SEMI-rigid POLYURETHANE FOAMS

This research is aimed at paving the way for a renewable, novel and economically advantageous biomass replacement for petroleum based polyol foams. The rigor of this research stems from its thrust to unsaturate the global market of its immense demand of petroleum materials for mainstream polymeric products. About $ 7.92 billion worth of petroleum annually is expended for conversion to polyol products, a very big quantity that requires intensive exhaustion of natural petroleum resources apart from its increasing demand for transportation and industries globally. The immediate need to address this ballooning sentiment of depleting resources combined with its capability to compete with basic necessities of daily living propelled higher institutions to navigate researches toward finding an alternative support to this resources in declining quantity. Petroleum based polyols vary in applications- a wide range of applications stem from its capability to change immediate properties with minute manipulation of its formulation. This family of foams, polyurethane foam particularly stands out as one of the leading highly commerciable and utilizable foam product of the industries today. A number of industries, from PU foam in cars and packaging materials to novel polyurethane coatings- all of which involve the use of petroleum based polyols to cater these vast majority of needs. On the other hand, semi-flexible polyurethane foams, or “Foam Rubbers”, prove to be an effective and efficient packaging agent given that it is lightweight, buoyant and shock resistant. This research utilizes Vegetable Oil for polyol component in its foam formulation for the packaging of sensitive electronic devices. The foam exhibits similar properties to other polyurethane foams such as high cushioning performance, good thermal resistance and significant anti-static capability.