Date of Award
Spring 5-10-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Chemistry
First Advisor
Dr. Ram Gupta
Second Advisor
Dr. Khamis Siam
Third Advisor
Dr. Pawan Kahol
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Anuradha Ghosh
Abstract
One of the biggest catastrophic problems worldwide is the structural fire that destroys properties, durable goods and lives. Polyurethanes are one of the most important polymers because of the widely use in industrial applications, such as thermal insulation, coating, construction and automobiles. However, polyurethane foams have the disadvantage of being flammable. Most of the starting materials for the production of polyurethanes are derivate from petroleum-based resources, which generates environmental and governmental problems. In this study, bio-based rigid polyurethane foams were synthesized using corn oil. First, commercial corn oil was fully epoxidized to be used in the synthesis of flame-retardant rigid polyurethane foams using different concentrations of phosphorous containing polyol. Flame retardancy was tested on these foams and it was observed that phosphorous containing polyol from epoxidized corn oil provides excellent flame retardancy. It was observed burning time and weight loss decreased drastically for the foams containing only 1.5 wt% phosphorous. Second, commercial corn oil was partially epoxidized to be used in the synthesis of flame-retardant rigid polyurethane foams using different concentrations of phosphorous containing polyol. Partially epoxidation corn oil was converted to polyol using thiol-ene click chemistry. Flame retardancy for these foams was also studied and results showed that physicomechanical properties, such as density, closed cell content and compressive strength maintained the range of industrial applications. The efficiency in flame-retardant properties was achieved even for a small amount of phosphorous. From the overall study, the rigid polyurethane foams prepared using corn oil based-phosphorous containing polyol displayed high flame-retardancy.
Recommended Citation
Muliterno Zequine, Camila, "Highly Flame-Retardant Rigid Polyurethane Foams Prepared Using Corn Oil" (2019). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 473.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/etd/473