One-pot synthesis of bio-polyol from vegetable oil for preparation of bio-polyurethane based porous sorbent with high oil adsorption capacity

In the present work, bio-polyol has been synthesized via controlled hydroxylation from sunflower oil in one conversion step using a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and formic acid. The influences of various reaction conditions for bio-polyol synthesis such as reaction time, temperature, the dosage of hydrogen peroxide, and formic acid were investigated. The bio-polyol was obtained from sunflower oil with hydroxyl number of 180 mg KOH/g, and functionality of 3.5 OH groups/mol. The as-synthesized sunflower oil-based polyol was then used for replacing fossil-based polyol in synthesis of bio-based polyurethane (PU), which was then simultaneously combined with coir biomass filler to fabricate the porous material with high oil adsorption capacity. The oil adsorption capacity of the new bio-based sorbent material was relatively high, up to 14.89 g/g. In comparison with pristine PU or lignocellulosic materials, the new sorbents had higher oil adsorption capacity.