The thesis work described below was carried out at the Research and Development laboratories of Toscana Gomma S.p.A. group located in Robbio (PV) - Italy, a leading company in the production of Flexible Polyurethane Foams for the Automotive sector, as part of the Laurea Magistrale Plus project of the University of Pavia which involves collaboration with chemical companies operating in various sectors of activity. Flexible polyurethane foams are a class of thermosetting polymeric materials that, thanks to their versatility, are used in numerous fields of application, for example in the "automotive interior" sector, packaging and padding for furniture. The growing global attention to the reduction of the use of fossil resources (both for the concern related to their availability in the future and the pollution problems associated with them) has generated a great effort aimed at the development of new technologies capable of using raw materials from renewable sources to produce polymers with a lower environmental impact without negative impact on their physical-mechanical properties. Specifically, the Automotive sector has proven to be particularly sensitive to the environmental sustainability of the polymeric materials used by setting very aggressive time targets aimed at reducing emissions, using alternative sources to fossil fuels, and studying various methods of recycling materials. A possible way to meet the demands of car manufacturers and related industries is therefore represented by the development of building blocks obtained from natural/renewable sources (e.g. biomass) with an identical chemical structure to the analogs obtained from fossil fuels to be used for the production of precursors (e.g. polyester polyols) of polyurethane polymers. A further opportunity is given by the chemical modification of oils of natural origin (e.g. soy, palm) to make them usable (for example by introducing reactive hydroxyl groups) in the synthesis of the desired polyurethane polymers. The mechanical recycling of polyurethane foams is a technology that has been known for some time, while chemical recycling (e.g. acidolysis) is currently the focus of research and development activities. The first of the described paths was chosen as the objective of this thesis, that is, the synthesis of a polyester polyol prepared starting from building blocks (glycols and dicarboxylic acids) of natural origin. This polyol was then characterized according to the reference industrial specifications and subsequently used to prepare flexible polyurethane foams to be used in selected automotive applications as an alternative to similar materials prepared from standard raw materials, i.e. of fossil origin. The technical equivalence of the “bio” foams thus obtained was verified through the characterization and measurement of the physical-mechanical parameters required by the specific application. The renewable origin of these products was measured and certified through the analysis of C14 according to the “% Biobased Carbon Content ASTM D6866-21 Method B (AMS)” method by a certified external laboratory.
Il lavoro di tesi qui di seguito descritto è stato svolto presso i laboratori di Ricerca e Sviluppo della sede di Robbio (PV), Head Quarter del gruppo Toscana Gomma S.p.A., azienda leader nella produzione di Poliuretani Espansi Flessibili per il settore Automotive, nell’ambito del progetto Laurea Magistrale Plus dell’Università di Pavia che prevede la collaborazione con aziende chimiche operanti in vari settori di attività. I poliuretani espansi flessibili sono una classe di materiali polimerici termoindurenti che, grazie alla loro versatilità, trovano impiego in numerosi campi di applicazione, ad esempio nel settore “automotive interior”, dell’imballaggio e delle imbottiture per l’arredamento. La crescente attenzione a livello globale per la riduzione dell’utilizzo delle risorse fossili (sia per la preoccupazione legata alla disponibilità nel futuro che ai problemi di inquinamento ad esse associate) ha generato un grande sforzo mirato allo sviluppo di nuove tecnologie capaci di utilizzare materie prime da fonti rinnovabili per la produzione di polimeri aventi minor impatto ambientale ma con proprietà fisico-meccaniche comparabili agli analoghi ottenuti da processi standard. Nello specifico, il settore Automotive si è dimostrato particolarmente sensibile alla sostenibilità ambientale dei materiali polimerici utilizzati fissando obiettivi temporali molto aggressivi volti alla riduzione delle emissioni, all’utilizzo di fonti alternative a quelle fossili nonché allo studio di vari metodi di riciclo dei materiali. Una possibile strada per soddisfare le richieste delle case automobilistiche e del relativo indotto è quindi rappresentata dallo sviluppo di building blocks ottenuti da fonti naturali/rinnovabili (es. biomasse) aventi identica struttura chimica degli analoghi ottenuti da fonti fossili da utilizzarsi per la produzione di precursori (es. polioli poliesteri) di polimeri poliuretanici. Una ulteriore opportunità è data dalla modifica chimica di oli di origine naturale (es. soia, palma) per renderli utilizzabili (ad esempio introducendo gruppi ossidrili reattivi) nella sintesi dei polimeri poliuretanici desiderati. Il riciclo meccanico delle schiume poliuretaniche è una tecnologia nota da tempo mentre il riciclo chimico (es. acidolisi) è attualmente al centro di attività di ricerca e sviluppo. Come obiettivo di questa tesi è stata scelta la prima delle strade descritte, ovvero la sintesi di un poliolo poliestere preparato partendo da building blocks (glicoli e acidi bicarbossilici) di origine naturale. Tale poliolo è stato poi caratterizzato secondo le specifiche industriali di riferimento e successivamente utilizzato per preparare schiume poliuretaniche flessibili da impiegare nelle applicazioni automotive selezionate in alternativa agli analoghi materiali preparati da materie prime standard, ovvero di origine fossile. L’equivalenza tecnica delle schiume “bio” così ottenute è stata verificata attraverso la caratterizzazione e la misura dei parametri fisico-meccanici richiesti dalla specifica applicazione. L’origine rinnovabile di tali prodotti è stata misurata e certificata attraverso l’analisi del C14 secondo il metodo “% Biobased Carbon Content ASTM D6866-21 Method B (AMS)” da un laboratorio esterno certificato.
SINTESI DI POLIOLI POLIESTERE UTILIZZANDO BUILDING BLOCKS DA FONTI RINNOVABILI: UN FUTURO SOSTENIBILE PER POLIURETANI ESPANSI FLESSIBILI
SCOTTI, FILIPPO
2023/2024
Abstract
The thesis work described below was carried out at the Research and Development laboratories of Toscana Gomma S.p.A. group located in Robbio (PV) - Italy, a leading company in the production of Flexible Polyurethane Foams for the Automotive sector, as part of the Laurea Magistrale Plus project of the University of Pavia which involves collaboration with chemical companies operating in various sectors of activity. Flexible polyurethane foams are a class of thermosetting polymeric materials that, thanks to their versatility, are used in numerous fields of application, for example in the "automotive interior" sector, packaging and padding for furniture. The growing global attention to the reduction of the use of fossil resources (both for the concern related to their availability in the future and the pollution problems associated with them) has generated a great effort aimed at the development of new technologies capable of using raw materials from renewable sources to produce polymers with a lower environmental impact without negative impact on their physical-mechanical properties. Specifically, the Automotive sector has proven to be particularly sensitive to the environmental sustainability of the polymeric materials used by setting very aggressive time targets aimed at reducing emissions, using alternative sources to fossil fuels, and studying various methods of recycling materials. A possible way to meet the demands of car manufacturers and related industries is therefore represented by the development of building blocks obtained from natural/renewable sources (e.g. biomass) with an identical chemical structure to the analogs obtained from fossil fuels to be used for the production of precursors (e.g. polyester polyols) of polyurethane polymers. A further opportunity is given by the chemical modification of oils of natural origin (e.g. soy, palm) to make them usable (for example by introducing reactive hydroxyl groups) in the synthesis of the desired polyurethane polymers. The mechanical recycling of polyurethane foams is a technology that has been known for some time, while chemical recycling (e.g. acidolysis) is currently the focus of research and development activities. The first of the described paths was chosen as the objective of this thesis, that is, the synthesis of a polyester polyol prepared starting from building blocks (glycols and dicarboxylic acids) of natural origin. This polyol was then characterized according to the reference industrial specifications and subsequently used to prepare flexible polyurethane foams to be used in selected automotive applications as an alternative to similar materials prepared from standard raw materials, i.e. of fossil origin. The technical equivalence of the “bio” foams thus obtained was verified through the characterization and measurement of the physical-mechanical parameters required by the specific application. The renewable origin of these products was measured and certified through the analysis of C14 according to the “% Biobased Carbon Content ASTM D6866-21 Method B (AMS)” method by a certified external laboratory.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
SINTESI DI POLIOLI POLIESTERE UTILIZZANDO BUILDING BLOCKS DA FONTI RINNOVABILI UN FUTURO SOSTENIBILE PER POLIURETANI ESPANSI FLESSIBILI.pdf
accesso aperto
Descrizione: Il progetto di tesi LM+ realizzato presso i laboratori di ricerca e sviluppo di Toscana Gomma S.p.A. ha come scopo quello di ricercare alternative sostenibili (non fossili) per la produzione di poliuretano espanso flessibile.
Dimensione
9.33 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
9.33 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
Per maggiori informazioni e per verifiche sull'eventuale disponibilità del file scrivere a: unitesi@unipv.it.
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/28523