Performance of castor oil polyurethane resin in composite with the piassava fibers residue from the Amazon

The use of castor oil in producing polyurethane resins has been identified as one of the most promising options for the industry. The piassava fibers waste generated by the industry on a large scale presents excellent properties as a reinforcing agent due to its high lignin content characterized by chemical tests and FTIR. Composite boards consisting of a higher content of mercerized piassava fibers (10 mm, 85 wt.%) reinforced polyurethane castor oil-based resin (prepolymer (PP) and polyol (OM)) exhibited excellent performance. Composites with these properties have strong potential for medium-density applications ranging from biomedical prosthetics to civil partition walls and insulation linings. Alkali treatment removed the superficial impurities of piassava fibers, activating polar groups, and physical characterization reported excellent performance for all composites. Among the composites, the CP3 sample (composite reinforced with piassava fibers (85 wt.% fibers; 1.2:1-PP:OM)) stood out with higher density and lower swelling and water absorption percentage than other composites. FTIR results indicated NCO traces after the resin cured in the PU3 (1.2:1-PP:OM), possibly contributing to the interaction with the fibers. DMA results reported relevant information about more flexibility to CP1 (composite reinforced with piassava fibers (85 wt.% fibers; 0.8:1-PP:OM)) and CP3 than CP2 (composite reinforced with piassava fibers (85 wt.% fibers; 1:1-PP:OM)). The results suggest that the proper combination with natural products must lead to composites with potential applications as engineering materials.