• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.297-302
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• 2015

With the intention to solve environmental problems caused by synthetic plastics from petroleum resources, biodegradable polyurethane foams and thermosetting moldings were prepared from biomass, such as wood and wheat bran by liquefaction method. Biodegradability of these biomass-based polymeric materials was investigated. In activated sludge, polyurethane foams from liquefied wheat bran and thermosetting molding from phenolated wood were decomposed approximately 14% and 29% for 20 days, respectively. One of the wood fungi, Coriolus versicolor was able to grow without supplemental nutrition, only with distilled water and polyurethane foam as a nutrition source. Risk assessments were also conducted and results showed that estrogenicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity were not observed in the extractives of biomass- based polymeric materials.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.208-215
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• 2023

In this study, the properties of polyurethane-polydimethylsiloxane (PU-PDMS) hybrid foams containing different types and contents of physical blowing agents (PBAs) were investigated. Two types of blowing agents, namely physical blowing agents and thermally expandable microspheres (TEM), were applied. The apparent density was measured using precisely cut foam samples, and the pore size was measured using image software. In addition, the microstructure of the foam was confirmed via scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The thermal conductivities related to the microstructures of the different foams were compared. When 0.5 phr of the hydrocarbon-based PBA was added, the apparent density and pore size of the foam were minimal; however, the pore size was larger than that of neat foam. In contrast, the addition of 3 phr of TEM effectively reduced both the apparent density and pore size of the PBAs. The increase in resin viscosity owing to TEM could enhance bubble production stability, leading to the formation of more uniform and smaller pores. These results indicate that TEM is a highly efficient PBA that can be employed to decrease the weight and pore size of PU-PDMS hybrid foams.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.13-17
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• 2015

A study of the effects of MWCNT as a nucleating agent on the formation reactions of the rigid polyurethane foams (RPUFs) was carried out. Sample PUFs, formulated with grease-type master batch of MWCNT/surfactant, were fabricated by free-rising method. Temperature changes with time during foaming process were measured using a digital thermometer. RPUF foaming process was observed to undergo 2-step processes with temperature inflection around 60 sec after the start of reaction, and then reached slowly the max. temperature. While the max. temperature of neat PUF was measured as ca. $120^{\circ}C$, that of the samples with MWCNT were as higher value as ca. $130^{\circ}C$, and, even the time to reach that temperature was reduced by about 15 sec. Average cell size of PUF samples decreased from 185.1 for the neat PUF to $162.9{\mu}m$ for the sample of 0.01 phr of MWCNT. As the result, it was considered that MWCNT in RPUF foaming process could play a roll both as a nucleating agent and as a catalyst.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.467-472
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• 2008

Rigid polyurethane foams (RPUFs) were fabricated from crude MDI (CMDI) and polypropylene glycols (PPGs) of various isocyanate indices with a physical blowing agent (HFC 365mfc). There was a tendency for the gel time to decrease and the tack-free time to increase with increasing index value. With increasing index value the foam density and compression strength decreased and the glass transition temperature, dimension stability and thermal insulation increased, while the cell size and closed cell content were virtually unchanged. Allophanate crosslinks and condensation reactions between the isocyanate groups, which are favored with a high index value, exerted significant effects on the properties of RPUFs.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.920-926
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• 1997

The catalytic glycolysis process is the method of chemical recycling where the polyol and carbamate compounds recovered by transesterification reaction are reused to produce new polyurethane foams. In this work, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, and 1,4-butanediol were used to decompose polyurethane foams and various metallic acetates were provided as catalysts. The catalytic glycolsis of polyurethane foams was taken place in the reaction temperature of $180{\sim}200^{\circ}C$. The reaction rates of catalytic glycolysis reaction were indicated by the viscosity of the reaction products at different reaction times. IR and GPC analysis showed the types and the molecular weight distributions of the products. The catalytic glycolysis was profitable for using ethyleneglycol at high temperature. The activities of the catalysts are suitable for K, Na, Tl acetate, and the products are composed of comparatively high-contained amine compounds and carbamate compounds. In the case of Sr acetate and Quinoline, the reaction rate was somewhat low. However, the content of polyol was high and the content of the side-products was low. The foams which were prepared by blending up to 20wt% of recovered polyol with virgin polyols showed better physical properties in tensile strength, hardness, tear strength, and compressive strength compared to those of polyurethane foams from virgin polyol.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.413-418
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• 2017

In the present study, silica-aerogel-polyurethane foams were synthesized to improve the mechanical characteristics and insulation performance of the polyurethane foam applied to a liquefied natural gas carrier at a cryogenic temperature of $-163^{\circ}C$. A silica-aerogel-polyurethane foam bulk was prepared using a homogenizer by varying the weight ratio of the silica aerogel (0, 1, 3, and 5 wt%), while maintaining the contents of the polyol, isocyanate, and blowing agent constant. Compression tests were performed at room and cryogenic temperatures to compare the mechanical properties of the silica-aerogel polyurethane foams. The internal temperature of the universal testing machine was maintained through the cryogenic chamber. The thermal conductivity of the silica-aerogel-polyurethane foam was measured using a heat flow meter to confirm the insulation performance. In addition, the effect of the silica aerogels on the cells of the polyurethane foam was investigated using FE-SEM and FTIR. From the experimental results, the 1 wt% silica aerogel polyurethane foam showed outstanding mechanical and thermal performances.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.186-192
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• 2004

Compression and rebounding properties of IP(injection phylon), PH(phylon) and PU(polyurethane) foams were studied. The compression stress, rebounding stress, loss compression energy and storage compression energy of foams were decreased with increasing hardness of foams. The compression stress, loss compression energy of IP foams were lower than those of PH and PU. Rebounding stress and storage compression energy of PU foams were higher than those of IP and PH. The compression stress and rebounding of PH foam were lower than those of IP and PU.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.179-185
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• 1999

The effect of blowing agents and inner temperature on the machanical properties of the flexible polyurethane foams were investigated. In the study used that chemical blowing agents is $H_2O$ and support blowing agents. CFC-11, HCFC-114b, dichloromethane, n-penthane, iso-pentane, cyclopentane. The flexible polyurethane foams were foamed by the density of $0.015{\pm}0.002g/cm^3$ and $0.024{\pm}0.002g/cm^3$ which were used in mechanical properties measurements. Inner temperature was measure as long as the preparation of the flexible polyurethane foams of each blowing agents. The density, tensile strength, elongation, tear strength, compression strength and compression set were measured after 48 hours hardening. The result of the study was optimized dichloromethane and cyclopentane at the support blowing agents.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.182-189
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• 2007

Used polyurethane was chemically degraded by treatments with flame retardants such as tris(3-chloropropyl) phosphate (TCPP), triethyl phosphate (TEP), and trimethyl phosphate (TMP). The structure of degraded products (DEP) was analyzed by FT-IR and P-NMR and it turned out to be phosphorus containing oligourethanes. Rigid polyurethane foam was produced by using the degraded products (DEP) as flame retardants. The flammability of recycled rigid polyurethane was investigated. The recycled polyurethane shows a reduced flammability over virgin polyurethane. In order to evaluate flame retardant properties of the recycled polyurethane foams with various amounts of DEP, the combustion parameters of the foam was measured by a cone calorimeter. Scanning electron micrograph of recycled PU shows the same uniform cell morphology as virgin PU.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.630-634
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• 2020

We developed a processing recipe to synthesize flexible polyurethane foam with a pore size of 335 ± 107 ㎛. The gelling reaction time was varied from 0 to 30 minutes and the physical properties of the foam were evaluated. The gelling reaction where the polypropylene glycol and tolylene 2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) were reacted to form urethane prepolymer, proceeded until a chemical blowing agent, deionized water, was introduced. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra showed that the composition of the foam did not change but the foam height reached a peak value when the gelling reaction time was 10 minutes. We found that increasing the gelling time lessened the coalescence and helped the formation of cells. Lastly, the repeatability of polyurethane foam was confirmed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) by synthesizing ten identical polyurethane foams under the same experimental conditions, including the gelling reaction time. Overall, the new time parameter in-between the gelling and blowing reactions will give extra stability in manufacturing identical polyurethane foams and can be applied to various polyurethane foam processes.