Biopolyols obtained from rapeseed oil as a replacement of petrochemical components in the production of ecological thermal insulation materials

In the present work, we report on closed-cell rigid polyurethane foams containing up to 100% rapeseed oil-based polyols
instead of petrochemical polyol. Two biopolyols synthesized via either transesterification or epoxidation and subsequent ring opening reaction pathways were tested. Both biopolyols show similar hydroxyl number, while they differ in chemical structures having thus significantly different average molecular weights and functionalities. While the low-functional biopolyol synthesized via transesterification exhibits high reactivity during foaming, the high-functional biopolyol synthesized via epoxidation and subsequent ring opening reaction is less reactive but leading to the PUR foams with a high cell density. Moreover, the cell density increases with the increasing content of the EPO_DEG biopolyol resulting in a positive effect on the functional properties of the obtained PU foams.