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Filamentous green algae additions to isocyanate based foams
Author(s) -
Johnson M.,
Shivkumar S.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.20794
Subject(s) - algae , isocyanate , materials science , ultimate tensile strength , polyol , composite number , composite material , scanning electron microscope , cladophora , chemical engineering , polyurethane , botany , biology , engineering
Filamentous green algae, Cladophora glomerata, obtained from rivers and streams in California was used as a filler in isocyanate‐based foams. Up to 40 wt % dried and chopped algal fibers were added to the isocyanate–polyol mix. The algal fibers and foam samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The effective hydroxyl number of the algae and the tensile and compressive properties of the composite foam were measured. The results indicate that foams with a uniform cell size were obtained for algal fiber lengths between 500 and 600 μm. Peak mechanical properties were obtained for algae concentrations between 5 and 10 wt %. The elastic modulus of the foam follows a power law relationship with density, with an exponent of 1.6. The overall hydroxyl number for the algae is around 300. The hydroxyl groups in the algae can serve as efficient sites for reactions with isocyanate and hence algae fibers can act as reinforcing fillers. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 2469–2477, 2004