Green Polyurethanes and Bio-fiber-based Products and Processes - Green Materials from Plant Oils - page 131

which reported that they can be used in PU rigid foams as automotive
parts. 12,14 Using proprietary manufacturing processes, Cargill and Biobased
Technologies have produced soya-oil-based polyols with hydroxyl numbers in
the range of 56-370 mg KOH g 1 which can produce foams with a wide range
of physical properties for furniture and bedding applications, color pastes
and automotive applications. 46 These bio-based polyols, both the BiOH s and
Agrol s series, reportedly have a high renewable content, of more than 86%,
and excellent compatibility with conventional polyols. 46,47
Major chemical differences between bio-based and petroleum-based
polyols were identified using FT-IR, as demonstrated in Figure 6.3. Bio-based
PU foams using vegetable-oil-based polyols contain a typical spectroscopic
fingerprint for triglycerides in the region of 2700-3000 cm 1 , whereas
petroleum-based PU foams show a typical fingerprint of polyether polyol. 5 It
was observed that bio-based PU foam had a different cell structure compared
to petroleum-based foam with the same formulation (Figure 6.4), where the
Figure 6.3 FT-IR spectra of PU foams (A1 ¼ petroleum-based PU foam, B2 ¼
soybean-oil-based PU foam).
Adapted from ref. 5 with permission from Elsevier Ltd.
Figure 6.4 Cell structures of PU foams (A1 ¼ petroleum-based PU foam, B1 ¼
soybean-oil-based PU foam).
Adapted from ref. 5 with permission from Elsevier Ltd.