Effects of Bleaching Treatment on the Properties of Bio-polyurethane Films from Liquefied Bamboo
Redzuan Mohammad Suffian James,
Paridah Md Tahir,
Norwahyuni Mohd Yusof,
Syeed Saifulazry Osman Al-Edrus,
Zurina Zainal Abidin,
Ismawati Palle,
Mohd Khairun Anwar Uyup,
Seng Hua Lee
Affiliations
Redzuan Mohammad Suffian James
Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Paridah Md Tahir
Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Faculty of Forestry and Environment, UPM, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Norwahyuni Mohd Yusof
Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Syeed Saifulazry Osman Al-Edrus
Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Zurina Zainal Abidin
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UPM, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Ismawati Palle
Faculty of Tropical Forestry, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Mohd Khairun Anwar Uyup
Forest Products Division, Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), 52109 Kepong, Selangor, Malaysia
Seng Hua Lee
Department of Wood Industry, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Cawangan Pahang Kampus Jengka, 26400 Bandar Tun Razak, Pahang, Malaysia; Institute for Infrastructure Engineering and Sustainable Management (IIESM), Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Malaysian bamboo residues were subjected to a liquefaction process. Bleaching of the liquefied product was carried out to reduce its coloration. Polyurethane (PU) films were then manufactured as a coating material by reacting the -OH groups in the bamboo material with isocyanate (-NCO). The study’s objective was to investigate the effects of bleaching on the properties of resulting polyurethane films and to elucidate its behavior as affected by the NCO/OH ratios. Bamboo residues, in powder form, were liquefied with polyethylene glycol (PEG 400) and glycerol (Gly) as reactive co-solvent, and sulphuric acid as catalyst. The obtained liquefied bamboo was then bleached with hydrogen peroxide. Bleached and unbleached liquefied bamboo were used to produce PU film by reacting isocyanate at NCO/OH ratios of 1.6, 1.8, 2.0, and 2.2. The results revealed that the NCO/OH ratios improved the mechanical performance of the PU films. Bleaching treatment slightly reduced the thermal stability and mechanical strength of the PU films. However, bleached PU films displayed lower water absorption and lower biodegradation than unbleached PU films. Nevertheless, the performance of the bleached PU films was still acceptable, indicating that the bleaching treatment using hydrogen peroxide is feasible to obtain semi-transparent film.
