Search

The influence of cellulose fibers extracted from pineapple (Ananas comosus) leaf fibers on polyurethane foam’s mechanical properties (PUF) is reported. The PUFs were reinforced with different weight ratios (1, 3, and 5 wt%) of cellulose fibers. The surface morphology of the extracted cellulose fibers was determined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The functional groups and vibrational modes of the reinforced PUFs were measured using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The influence of cellulose fibers to the density and mechanical property of the PUFs were also investigated using universal testing Machine (UTM). Experimental results showed the absence of hemicellulose, lignin, and other soluble materials present in the pineapple leaves after alkaline treatment, suggesting high-quality cellulose fibers. Likewise, FTIR spectra revealed the presence of typical urethane linkages of PUFs suggesting the successful formation of PUFs with a varied amount of cellulose fibers. The mechanical properties of the PUFs with an increasing amount of cellulose fibers exhibit a decrease of the compressive strength of the fabricated PUFs may be due to the lack of cross-linking between the cellulose fibers and PUFs that will influence the reactivity in the system that eventually affects the polyurethane foam density expansion.

We report on the rigid polyurethane foam (RPUF) with varying amount of blowing agent. The effects of blowing agent in the formation of polyurethane will be characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. SEM images revealed that varying the amount of blowing agent will significantly change the surface morphology of the resulting RPUF. The average cell size of the RPUF increases with increasing amount of blowing agent. Moreover, FTIR results revealed the presence of functional group related to formation of urethane bonds such as N-H, C=O, C=N and C-O-C stretching suggesting that polyurethane foam was successfully synthesized. This simple and straightforward process of RPUF using water as blowing agent will be economical.

We report on the effect of cellulose fibers on the formation of petroleum-based and bio-based polyurethane foams. The fabricated polyurethane foams (PUF) were done by reacting isocyanate with petroleum-based polyol and epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO)-based polyols via hand mixing. The addition of cellulose fibers extracted from pineapple (Ananas comosus) leaf was done to enhance the properties of the fabricated PUF. Experimental results revealed that surface morphology of the fabricated polyurethane foams with addition of cellulose fibers remain the well-defined cell structures as shown in the scanning electron micrographs although few cell ruptures were observed. Likewise, the presence of the vibrational modes of the NCO and OH were confirmed in the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra suggesting that successful formation of polyurethane foams takes place. The thermogravimetric results revealed that much higher thermal stability for the 100% ESBO-based PUF with cellulose fibers due to the presence of cellulose and triglycerides in the ESBO-based polyols which both degrades at higher temperature. This suggest that 100% ESBO-based PUF with cellulose fiber exhibit higher thermal stability provides promising application for thermal insulations.