Studies on Thermal and Morphological Properties of Polyurethane Foam Filled Polypropylene/Poly(lactic acid) Blends

Abstract

Polyurethane foams are used in many different applications, such as insulation and coating materials, packaging, furniture and so on. It has very low weight, low cost and thermal conductivity hereby frequently preferred by architectural and construction industry. On the other hand, these large-scale uses bring with waste problem after applications. In this study, the effect of polyurethane foam waste (PUw) on the thermal and morphological properties of polypropylene (PP)/ poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composites plasticized with polyethylene glycol (PEG 400) was investigated. PUw filled PP/PLA composites were prepared using melt blending followed by compression molding. Thermal and morphological properties of PUw filled PP/PLA composites were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal conductivity analyzer and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results shown that the thermal conductivity of the composites improved significantly with addition of PUw, while glass transition temperature (T_g), the melting temperature (T_m) and melting enthalpy (ΔH_m) values of the composites decreased. Based on finding, the PUw could be used as filler in PP/PLA composites for insulation and energy efficiency.