STUDY ON CASTOR OIL AS A POLYOL REPLACEMENT IN PREPARATION OF LOW-DENSITY RIGID POLYURETHANE FOAM

Abstract

Low-density rigid polyurethane foams (PU) were prepared by the free-rise method using castor oil as bio-polyol to replace traditional polyether polyol and distilled water as a unique blowing agent. The effect of the content of sustained castor oil and distilled water on free rise density, surface morphology, and reaction time of foams were evaluated. The structure characteristics, morphology and closed cell size were determined by FT-IR spectroscopy and FE-SEM analysis. Results indicated that content of castor oil could be replaced up to 60-70% by weight of total polyol in rigid PU foam fabrication with the free rise density of 43,6-45,7kg/m³, high closed cell distribution with the closed-cell average size of around 279mm. The results could bring a potential alternative to traditional polyether polyol in PU foam production.