• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• 제11권1호
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2006

In this study, conventional biofilters packed with flexible synthetic polyurethane (PU) foam carriers were operated to remove toluene from a contaminated air stream. PU foams containing various adsorbents (e.g., zeolite, sepiolite, dolomite and barite) were synthesized for the biofilter media and their adsorption characteristics of toluene were determined. Adsorption capacity of PU-adsorbent foam was in the order of PU-dolomite ${\approx}$ PU-zeolite > PU-sepiolite > PU-barite. During the biofiltration experiment, influent toluene concentration was in the range of 0-160 ppm and EBRT (i.e., empty bed residence time) was 45 seconds. Pressure drop of the biofilter bed was 4-5 mm $H_2O/m$ column height. The maximum removal capacity was in the order of PU-dolomite > PU-zeolite > PU-sepiolite > PU-barite, while the complete removal capacity was in the order of PU-dolomite > PU-sepiolite > PU-zeolite > PU-barite. The better biofiltration performance in PU-dolomite foam was because PU-dolomite foam had lower density and higher porosity than the others providing favorable conditions for microbial growth. The results of biodegradation kinetic analysis showed that PU-dolomite foam had higher maximum removal rate ($V_m\;=\;11.04\;g$ toluene/kg dry material/day) and saturation constant ($K_s\;=\;26.57\;ppm$) than the other PU foams. This supports that PU-dolomite foam was better than the others for biofilteration of toluene.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• 제17권1호
• /
• pp.44-50
• /
• 2009

Rigid polyurethane foams (PUF)s were synthesized with environmentally friendly blowing agents such as a cyclopentane/distilled water (10.0/1.0, pphp) mixture and distilled water only for four different silicone surfactants having different silicone/polyether ratios. An attempt was made to reduce the thermal conductivities of the PUF samples by varying the concentration and the silicone/polyether ratio of the various silicone surfactants. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicated an optimum concentration of the silicone surfactant of about 1.5 to 2.5 phpp for various surfactants to reduce the cell size and lower the thermal conductivity. The silicone surfactant having a higher silicone/polymer ratio showed a smaller cell size and, therefore, demonstrated the lower thermal conductivity of the PUF samples. From the relation between the thermal conductivity and the cell size of the PUF samples, the smaller cell size improved the thermal insulation property of the rigid PUF for both the PUF samples blown by the cyclopentane/distilled water (10.0/1.0, pphp) mixture and distilled water only. If the blowing agent is fixed, then the cell size is an important factor to decrease the thermal conductivity of the PUF samples. These results indicated that rigid PUF samples having lower thermal conductivity can be obtained by choosing a silicone surfactant containing a higher silicone/polyether ratio, as well as an optimum content of the surfactant.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• 제17권11호
• /
• pp.856-862
• /
• 2009

This study examined the effects of liquid and solid additives on the morphological, mechanical and thermal insulating properties of rigid polyurethane foams (PUFs). The PUFs synthesized with tetramethylsilane (TEMS) as a liquid-type additive showed a smaller average cell size and lower thermal conductivity than those with the aerosil 200 and clay 30B as solid-type additives. When TEMS was added, the average cell size of the PUF became more uniform and finer due to the reduced surface tension of the polymer solution, which increased the nucleation rate and number of bubbles produced and reduced cell size. The PUFs with TEMS showed the highest closed cell contents among the PUFs prepared using TEMS, aerosil 200 and clay 30B. This suggests that the insulation properties of PUF can be determined by both the size of the cell structure and the amount of closed cell contents in the system. The compression and flexural strengths of the PUF increased slightly when the aerosil 200, clay 30B and TEMS were added compared those of the neat PUF. The reaction profiles of the PUFs showed a similar gel and tack tree time with the reaction time among the PUFs synthesized with three different additives and neat PUF. This suggests that the nucleating additives used in this study do not affect the bubble growth of the chemical reaction, and the additives may act as nucleating agents during the formation of PUF. From the above results of the cell size, thermal conductivity, closed cell contents and reaction profile of the PUFs, liquid-type nucleating agent, such as TEMS, is more effective in decreasing the thermal conductivity of the PUF than solid-type nucleating agent, such as aerosil 200 and clay 30B.

• 한국산업융합학회 논문집
• /
• 제26권6_3호
• /
• pp.1289-1295
• /
• 2023

Polyurethane foam insulation required for storing and transporting cryogenic liquefied gas is already widely used as a thermal insulation material for commercial LNG carriers and onshore due to its stable price and high insulation performance. These polyurethane foams are reported to have different mechanical performance depending on the density, and the density parameter is determined depending on the amount of the blowing agent. In this study, density-dependent polyurethane foam was fabricated by adjusting the amount of blowing agent. The mechanical properties of polyurethane foam were analyzed in the room temperature and cryogenic temperature range of -163℃ at 1.5 mm/min, which is a quasi-static load range, and the cells were observed through microstructure analysis. The characteristics of linear elasticity, plateau, and densification, which are quasi-static mechanical behaviors of polyurethane foam, were shown, and the correlation between density and mechanical properties in a cryogenic environment was confirmed. The correlation between mechanical behavior and cell size was also analyzed through SEM morphology analysis. Polyurethane foam with a density of 180 kg/m³ had a density about twice as high as that of a polyurethane foam with a density of 96 kg/m³, but yield strength was about 51% higher and cell size was about 9.5% smaller.

• 한국분말재료학회지
• /
• 제21권4호
• /
• pp.266-270
• /
• 2014

Metal foams have a cellular structure consisting of a solid metal containing a large volume fraction of pores. In particular, open, penetrating pores are necessary for industrial applications such as in high temperature filters and as a support for catalysts. In this study, Fe foam with above 90% porosity and 2 millimeter pore size was successfully fabricated by a slurry coating process and the pore properties were characterized. The Fe and $Fe_2O_3$ powder mixing ratios were controlled to produce Fe foams with different pore size and porosity. First, the slurry was prepared by uniform mixing with powders, distilled water and polyvinyl alcohol(PVA). After slurry coating on the polyurethane(PU) foam, the sample was dried at $80^{\circ}C$. The PVA and PU foams were then removed by heating at $700^{\circ}C$ for 3 hours. The debinded samples were subsequently sintered at $1250^{\circ}C$ with a holding time of 3 hours under hydrogen atmosphere. The three dimensional geometries of the obtained Fe foams with an open cell structure were investigated using X-ray micro CT(computed tomography) as well as the pore morphology, size and phase. The coated amount of slurry on the PU foam were increased with $Fe_2O_3$ mixing powder ratio but the shrinkage and porosity of Fe foams were decreased with $Fe_2O_3$ mixing powder ratio.

• 대한조선학회논문집
• /
• 제55권6호
• /
• pp.514-520
• /
• 2018

Polyurethane foam has excellent mechanical strength and insulation performance, and has been adopted as an insulation material for $-163^{\circ}C$ liquefied natural gas carrier. In this study, Kevlar Polyurethane Foams(K-PUF) were synthesized by adding Kevlar pulp with excellent mechanical strength for the purpose of improving the performance of existing polyurethane foam. Since polyurethane foam has mechanical performance depending on the proportions of Kevlar pulp added, the mechanical strength of the K-PUF with ratios of fiber0.2wt.%, 0.4wt.%, 0.6wt.%, 0.8wt.% and 1.0wt.%) was evaluated. The compression tests were performed on the 4 different temperatures($20^{\circ}C$, $-50^{\circ}C$, $-110^{\circ}C$ and $-163^{\circ}C$) in consideration of the environmental characteristics as a cryogenic insulation used in LNG carrier. Besides, the effects of the fiber addition on polyurethane foam with closed cell structure were evaluated in a phenomenological approach through SEM analysis. All the results were compared to Neat-polyurethane foam. As a results, 0.8wt.% K-PUF showed the improved mechanical strength, and the addition of Kevlar pulp in a certain ratio improves the mechanical performance by enhancing the compression resistance.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• 제6권2호
• /
• pp.132-136
• /
• 1996

To investigate the characteristics of immobilized peppermint (Mentha piperita) cells, dry cell weight (DCW), change of cell viability, and oil productivity of the immobilized cells were determined. Peppermint cells were immobilized in polyurethane (PU) foams of $5{\times}5{\times}5$ mm and cultured in a shaking flask. The maximum DCW was 2.1 mg per foam piece after 20 days of cultivation and the cell density was approximately 420 mg per flask containing 200 foams in 200 ml medium. For the first five days of cultivation, the cell viability was about 80$%$ and decreased to 70$%$ during 5 to 20 days of cultivation. The maximum oil productivity, 148 mg/l was achieved after 40 days of cultivation. The immobilized cells were also cultivated in a bioreactor, equipped with a round spiral type impeller, containing 2, 400 PU foams. The cell viability after 30 days of cultivation with chitosan as an elicitor in the bioreactor was 67$%$ and DCW was 2.0 mg per foam piece. Though the cell viability was relatively high in the bioreactor system, the oil productivity was relatively lower than that of the flask system.

• 대한조선학회논문집
• /
• 제51권6호
• /
• pp.495-502
• /
• 2014

Glass-reinforced polyurethane foam (R-PUF) is widely used as the primary and secondary insulation of Mark-III type liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo system. And, polyurethane foam (PUF) and polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) are often used for insulation of onshore structures or LNG storage and pipeline system. These polymeric foam materials are known for the characteristics that mechanical properties are dependent on strain rate and temperature. In this study, compression tests for R-PUF, PIR, and PUF were carried out for the estimation of mechanical behaviors under the cryogenic environment. The range of thermal condition was from room temperature to 110K and strain rates were $10^{-3}s^{-1}$ and $10^{-4}s^{-1}$. The test results were analyzed based on the conditions of strain-rate and temperature.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• 제11권6호
• /
• pp.488-494
• /
• 2003

We have fabricated gelatin-immobilized polyurethane foams (PUFG) by dipping polyurethane foam (PUF) in an aqueous solution containing gelatin and by subsequent reaction with glutaraldehyde after freeze-drying. Gelatin aqueous solutions of different concentrations were used as the dipping solutions to control the amount of immobilized gelatin. The average pore size of PUF decreased with an increase in gelatin concentration. It was found from the hepatocyte adhesion experiment that the amount of hepatocytes seeded on PUFG1, prepared by using a 1% aqueous gelatin solution, was higher than that on other PUFGs. The hepatocytes inoculated in PUFG1, were slightly aggregated as the incubation time increased. The cells inoculated in PUFG1 showed higher ammonia removal ability than those monolayer-cultured on a gelatin-immobilized polystyrene dish (PSG) after 1 and 4 days of incubation time. The inoculated cells exhibited higher albumin secretion relative to monolayer-cultured hepatocytes on PSG. Albumin secretion by hepatocytes seeded on PUFG1 was increased by the presence of serum and was further increased by both the presence of serum and cytokines. The results obtained from a 3-(3,4-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay indicated that PUFG can provide a better microenvironment for hepatocyte culture along with nutrition and metabolite transfer through the high porosity of PUF.

• 한국산업융합학회 논문집
• /
• 제10권2호
• /
• pp.73-80
• /
• 2007

The preparation of oil absorbent using waste polyurethane was studied. And the effects of shape, size, and contents of waste polyurethane foam was investigated. The waste foam was treated in shape of powder, cube and bar type generated from rigid sandwich panel process. The tests for flexural strength, combustibility, and water absorptivity were carried out to investigate the mechanical and physical properties of the recycled foams. And the cell microstructure was evaluated through Scanning Electron Micrograph. The recycled foam containing powder-shaped underfilled and showed poor properties that was generated through reactivity of the resins and increasing of slurry viscosity. For the recycled foam with the cube and bar-shaped, the underfilling was caused by interference between the waste PUFs and increasing surface areas of PUF. Low cell density, non-uniformity of cell shape and size, and low adhesion of the boundary surface (new/recycled) was showed as a result of the poor properties. Considering underfilling and the properties of PUF (new/recycled), maximum recycle contents were less than 20 wt% for the powder and above 40 wt% for the cube and bar.