A feasibility study of polyurethane composite foam with added hardwood pulp

Polyurethane (PU) composite foams were prepared by pour method with soy-based polyol (soyol). Foams were tested for the evaluation of mechanical properties and cell morphologies as a portion of wood fiber present. Thermal behaviors as well as foam morphology were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy results exhibited that PU composite foam had improved cell size due to the presence of wood fiber. Thermal gravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry results clearly showed the most substantial increase of the glass transition temperature (Tg) and decrease of the decomposition temperature (Td) in the fiber reinforced PU foam. PU composite foam had no influence on compressive strength; however, it had caused slight reduction in tensile strength. PU composite foam displayed a broad distribution of inter-domain spacing associating with morphological changes.

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► The feasibility study of commodity wood pulp fiber used in soy-based polyurethane foam was carried out to produce high renewable content PU composite foams.
► Wood pulp fiber offered bio-based PU foam an excellent deformation resistance and a small decrease of thermal stability without compromising its application in construction insulation.
► The composite foam benefited larger regular cells as well as higher foam density due to pulp fibers embedding in foam matrix.