Polyurethane foam and polyurethane elastomer

A research team at Japan’s Toyo University successfully synthesized polyurethane foam (PUF) and polyurethane elastomer (PUE) from waste vegetable oil. It is estimated that Japan consumes 2.4 million tons of cooking oil each year, of which 400,000 tons is currently discarded as waste.
The research team improved the waste vegetable oil and used it as a polyol in polyurethane synthesis. By using a polyol blend composed of 100% modified waste soybean oil-based polyols, polyoxypropylene glycol and castor oil, polyurethane foams and polyurethane elastomers were synthesized and their properties investigated. Polyurethane elastomers are fragile in performance and require further application development; the performance of polyurethane foams is not inferior to those based on new materials. In addition, the research team stated that rigid polyurethane foams can be synthesized by adding hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid and changing the formula ratio. Therefore, cooking oil can be recycled for use in a variety of polyurethane materials, including upholstered materials, coatings, and adhesives.