Preparationandcharacterizationofpolyurethane/charcoalfoam

composite
Taranitharan Thiruselvan*, Dr. Firuz Zainuddin*
* Polymer Engineering, School of Material Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP),
Kompleks Pusat Pengajian Jejawi 2, Taman Muhibbah, 02600 Jejawi, Arau, Perlis, Malaysia.

Abstract

In this research, polyurethane rigid foam with charcoal filler were prepared and characterized. The
purpose is to use coconut shell charcoal filler which was grinded to obtain powder form to be used as
particulate filler in polyurethane foam to produce a composite with its mechanical strength to be
identified by several testings. Properties of the composite foam were compared with the control PU foam
with four percentage considered (2%, 4%, 6% and 8%). Two batch were produced with different
procedures where the first batch the filler were mixed with polyol first them MDI while for the second
batch is where the filler were mixed with MDI then polyol. Compression test was executed to compare
the modulus and the compressive strength of the filled foam. Density test were also carried out to
determine the effect of filler loading on the PU foam. The density does not vary much when more filler is
added due to the characteristic structure of the charcoal filler. Morphology of the foam surface that
undergone the compression test were probed using Scanning Electron Microscopy. The images obtained
shows the ruptured closed cells and the difference in average cell size upon filler loading. The
spectroscopy behavior of the charcoal composite PU foam was analyzed using the Fourier Transform
Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The chemical structure and functional groups were inspected from the peak
analysis of the sample tested.

Keywords: Polyurethane foam; Preparation; Characterization; Charcoal; Coconut shell; Composite

1. Introduction
Many yer go, pltc ndutre were ung
dfferent knd of fom compoton to produce
vrety of pltc product uch polyethylene nd
expnded polytyrene untl they dcovered
polyurethne nd tht t could be ltered n mny
dfferent wy.
however, although ome properte were enhanced,
there is some lo of prime performnce. Therefore,
to undertnd the behvor of these improvement
and losses caused by additives added such as fller
(crbon blck, chrcol, lc nd mc) to plm ol-
derved polyurethne ren several tests such as
thermal, mechanical and morphology test were
done.

The outcomes of thee tet undoubtedly

Polyurethne based fom hve been validated tht th type of rens nd t compote
commerclly ued n dvere vrety of application cn be ued to augment or mntn the traits of the
ubequently from 1940. Even now we can notice pure ren nd affixing ome extr features to the
that polyurethane foam plays an important role in rgd polyurethne fom manufactured. Bede, the
industrial sectors. Mostly these rigid polyurethane mjor ngredent to mke the polyurethne fom
foam is used as thermal insulating materials for hve been lghtly reduced the fller ply t prt
construction purpose and for sole insulation in to fll up the mtrx of polyurethne to reduce the
refrigerators and freezers [1]. Polyurethne re cot nd uge of petroleum bed ren [5].
condered eter or mde eter of crbonc
cd. They re ynthezed by the recton of
polyfunctonl hydroxyl compound wth Tody, hgh rte of urbnzton encountered n
polyfunctonl ocynte. certn regon, well n ncreng wrene
bout utnblty, whch men tht the
chemcl ued n ndutre move more towrd
n generl, ctlyt, urfctnt, nd blowng gent envronmentl frendly nd to ve the depleton of
re lo employed to varies the morphology nd petroleum bed chemcl. Th goe me to the
properte of the foam cell tructure. In some producton of polyurethne rgd fom tht drvng
cases, these additives were already mixed with the the future demnd for bo-bed ocynte nd
polyol and diisocyanates. Mot viable docynte polyol. methylene dphenyl docynte (MD),
nd polyol re developed from the rpdly doe not hve n effectve ubttute from
dmnhng nturl reource petroleum [2]. For commerclzed bo-bed ocynte, the next
now, the substitution is only been discovered for mot mportnt mterl n rgd polyurethne fom
polyol to be produced from renewble reource producton, polyol whch were ble to be
uch ft, ol nd trch from agriculture. A commerclly produced ung plm ol to ntlze
number of reercher hve depicted the uage of the utnblty nd help n reducng the depleton
renewble rw mterl to concoct PU foams. ome of petroleum product.
of them hve scrutinized the potentials of
convertng vegetble ol nto polyol for making PU Fller mnly dded to polyurethne fom to gve
fom. extr properte for the pplcton purpoe nd
__________ thee properte vlued mot fller re chep.
Chrcol powder fller lo very chep form of
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +6016 4477057
crbon fller nd the chrcol powder producton n
E-mail address: taranitharan@gmail.com
term of reung the coconut hell chrcol
(Thiruselvan.T)
very productve. nce the powdered coconut hell
chrcol flled rgd PU compote fom h not been
In the lte 1980, the Mlyn Plm Ol Bord reported extenvely n the lterture, n
(MPOB) already commenced in manufacturing polyol undertndng of the compreon performnce of
from epoxdzed plm ol [3, 4]. There is some the powdered coconut hell chrcol flled fom
research that already been using polyol decended requred nd covered n th tudy. The dheon
from refned bleched deodorzed (RBD) plm ol to between the chrcol prtculte nd the polymerc
make rgd PU fom. The denty of the obtned PU mtrx, regent ued n fom preprton, nd the
fom provded is pproxmtely 200 kg/m3 wth dperon of chrcol fller n the fom re fctor
compreve trength greter thn 1 MP. Plm ol- controllng fom mechncl performnce.
bed polyol cn be wrought for producng rgd
nd em-rgd fom to be utilized wll, celng- The mn purpose of th reerch to determine
pnel nd nultor. the properte of the chrcol flled rgd
polyurethne fom from the testings carried out.
Charcoal filler is processed into required size and
The progressive rife uage of polymer based
used in different percentage for filler incooperation
nultor n vehcle trnmon ytem nd
with polyurethane to form a composite foam.
dtrbutor h fronted to n ongong pursuit for
Different mixing method were introduced and the
qulty nd low cot insulators. Th pursuit h,
properte of the chrcol flled rgd polyurethne
consecutively, reulted n amended performnce
fom re determned by denty tet, compreve
nd cot profits, brought bout by the ue of new
tet, therml behvor, morphology nd
compote nd polymerc ren. Sporadically,
pectrocopy. Denty tet done manually by
2
weighing the mass and dividing its volume. Density formulton for control nd PU wth the chrcol
test is done to determine the porosity of the foam. powder.
Compreve tet done ung the ntron mchne
followng the (TM D1621). Th tet scheme Table 3
deignates technique for ascertaining the The formulton of control PU fom.
compreve properte of unyielding cellulr Mterl Rto
mterl, predominantly expnded pltc, bed Polyol 1
on tet mchne crohed moton. Morphology ocynte 1.1
nly oberved by ung the cnnng Electron Coconut hell Chrcol Powder -
Mcrocopy (EM) nly. Fourer Trnmon
nfr Red Chrcterzton (FTR) run to nlyze Table 4
the chemcl nly nd to dentfy the functional The formulton of expected coconut hell chrcol
group on rgd polyurethne fom with chrcol fller powder ued.
loded composite. Mterl Rto
Polyol 1
2. Experimental ocynte 1.1
Coconut hell Chrcol Powder 2%, 4% nd 6%
2.1. Materials
2.2. Sample Preparation
The mn mterl n producng the coconut hell
chrcol flled rgd polymer fom polyol, MD nd The charcoal in its original form cannot be used as
coconut hell chrcol powder. The polyol ued a filler due to its size and need to be processed to
the Mkmfom 9935B/35 whch uppled from acquire the right size which is smaller than 63
Mkm Polyol dn. Bhd. Mkmfom 9935B/35 microns. There were few processes done to get the
polyether polyol wth mne ctlyt (<0.8%) small particulate form of charcoal filler from the
whch wll rect wth ocynte to form chunk of coconut shell charcoals which were
polyurethne. Tble 1 how the phycl nd the originally in briquette form. Thus, it is grinded,
chemcl properte of the polyol. The docynte sieved and oven dried before used as filler. The
ued n th tudy Mkmnte 80 nd uppled grndng proce done by ung RT-34 Mnture
from Mkm Polyol dn. Bhd. Chemcl compoton Grnder whch ue the prncple of hmmer nd
of Mkmnte 80 follow; Polymerc MD (C collon between grndng chmber nd jgged
No. 9016-87-9) wth concentrton of 55% whle the cruhng lner, nd djut the output fnene by
other 45% Methylene Dphenyldocynte (C dfferent pore ze of replceble flter creen,
No. 101-68-8). Tble 2 how the phycl nd utble for mll cle producton of every mterl.
chemcl properte of docynte. Wth grnder pnnng t 3450 RPM the fnene of
the grnded rngng from 5mm to 6mm. Chrcol
Table 1 brquette cruhed nd flled n the grnder. The
Phycl nd chemcl properte of Mkmfom grndng proce done repetedly for to cqure
9935B/35 uppled from Mkm Polyol dn. Bhd [6]. fner prtculte form.
Phycl Yellow Lqud
Odor Chrctertc The evng proce done to obtn the expected
Denty (25C) Mn 1.10 g/cm3 ze of the coconut hell chrcol powder. centfc
Vcoty (25C) 250 50 cp eve wth flt meh ze of 63-mcron, whch lo
the dered ze for the prtculte fller is used to
olublty n wter Dolve n wter
sieve the grinded charcoal powder. evng done
Flhpont Not pplcble
nd the powder collected n clen contner. The
open evng nd envronment humdty mght hve
Table 2
cued the chrcol powder to be lghtly humd nd
Phycl nd Chemcl Properte of Mkmnte 80
tck together thu the eved chrcol powder
uppled from Mkm Polyol dn. Bhd. [6].
Phycl Brown lqud
Odor Chrctertc
The coconut hell chrcol ued uppled by Denty (25C) 1.22 1.25 g/cm3
Hrrnwre Chrcol Brquette. The chrcol Vcoty (25C) 150 250 cp
whch n the brquette form grnded nd eved olublty n wter Not oluble n wter nd
by centfc eve wth pproxmtely 63-mcron rect wth t
ze powder eved. The fom prepred bed on mmedtely dred n oven t 80 oC for bout
the mold volume. The mold ued to prepre the overnght before ued for recton. The oven dryng
fom n rectngulr frme wth dmenon of cloed proce repet every tme jut before the fller
rectngulr mold 250mm x 190mm x 75mm. For dded nto the proce lter on to vod humdty.
control PU fom the weght rto of polyol to
ocynte l : 1.1. The totl weght rto of PU Mxng proce wll be done n two wy tht
fom 220 g (ccordng to dmenon of mxng of fller n polyol nd docynte. Polyol
rectngulr mold). Tble 3 nd Tble 4 how the nd chrcol powder re mxed together ung hgh

3
peed trrer wth 2000 rpm n 20 seconds. fter 2.3.4. Morphology (cnnng Electron Mcrocopy)
mxng polyol wth chrcol powder the docynte
dded nd mxed for 20 econds at 2000rpm untl fter the pecmen w deformed, EM mchne
the mxture blended well together homogeneouly model JOEL-JM-6460-L ued to exmne the
untl the mxture relee het ndctng the urfce morphology. The pecmen w cut nto
ntton of the chemcl recton. nother et of mll ze whch 10 mm x 10 mm x 10mm to
mxng done wth lght chnge n procedure undergo EM. EM h n dvntge n uffcently
where chrcol powder frt mxed wth produce cler enlrgement of the mge to vew
docynte before ddng n the polyol. The the cell nd t functon by cnnng the pecmen
mxture wll be poured nto the cloed mold wth wth hgh energy bem of electron.
dmenon of 250mm x 190mm x 75mm. fter
pourng the mxture, the mold h to cloe ft
before the mxture rng nd overflow. The mold 4,4- methylene
Polyol + Coconut
wth polyurethne fom plced n room shell charcoal dphenyl
temperture nd cured for 1 hour and post cured in powder dsocynte +
oven at 800C with the mold for another 1 hour. fter Coconut shell
curng the mple tken out from the mold. The charcoal
Mix (2000 rpm in powder
overall flow chart is as shown in Figure 1 . for 20 sec)
Mix (2000 rpm in
for 20 sec)
2.3. Characterization of Samples
4,4- methylene
dphenyl Polyol
2.3.1. Denty Meurement

Denty the m per unt volume of ubtnce, Mixing process (2000 rpm for
the ymbol ued for denty (Greek letter rho)
nd t unt re kg/m3. Where volume meure
Casting into mould
of the pce occuped by old nd meured by
multply length by length, f the length n meter
the unt of volume cubc meter (m3) nd m Curing at room temperature for 1
the mount of mtter n body nd t meured n
klogrm (kg). From the bulk fom produced 5 cube Postcured in oven for another 1 hour at
mple wth dmenon of 50mm x 50mm x 50mm
cut nd teted for t denty nd the verge
denty wll be recorded for ech type of Rigid Polyurethane foam filled
formulton. with coconut shell charcoal
composite
2.3.2. Compreon Tet

n th reerch, unxl compreon w ued to 1. Density Measurement

tet nd evluted the trn-rte effect of the 2. Compression test
compote mterl. The pprtu ued for th 3. Morphology (SEM)
tetng the me tht ued n tenle tet. 4. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)
The only mechncl tetng ued for th reerch
the compreon tet. Compreon tetng w Fig. 1. The flow chrt of methodology.
conducted ccordng to TM D1621-10 ung 3. Results and discussion
Unverl Tetng Mchne (UTM) ntron 5560
mchne. The mple dmenon cube of 3.1. Compression strength
50mmx50mmx50 mm. The crohed peed for
compreon tet 10mm/mn t 253 oC. n The variation of compressive strength over
verge of fve mple reported. charcoal filler loading is clearly shown in Fig. 2. From
the bar graph in Fig. 2, the compressive strength
2.3.3. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy tends to increase as the percentage of charcoal filler
(FTIR) were added until certain percentage and it begins to
decrease from the highest compressive strength
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) value. However, the decrease in value still shows
machine model Perkin Elmer FT-IR Spectrometer better compressive strength value compared to the
Spectrum RX-1 was used to characterize the unfilled polyurethane foam. There is a difference in
chemical structures of the obtained rigid charcoal value between the set data of compressive strength
filled PU foam. The PU charcoal composite foam between the 1st batch; where the charcoal filler is
were scraped to obtain the powder foam of the foam mixed with polyol first then MDI and the 2 nd batch;
for about 0.01 grams to 0.03 grams to be clamped where the charcoal filler is mixed with MDI first then
in the FTIR infrared hole. It is tested from a spectrum polyol to produce the composite foam.
ranging from 4000 to 650 cm-1.

4

0.7
0.6
0.5
FILLER MIXED WITH POLYOL THEN
0.4 MDI
C ompressive strength (MPa) 0.3
0.2
0.1
FILLER MIXED WITH MDI THEN POLYOL
0
Percentage of charcoal filler added (%)
Fig. 2: Variation of compressive strength over
charcoal filler loading.
The variation shows that the compressive strength
set data collected for the 2 nd batch is always higher
than the 1st batch. This differences is mainly due to
the mixing technique. Polyol is known to have a
lower viscosity and molecular weight compared to
the MDI. Thus, when mixing the filler with polyol is
much easier and it can be dispersed easier and
faster throughout the polyol. However, the next
addition that is the MDI have higher viscosity and
need longer time to be homogeneously mixed with
the filler polyol mixture. There arises a problem as
the reaction of polyurethane foam to start is very
fast and this time restriction causes to reduce the
time for mixing the polyol filler mixture and MDI.
This might cause the filler not to be well dispersed
throughout the polyurethane foam matrix and
reduced the value of the compressive strength.
Nevertheless, the 2nd batch where the filler is
mixed with MDI takes longer time to be
homogeneously mixed and dispersed throughout the
MDI compared to the filler polyol mixing due to the
viscosity and the surface tension of the MDI. The
advantage of doing this mixing technique is that the
next added compound which is the polyol have
lower viscosity and can mix faster accordingly to the
reaction to produce the foam and ease the process
and there is also less chances of the charcoal filler to
dispense. Thus, the filler is much well dispersed in
this polyurethane foam matrix and shows the
enhance in strength.
3.2. Compression Modulus
When the modulus of a foam increase, the
compressive strength must also tally with the
modulus [7]. In the region of where the modulus is
calculated in the raw data plotted by the Instrons
lab automation software Maestro, the foam is said to
have the deformation of which the foam can still
returns to its original size after the stress is
removed. In other word, it is undergoing elastic
deformation. Fig. 3 shows that as in tally with the
compressive strength the 4% charcoal filler loaded
foam shows the highest modulus value and it can be
analyzed that it shows an increasing trend compared
to the control foam which is from 2% to 6% of the
filler loading although there is a slight fall in
modulus value for the 6% filler loaded foam.
The presence of filler during the foam expansion
affect the chemical structure of the foam and this
causes the foam to become brittle and have lower
capability to deform elastically. This is the reason
why the 6% filler loaded foam shows less modulus
value than the 4% filler filled foam. Explaining 4%
filler loaded foam shows the highest value in
modulus because it is the best ratio of filler that can
be distributed uniformly in the polyurethane foam
matrix and this lowering the pin point of pressure
which could cause fracture of the cell.
The pressure pin point will usually occur in the
area where there is agglomeration of fillers which
causes uneven distribution of force or pressure to
cause the cells in the foam to fracture and lowers
the ability to reform its cell size after the force was
removed.
7
6
5
FILLER MIXED WITH POLYOL THEN MDI
4
Modulus (MPa)
3
2
FILLER MIXED1WITH MDI THEN POLYOL
0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08
Percentage of charcoal filler added (%)
5
 Fig. 3: Variation of compression modulus over
charcoal filler loading.
3.3. Density Test
Density test is done by dividing the mass of the
particles in a material by the overall volume
occupied by it. The overall volume sum is including
inter-particle voids volume, particles volume and
the internal volume of the pores [8]. For foam
produced in closed molds the density seems to tally
with the compressive strength value as filler loading
amount varies. The density change can be observed
through the morphology of the cell itself. In Fig. 4,
the graph shows that the highest density value is
shown by the foam loaded with 4% of charcoal fillers
with the 2nd batch showing slightly higher value than
1st batch.
This is mainly due to the mixing method, where
the viscosity play its role as explained in third
paragraph in section 3.1. On the other hand, for the
lowest density is shown by the 8% filler loaded
foam. As filler increases during the mixture it is very
hard to ensure that the dispersion of filler is well and
uniform, thus leading to agglomeration of the filler
[9].
55
54
53
FILLER MIXED WITH POLYOL FIRST THEN MDI
(1st Batch) 52
DENS ITY (kg/m^3) 51
50
49
FILLER MIXED WITH MDI FIRST THEN POLYOL
(2nd Batch) 48
Amount of filler loading (%)
Fig. 4: Variation of density over filler loading based
on two mixing method.
However, the decrease is not much as and varies
a lot in raw data obtained this is caused by the
natural characteristic of the charcoal particles itself
as they have millions of pores to absorbs air
molecules [10]. This is because during the charcoal
making process the charcoal will be treated with
oxygen which then increases its adsorbent
characteristics. Hence as this occluded air molecules
increases; the bulk density tends to decrease.
3.4. Morphology (SEM)
Scanning electron microscopy result were shown
in the following Fig. 5 to Fig. 8 according to the
percentage of filler added. The accelerated voltage
used was 10 kV. The scanned cross-sectional
surfaces are showing ruptured cells as the foam
were scanned after the compression testing were
done. It can be noticed that some unruptured cells
are almost spherical in shape with many windows
which shows that they are closed cells [11]. The size
of the foaming cell decreases as the percentage of
fillers added increases [12]. From the result of SEM
itself there is a gradual change in cell size averagely
from Fig. 5 to Fig. 8.
However, to be precise the uniformity of the cell
size is varied when filler added this is because the
dispersion of fillers in the matrix during the foaming
will cause difference in force to get the foaming
done. Thus, causing it to be smaller as the more
filler is added more force needed for foaming with
the filler incorporated on the cells and vice versa.
[12]. As more filler added its seems the rigidity will
increase due to the filler to fill up the spaces in the
foam causing a much dense yet rigid structure.
Thus, adding too much of fillers could cause drop of
foam properties and the right amout of charcoal
filler percentage for filling the PU foam is around 4%.
The average cell is approximately calculated as
the size were already out of shape due to the
compression effect which shows a lot of ruptured
cells as in Fig. 7. Average cell size of control PU foam
is approximately about 500m. However, upon filler
6
addition from 2%, 4%, 6% to 8% there is gradual
change in average cell size accordingly from 450
m, 400 m, 380 m to 300 m.
Then for there is a peak identified after the
charcoal filler is incorporated with the PU foam. This
region indicates the hydrogen-bonded O-H stretch
as noted it may obscure other peaks in this region.
Particularly, the newly marked peak in this region
which lays in the range of 2820-2780 show the
functional group, N-CH3 the methylamino radical.

In general, there is no much difference in peak

Fig. 5: Control PU foam without charcoal fillers.
from the results obtained for the first batch and the
second batch due to the same aggregate of
chemicals and materials used in process while the
difference is just focused on the method of
processing which also proves that charcoal does not
have any specific chemical reaction with polyol or
MDI and a good choice to be used as filler.

Cont rol
2517.84
2951.57 2168.61 928.80
3632.51
3313.78 2878.71 2028.57 1605.81
1394.21
1302.24 755.22
1709.64

2% P olyol
1517.75 1216.91 1075.77

3632.44 2985.31 2809.22 2347.35 2027.06

3302.51 2879.04 2171.11 1606.22 930.89
1393.92
1302.80 757.93
1710.94

%T 1518.55 1218.01 1079.27

4% P olyol
2026.42
2986.83 2808.81 2165.81 930.61
3631.83

Fig. 6: PU foam filled with 2% charcoal filler. 3299.00 2879.19 1606.10

1394.08
1302.67 757.43
1710.74

1077.35
8% P olyol 1517.83 1217.23
2807.61 1080.46
1517.13
2987.99 2350.49 2026.18 1217.17
3631.96 3299.74 2879.04 2164.26 1604.87
1394.22
1711.02 1302.36 757.77

4000.0 3600 3200 2800 2400 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 650.0
cm-1

Fig. 9: FTIR spectrum of Control PU foam and 1st

batch charcoal filler mixed composite foam.

Control
2517.84
2951.57 2168.61 928.80
3632.51
3313.78 2028.57 1605.81
2878.71 1394.21

Fig. 7: PU foam filled with 4% charcoal filler.

1302.24 755.22
1709.64

2% MDI
1517.75 1216.91 1075.77
2806.91
2987.09 2349.05 2028.38 928.42
3633.49
3303.10 2878.83 2168.08 1605.62
1394.02
1302.53 756.96
1710.84

%T 1517.30 1216.95 1079.65

4% MDI
2879.06 929.54
3313.95 2988.52 2346.89 2031.38
3632.22
2808.85 2170.27 1606.01
1394.12 756.76
1710.46 1302.32

1217.78 1080.57
8% MDI 1518.51
1517.13 1217.36
2987.28 2808.65 2347.41 2027.29 930.72
3632.01 3303.25 2879.17 2167.62 1605.09
1394.17
1302.38 1079.75 757.02
1709.94

4000.0 3600 3200 2800 2400 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 650.0
cm-1

Fig. 8: PU foam filled with 8% charcoal filler. Fig. 9: FTIR spectrum of Control PU foam and 1st
3.5. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) batch charcoal filler mixed composite foam

The FTIR spectrum of the PU foams prepared from

palm oil-based polyol is shown in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10
exhibit the characteristic peaks of urethane bonds at
wavenumbers ranging from 3314 to 3299 cm-1 (-NH
stretching), 1709 to 1712 cm-1 (-CO stretching)
1517 to 1519 cm-1 (-NH bending) and 1393 to 1395
cm-1 (-OCONH asymmetric stretching). They also
exhibit a characteristic peak of unreacted NCO
groups which is collective in materials synthesized
using spare isocyanate relative to polyol.
4. Conclusion
Wrapping up this research, the preparation of the
charcoal filled polyurethane composite foam were
accomplished and the characterization were done by
analyzing the morphology and mechanical testing
data. Result obtained were sorted to two set of data
due to the two-different mixing method used.
Conclusion were drawn for compression test that the
particulate charcoal filler has the credibility to
enhance the strength of the foam. Upon addition of

7
the charcoal filler 2% and 4% f filler content the References
strength and the modulus increases correspondingly
and decreases upon further addition of filler of 6%
and 8%. However, the decrease is still considered [1]
better than the result control PU foam. From here it
is concluded that the optimum amount charcoal
filler addition into the polyurethane foam matrix lays
in the range of 2% to 6%. Notably the 2nd batch [2]
results show an average of better results compared
to the 1st batch. This is due to the viscosity or the
texture of the MDI that said to be soften upon the [3]
stirring at 2000 rpm in the 2nd batch before adding
the filler and the polyol that be added is already less
viscous compared to MDI can be mixed
homogenenously much faster which is just about 20 [4]
second. Contrarywise, the 1st batch does not have
this advantage as the viscous MDI will be added
straight away which will need more time for mixing
to get homogeneous, and this race the reaction time [5]
for foaming. The compression modulus does tally
with the compression strength and density on the
whole. It can be noticed that the density does not
avert much eventhough the set of data correspond
the modulus and strength because of the the [6]
charcoal structure and processing nature to have
pores to adsorb air particle. Eventhough measures
were taken by oven drying the filler every time [7]
before incorporation were done there is still some
deviation.After observing the cell size and structure
of the PU charcoal composite foam under scanning
electron microscope (SEM) there is a gradual change
in size upon filler addition increase. The cell size [8]
tends to decrease as filler is added. However, there
is some difficulties if finding the filler agglomeration [9]
as only 0.24% of the total size of the cube tested
were cut and observed.Fourier transform infrared [10]
spectroscopy test were done to make sure that there
exist no extra chemicals that used in the production
of the charcoal to affect the chemical structure of
the polyurethane. Upon testing the results shown a [11]
positive result as there is no contamination that
could have affected the main structure of the
polyurethane foam as there is almost no difference
in peaks compared to filled and the control foam. [12]
Acknowledgment
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to
my project supervisor Dr. Firuz Zainuddin for
opportunities she had gave me to learn and to
complete the project under her supervision. I also
would like to thank both the master students under
my supervisor Suhaili and Hazmi for their guidance
that really helped me in solving most of the problem
on the study.
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