crude glycerol

Brewer’s spent grain was applied as a low-cost industrial type of lignocellulose biomass in a liquefaction process with crude glycerol. Influence of the reaction time and solvent:biomass ratio on the efficiency of the process, chemical structure and basic properties of obtained biopolyols was analyzed. Spectroscopic studies of the prepared polyols and solid residues shed light on the biomass degradation mechanism through application of microwaves and further reaction of degradation products with solvent particles.

Diversity of the polyurethane (PU) foams applications cause that investigation of the relationships between their structure and properties is currently very popular topic among the many research institutions and companies. At the turn of the last years many scientific papers about PU foams and their composites were published. The one of the main trends in research in this field is related to the reduction of production costs of PU foams. This aim can be successfully achieved through the incorporation of raw materials of natural origin or the utilization of waste materials.