Flexible polyurethane foams filled with Pinnus elliotti cellulose

Abstract

In this work, flexible polyurethane foams were developed with the addition of Pinus cellulose at concentrations of 0.5; 1 and 2 wt%. The cellulose was subjected to mechanical fibrillation process and subsequent dried by spray dry process. It was characterized morphologically by SEM and TEM. The foams were produced by one-shot method by adding and mixing the fiber with the polyol. The foams were characterized by SEM, apparent density and compression strength. The main results indicate that the mechanical fibrillation promotes the obtainment of nanoscale fibers, but during the drying process, agglomeration occurs causing an increase reaching the micrometer scale. The mechanical properties of the foam increased by 40 and 50% in compressive strength with the addition of 0.5% and 1% of cellulose, respectively, showing its potential as an alternative additive for the development of polyurethane foams.

Keywords:
cellulose; foam; fibrillation; polyurethane; spray-dry