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Emerging Trends in Chemical Engineering

Development of bio-based foam from Ximenia americana seed oil polyol: Studies on the effect of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) on some properties of the foam

  1. S. I. Okoye
  2. S. A. Osemeahon

Abstract

Polyurethane foam is a very important and valuable industrial product. In this study, polyol synthesized from Ximenia americana seed oil was used in the production of bio-based polyurethane foam. Different amounts (2mL, 4mL, 6mL, 8mL and 10mL) of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) were used in the formulation of the foams, and the effect of the varied amount of TDI was investigated by studying the foams’ properties such as the density, tensile strength, compression set value, elongation at break, support factor and the hardness. Foam formed using 8 mL TDI exhibited optimum properties and this is attributed to defragmentation of the polymer matrix in the foam at TDI amounts higher than 8 mL. Bio-based foam produced in this study compares competitively with commercial foam standards. This study therefore presents the potentials of X. americana seed oil polyol as a sustainable product with valuable industrial application in the production of bio-based polyurethane foamKeyword:  Biobased foam, X.americana seed oil, polyol, toluene diisocyanate.
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