Open Access

ARTICLE

Alcoholysis of Waste Polyurethane Rigid Foam and Its Modification with Lignin for Recovery

by Xiaohua Gu^1,*, Shiwei Lyu¹, Siwen Liu²

1 College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qiqihar University, Qiqihar, 161006, China
2 Shanghai Crane City Polymer Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 201615, China

* Corresponding Author: Xiaohua Gu. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Renewable Foam Materials and Composites)

Journal of Renewable Materials 2021, 9(11), 1913-1926. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2021.015400

Received 18 December 2020; Accepted 19 January 2021; Issue published 04 June 2021

Abstract

A bi-component alcoholysis agent containing propylene glycol (PG) and ethanolamine (ETA) was used to catalyst the degradation of the waste polyurethane rigid foam. The oligomer polyols obtained through degradation were used as raw materials to produce recycled polyurethane rigid foam composites with lignin as reinforcing filler. The effect of alcoholysis mass ratio on degradation was investigated by analyzing the viscosity, hydroxyl content and chemical structure of the degradation products. The effect of lignin addition on the properties of regenerated polyurethane rigid foam were investigated by analyzing water absorption rate, compressive strength, porosity, thermal stability, thermal conductivity coefficient, morphology and thermal stability of the recycled polyurethane rigid foam. Results show that different mass ration of PG to ETA significantly affects the degradation of waste polyurethane rigid foam. Besides, only with the addition of appropriate amount of lignin, the regenerated polyurethane rigid foam composites can meet the Chinese national standard “rigid polyurethane foam for building thermal insulation” (GB/T21558-2008). At this point, the composite is with good mechanical and thermal prperties, including high compressive strength, excellent thermal insulation performance, complete cell morphology and good thermal stability.

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Keywords

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