Evaluation of Bio-Polyurethane Foam Synthesized from Liquefied Waste Wood Polyol

Bio-polyurethane foam was synthesized in this study using bio-polyol derived from liquefied waste wood as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based polyols. It has been widely reported that polyurethane foams incorporating liquefied wood exhibit biodegradability when buried in soil, with assessments typically relying on CO₂ emission measurements in a close system. However, this method cannot obtain any chemical bonding breakage information of the bio-polyurethane foam. On the other hand, our study investigated the biodegradation process by employing an elemental composition analysis using a CHN coder and functional group analysis through Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy to capture chemical structure changing. The results demonstrated that biodegradation occurs in three different stages over time, even in the absence of significant early-stage weight loss. The gradual breakdown of urethane bonds was confirmed through changes in the elemental composition and functional group ratios, providing a more detailed understanding of the degradation mechanism. These findings suggest highlighting the importance of complementary chemical analytical techniques for a more accurate evaluation. On the other hand, TG data showed that bio-polyurethane foams remained thermally stable even after biodegradation occurred.