POLYURETHANES FROM RENEWABLE RESOURCES - .2. PROPERTIES OF POLYMERS DERIVED FROM COCONUT DIETHANOLAMIDE - LABORATORY AND REACTION INJECTION-MOLDING EVALUATION

A commercial source of high purity coconut diethanolamide (CD) was inv estigated for its suitability to form solid polyurethanes in the bulk phase. Small-scale polymerisations were carried out in the laboratory after partial purification of the amide to remove residual diethanolam ine (DEA) which acts as a catalyst for polyurethane formation. Reactio n with diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) produced glassy brittle soli ds whilst the use of hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) yielded rubbers; some mechanical properties of the former polymer in particular were d etermined. Reaction injection moulding (RIM) polymerisations were also carried out on a larger scale using the native amide and at various s toichiometric ratios (r) of reactants, and the properties of these mat erials compared to those from the laboratory-scale investigations.