Elham Azadeh¹, Antonio Pizzi^1,2,*, Christine Gerardin-Charbonnier^1,*, Philippe Gerardin¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.11, No.6, pp. 2823-2848, 2023, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2023.027651

Abstract Non-isocyanate polyurethane (NIPU) foams from a commercial hydrolysable tannin extract, chestnut wood tannin extract, have been prepared to determine what chemical species and products are taking part in the reactions involved. This method is based on two main steps: the reaction with dimethyl carbonate and the formation of urethane bonds by further reaction of the carbonated tannin with a diamine-like hexamethylene diamine. The hydroxyl groups on the tannin polyphenols and on the carbohydrates intimately linked with it and part of a hydrolysable tannin are the groups involved in these reactions. The carbohydrate skeleton of the hydrolysable tannin is also able… More > Graphic Abstract

Weishan Tang, Xin Feng, Caiyun Lin, Xiaoping Rao^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.11, No.2, pp. 523-538, 2023, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.022809

Abstract Environment friendly and intelligent surfactants have attracted great attention in recent years. A bio-based CO₂ responsive surfactant rosin acid dimaleimide choline (R-BMI-C) with an extremely rigid skeleton was prepared using rosin and choline as raw materials by Diels-Alder addition reaction and acid-base neutralization reactions. Its structure was confirmed by IR and ¹H NMR spectra. The foams’ properties of R-BMI-C could be adjusted by bubbling CO₂/N₂ to change the structure of the surfactant. At pH 10.4, R-BMI-C forms an unstable foam with a half-life of 1.5 h. When the pH was reduced to 7.4 by bubbling CO₂, R-BMI-C forms an extremely… More > Graphic Abstract

Hyoe Hatakeyama^1,*, Tatsuko Hatakeyama²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.1, No.2, pp. 113-123, 2013, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2012.634111

Abstract Lignin and saccharides are two major components of plants. Huge amounts of plant residues are obtained as by-products of large-scale industries, such as pulp and paper, bio-fuel and the food industry. In this paper, preparation of polyurethane (PU) foam directly from various kinds of industrial lignin and molasses, which have scarcely been utilized, is summarized based on our results obtained by recent investigation. A onestep reaction using hydroxyl groups of plant materials as an active site makes it possible to produce a wide variety of PU, such as foams, sheets, gels and composite matrix. In this paper, PU foams receive… More >

M.C. Basso^1,2, A. Pizzi^1,3,*, A. Celzard⁴

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.1, No.4, pp. 273-278, 2013, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2013.634125

Abstract : Simultaneously monitoring the variation of temperature, foam rising rate, internal foam pressure and dielectric polarisation, the latter being a direct measure of setting and curing of a thermosetting foam, has allowed the comparison of the dynamic variation of determinant parameters of polyurethane foams and of tannin/furanic foams of different formulation and characteristics. This monitoring provides a good description of the process and possible characteristics of the prepared foam and constitutes an invaluable tool for foam formulation. Such a comparison indicates that fundamental differences, but also similarities, exist between the foaming processes of the two classes of foam. The dynamics… More >

A. Pizzi^1,2,*, C. Zollfrank³, X. Li¹, M. Cangemi¹, A. Celzard⁴

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.3, pp. 230-234, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634114

Abstract Protein rigid foams based on albumin coreacted with camphor and an aldehyde were converted into silicon carbide (SiC) foams. This was carried out by putting albumin-derived template foams in contact with silicon compounds in liquid phase and calcinating the mix obtained at a relatively low temperature of 500°C to eliminate the protein and leave the SiC foam. The transformation was followed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) from the natural albumin foams to the gel obtained by infi ltrating them with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and to the appearance of the SiC foams after calcination. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra were… More >

M.C. Lagel¹, A. Pizzi^1,2, S. Giovando³, A. Celzard⁴

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.3, pp. 220-229, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634113

Abstract With the depletion of fossil resources, tannin extracts can be a natural alternative to some synthetic products. Hydrolysable chestnut tannin extracts have been used to partially replace phenol in PF resins for phenolic rigid foams. Phenol-formaldehyde-chestnut tannin (PFT) phenolic foams were initially made from copolymerized PFT resins of different molar ratio. The PFT foams so prepared were tested for thermal conductivity, these being slightly worse than that of pure PF foams; and for mechanical and water absorption, these two properties being better than those of pure PF foams. Indeed, PF resins represent an important part of synthetic resins. They are… More >

V. K. Srivastava¹, A. Pizzi^2,3,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.3, pp. 201-206, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634107

Abstract Fine wood powder/furanic foams were prepared with a strong predominance of the wood component. Low weight and density are important properties of foamed composites. Focusing on preparing light materials, wood foam composites were made using a chemical foaming method and expanded using diethyl ether as the foaming agent. The additives were added to note their effect on the density and mechanical properties, like impact strength and Young’s moduli, of the expanded composites. Various tests and scanning electron microscopy analysis were also performed. The foaming agent resulted in closed cells with varied sizes and more or less regular shapes, and with… More >

M.C. Basso^1,2, S. Giovando³, A. Pizzi^2,4,*, M.C. Lagel^2,3, A. Celzard⁵

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.3, pp. 182-185, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2013.634137

Abstract Condensed fl avonoid tannin foams were obtained under alkaline conditions. This entailed the elimination of furfuryl alcohol from these formulations, as under alkaline conditions, foam preparation could not rely on the heat generated by the self-condensation of furfuryl alcohol, which occurs only under strongly acidic conditions. The approach used to formulate the alkaline foam was: (i) the total elimination of furfuryl alcohol from the formulation, (ii) coupled with the use of an aldehyde hardener different from formaldehyde (for environmental reasons) and (iii) the application of moderate heat to allow foaming. These were not tannin/ furanic foams as their acid-curing counterparts,… More >

A. Paberza^*, L. Stiebra, U. Cabulis

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.1, pp. 19-27, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634138

Abstract Rigid polyurethane foams were obtained from pulp production byproducts. Three different polyols were used—tall oil polyol, lignopolyol and commercially available polyol for comparison. The obtained rigid polyurethane foams underwent photodegradation at 60°C temperature and at 0.89 W/m² intensity of UV light radiation up to 1000 h. Changes in chemical structure were observed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy was used to study changes in cell morphology. Spectrophotometery was used to determine yellowing of the foams. Results showed that the thickness of degraded layer for rigid polyurethane foams obtained from pulp production byproducts was ~25% less than for… More >

Sławomir Michałowski, Aleksander Prociak^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.1, pp. 14-18, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634131

Abstract This article describes the effects of the modifi cation of polyurethane system with rapeseed oil-based polyol on the cell structure and physical-mechanical properties of conventional fl exible polyurethane foams. The foams were prepared by substituting a part of the petrochemical polyether-polyols mixture with the bio-polyol based on rapeseed oil. Selected physical-mechanical properties of these foams were examined and compared to the properties of reference foam. The properties such as apparent density, resilience, comfort factor and stress-strain characteristics were analyzed in compression tests. It was found that the modifi cation of polyurethane formulation with rapeseed oil-based polyol improves the selected properties… More >