Rigid urethane foams from blown castor oils

Solvent-blown rigid urethane foams prepared from a low-cost polyol mixture composed of raw castor oil and triisopropanolamine have been described. Foams with higher compressive strengths can be obtained by substituting oxidized (blown) castor oil for the raw castor oil in formulations of this type. The properties of rigid foams prepared from several commercial blown castor oils are described. The properties of these foams are correlated with the degree of oxidation of the blown oils used, as indicated by their oxygen content, density, viscosity, and refractive index. Removal of acid from blown oils having high acid values has no significant effect on the compressive strength of foams prepared from these oils. When blown castor oil is used instead of raw castor oil, less isocyanate is required to produce a urethane foam of specified density and compressive strength. Presented at the AOCS meeting in Toronto, Canada, 1962. A laboratory of the W. Utiliz. Res. & Dev. Div., ARS, U.S.D.A.