DEVELOPMENT OF PALM OIL BASED UNSATURATED POLYESTER

摘要

In this study, unsaturated polyester (UP) resin from palm oil was synthesized with various amount of maleic anhydride (MA). First, palm oil monoglycerides (POMG) were obtained by glycerolysis process of palm oil with glycerol at 230 °C for 3 hours. Then, POMG was modified by MA with different ratio in the range of 1:1.6, 1:1.8, 1:2.0 and 1:2.2 at 100 °C to produce UP resin. The products were characterized by using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The FTIR spectral analysis showed that the unsaturated group of MA was chemically attached to POMG. After that, the UP resin was mixed with 35% of styrene, 0.3% of cobalt naphthalene and 1% of methyl ethyl ketone peroxide for curing process. The gel content and mechanical properties of thecured UP were studied. The results showed that the UP resin was cured successfully and the mechanical properties of UP were improved by increasing the amount of the MA. This was attributed to the increase in crosslink density which resulted from the increased unsaturated group of POMG.