Oxypropylation of cork and the use of the ensuing polyols in polyurethane formulations

authors	Evtiouguina, M; Barros-Timmons, A; Cruz-Pinto, JJ; Neto, CP; Belgacem, MN; Gandini, A
nationality	International
journal	BIOMACROMOLECULES
keywords	SUGAR-BEET PULP
abstract	Cork particles, recovered as byproducts of the processing of this natural material, were oxypropylated under pressure and relatively high temperature in the presence of KOH as catalyst. Various parameters were explored in order to assess the most suitable conditions, which led to the almost complete conversion of the solid cork into a viscous polyol. This product was a mixture of oxypropylated cork macromolecules and propylene oxide oligomers, which were thoroughly characterized. The use of these polyols as macromonomers in the synthesis of polyurethane foams gave promising results, thus showing that it should be possible to exploit the residues of this important renewable resource to manufacture original materials.
publisher	AMER CHEMICAL SOC
issn	1525-7797
year published	2002
volume	3
issue	1
beginning page	57
ending page	62
digital object identifier (doi)	10.1021/bm010100c
web of science category	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Chemistry, Organic; Polymer Science
subject category	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Chemistry; Polymer Science
unique article identifier	WOS:000174256500009