Bio-based flexible polyurethane foams derived from succinic polyol: Mechanical and acoustic performances

Polyurethane foams have widespread applications as temperature insulators, sound barriers and shock absorbers. The market requests for these materials growth annually and its production pose serious environmental problems. In this article, several polyurethane foams compositions are obtained by partially replacing a conventional synthetic polyol with a new bio-polyol made from succinic acid. The effects of water content, carbon black addition and bio-succinic polyol replacement on foam properties are investigated. Results show that the addition of bio-succinic polyol significantly changes the foam morphology leading to both an increase of the interconnectivity and an enhancement of mechanical properties. Furthermore, the addition of carbon black modifies the cell morphology and increases the foam density; consequently, an improvement in sound insulation performance at high frequency values is recorded. Due to this peculiar combination of mechanical and acoustic properties, the produced bio-foams may be considered as potential substitutes of conventional flexible polyurethane foams to reduce vibrations, noise pollution, and consequently increase comfort in automobile and aircraft industries.