, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634122

Abstract Vegetable oils are being used for the production of biodegradable polymers, opening new possibilities for the synthesis of greener materials that could compete in national markets with petroleum-based polymers. In this study, castor oil and a catalyst (cobalt[II] naphtenate as promotor and MEKP as initiator) from local stores and styrene in different ratios were used to produce thermostable polymers. The kinetics of the polymerization reaction was followed by infrared spectroscopy. A polymeric material was synthetized which presents good mechanical properties. Therefore, composites were produced using 1 wt% of microcellulose extracted from biomass waste as reinforcement More >

Daniel Brenes-Granados¹, Jorge M. Cubero-Sesin^1,2, Felipe Orozco Gutiérrez³, Jose Vega-Baudrit³, Rodolfo Gonzalez-Paz^3*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.3-4, pp. 280-289, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634118

Abstract In this work, rigid polyurethane foams were synthesized from renewable sources using different catalysts to study their effect on the mechanical, thermal, chemical and surface properties of the foams. A commercial foam pattern was used as the reference pattern to compare the aforementioned properties. Concentrations of the commercial catalysts were optimized to obtain foams with similar mechanical properties to the commercial foam. Morphological characterization of the foams was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was employed to investigate the characteristic functional groups. Thermal characterization was performed by means of differential More >

M. Kirpluks^1*, D. Kalnbunde¹, Z. Walterova², U. Cabulis¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.3-4, pp. 258-270, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634116

Abstract In this study, polyols with high average functionality were synthesized from a renewable resource, rapeseed oil, as raw material for rigid PU foam production. A well-known method of rapeseed oil fatty acid double bond epoxidation was used to introduce oxirane rings into rapeseed oil structure. The temperature influence on epoxidation reaction conversion rate was studied by volumetric and FTIR spectra analysis. After epoxidation of rapeseed oil, an oxirane ring-opening reaction was carried out to obtain high functionality polyols. Diethylene glycol, a conventional oxirane ring-opening reagent, was compared to amine-based polyfunctional alcohols, diethanolamine and triethanolamine. The More >

Luis Daniel Mora-Murillo¹, Felipe Orozco-Gutierrez², José Vega-Baudrit², Rodolfo Jesús González-Paz^2*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.3-4, pp. 220-230, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634112

Abstract Nowadays, green polyurethane (PU) foams are mostly synthesized by replacing an amount of petrochemical polyol with biobased polyol. Here we report five different families of isocyanate prepolymer formulations that were prepared with biobased sources and the correlation between the structure of chains and the properties of the produced PU foam. Foam behavior in tension, torsion, compression, shape memory tests and physical properties were studied by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA); interactions in the polymer chains were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR); and thermal analysis was performed by thermogravimetry (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry More >

Louis C. Muller^1*, Sanette Marx¹, Hermanus C.M. Vosloo²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.1, pp. 67-80, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634130

Abstract This work reports a study of polyol synthesis through liquefaction of technical lignins in crude glycerol by means of 1H and 31P NMR spectroscopy. The polyols are intended for preparation of polyurethane foam; thus, it is important to know how different lignin types as well as crude glycerol influence and contribute to the final polyol hydroxyl contents. Polyols prepared from organosolv lignin, kraft lignin and lignosulphonate had hydroxyl numbers suitable for rigid foam of 435, 515 and 529 mgKOH/g, respectively. The polyols differed in composition with glycerol, showing significant variation. During liquefaction the glycerol content More >

Ananda S. Amarasekara^*, Muhammad A. Hasan, Eve Larkin

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.1, pp. 62-66, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634129

Abstract Condensation polymerization of renewable resources-based monomers, 4-ketopimelic acid and glycerol, were studied using two different catalysts; p-toluenesulfonic acid and Sb2O3. The highest polymer yield of 96% was achieved by using a 3:4 mole ratio mixture of 4-ketopimelic acid and glycerol, with Sb2O3 (0.5 mol% relative to 4-ketopimelic acid) as catalyst and heating at 23–210 °C, under N2 for 1 h; then 210 °C, vacuum, 12 h. The poly(4-ketopimelic acid-glycerol) formed is insoluble in all common organic solvents and is shown to contain a branched polymeric structure with ketal and ester links by using FT-IR, 1H More >

Heather L. Buckley^1*, Caitlin H. Touchberry², Jonathan P. McKinley², Zachary S. Mathe¹, Hurik Muradyan¹, Hannah Ling², Raj P. Fadadu¹, Martin J. Mulvihill¹, Susan E. Amrose²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.1, pp. 1-13, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634109

Abstract Waste cardboard is an underutilized resource that can be redirected for the creation of safer and higher quality building materials for low-income housing in the developing world, as well as to produce better materials for indoor environments in developed-world contexts. Using a renewable biobased binder and benign additives, we have improved the water resistance of a cardboard-based composite material, overcoming one of the major barriers to scaling and adoption of this class of materials. Resistance to water uptake was significantly increased with several additives and was increased over 900-fold in the best case. Strength and More >

A. Ivdre^1*, G.D. Soto², U. Cabulis¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.4, pp. 285-293, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634122

Abstract This study presents the synthesis of novel polyols made from tall oil (TO) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) with different TO/PET molar ratios. Rigid polyurethane foams based on these synthesized polyols were obtained and characterized to evaluate polyols’ suitability for the development of light materials with insulating properties. The effect of TO/PET molar ratios on the physical, morphological and mechanical properties of the obtained foams, as well as their thermal insulation characteristics, were evaluated. Increasing amounts of PET in polyurethane foams resulted in higher compression strength and closed cell content, while water absorption was not affected. More >

Evelien Uitterhaegen^1,2, Quang Hung Nguyen^1,2, Othmane Merah^1,2, Christian V. Stevens³, Thierry Talou^1,2, Luc Rigal^1,2, Philippe Evon^1,2*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.3, pp. 225-238, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634120

Abstract New fiberboards were manufactured from a coriander cake through thermo-pressing, and the influence of thermo-pressing conditions (temperature, pressure and time) on the boards’ mechanical properties, their thickness swelling and their water absorption was evaluated. Because the protein glass transition systematically occurred during molding, this resulted in effective wetting of the fibers. Consequently, all boards were cohesive, with proteins and fibers acting as binder and reinforcing fillers, respectively. Flexural properties were influenced by all tested conditions, and the optimal board was molded at 200 °C temperature, 36.8 MPa pressure and 180 s time. Its flexural strength More >