Photodegradation of Polyurethane Foam Obtained from Renewable Resource–Pulp Production Byproducts

Rigid polyurethane foams were obtained from pulp production byproducts. Three different polyols were used—tall oil polyol, lignopolyol and commercially available polyol for comparison. The obtained rigid polyurethane foams underwent photodegradation at 60°C temperature and at 0.89 W/m² intensity of UV light radiation up to 1000 h. Changes in chemical structure were observed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy was used to study changes in cell morphology. Spectrophotometery was used to determine yellowing of the foams. Results showed that the thickness of degraded layer for rigid polyurethane foams obtained from pulp production byproducts was ∼25% less than for foams from commercially available polyol. Overall results suggest that rigid polyurethane foams from lignopolyol show better performance against photodegradation.