Open Access

ARTICLE

Advances of Polyurethane Foams Derived from Lignin

Hyoe Hatakeyama^1,*, Tatsuko Hatakeyama²

1 Fukui University of Technology
2 Lignocel Research Co. Ltd., 73-8, Yatsumata, Fukui 910-3558, Japan;
* present address: Lignocel Research Co. Ltd.

* Corresponding Author:

Journal of Renewable Materials 2013, 1(2), 113-123. https://doi.org/10.7569/JRM.2012.634111

Received 09 December 2012; Accepted 22 January 2013;

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 particular focus. By controlling reaction conditions and the combination of plant components, mechanical and thermal properties can be varied in a wide range. Furthermore, industrial products using PU’s derived from lignin and saccharides are competitive with those from petroleum in both functional properties and production price.

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Keywords

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