PREPARATION OF MOLDING RESINS FROM INEXPENSIVE BY-PRODUCTS - PROPERTIES OF MOLDINGS MADE FROM PHENOLATED PITCH LIGNIN WITH A CONVENTIONAL NOVOLAC EXTENSION AND FROM PHENOLATED PITCH LIGNIN AT DIFFERENT RESIN LEVELS

Enhancement of the physical proprieties of mouldings prepared with phe nolated pitch/lignin resins was investigated. Two procedures were foll owed, namely : 1. extension of the phenolated resin content with conve ntional novolacs; 2. reducing the existing phenolated resin level by h alf. Concurrently with the latter procedure, various catalytic systems were selected for high temperature treatment of the pitch/lignin mixt ure and assessed for their suitability and possible contribution to en hancement of resin properties in mouldings. The first alternative indi cated that incorporation of a relative large amount of expensive conve ntional novolac into phenolated resin only brought about a small gain in overall properties. The second alternative clearly showed that phen olated pitch/lignin systems had better tensile properties at lower res in level but forfeited in dimensional stability. These findings accent uated the role of the filler for moulding. However, all the pitch/lign in resin systems lacked the superior properties of a conventional phen ol novolac.