LIGNIN IN PHENOLIC CLOSED CELL FOAMS: THERMAL STABILITY AND APPARENT DENSITY

ABSTRACT

Lignin, extracted from sugarcane bagasse, was used as a partial phenol substitute in phenolic closed cell foams. The thermal stability of phenolic and lignophenolic foams were studied using thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques, under air and nitrogen atmospheres. The results of apparent densities (Dapp) are also reported for both foams. The thermal analyses data showed that the decomposition depends on the atmosphere, that is, this process is not only a thermal one and, that it is feasible to replace part of the phenol by lignin in closed cell foams. Regarding the apparent density, that replacement was extremely advantageous because the Dapp value obtained placed the lignophenolic foam in the structural foam class.

Keywords:

• Lignin
• Phenolic foams
• Lignophenolic foams
• Thermal stability
• Closed cell foam
• Thermogravimetry
• Differential scanning calorimetry
• Apparent density

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We thank FAPESP for financial support.