Synthesis of Jatropha-Oil-Based Polyester Polyol as Sustainable Biobased Material for Waterborne Polyurethane Dispersion

The utilization of vegetable oil in the production of polymeric material has gained interest due to its proven ability to replace nonrenewable petroleum sources, as it is readily modified via chemical reaction to produce polyol and subsequently for polyurethane production. Jatropha oil (JO), a second-generation feedstock, is one of the suitable candidates for polyester polyol synthesis because it contains a high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids. In this study, jatropha-based polyester polyols (JOLs) with different hydroxyl values were successfully synthesized via a two-step method: epoxidation followed by oxirane ring-opening reaction. Ring-opening reagents; methanol, ethanol, and isopropanol were used to produce polyol with hydroxyl number of 166, 180, and 189 mg/KOH, respectively. All the synthesized JOLs exhibited a Newtonian to shear thinning behavior in the measured shear rate ranges from 10 to 1000 s⁻¹ at 25 °C. The viscosity of a JOL ring-opened with methanol, isopropanol, and ethanol was 202, 213, and 666 mPa·s, respectively, at 20 °C and 100 s⁻¹, which is within the range of commercially available polyols. Successively, the JOLs were reacted with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) to produce polyurethane prepolymer by utilizing 2,2-dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA) as an emulsifier. The prepolymer was then dispersed in water to produce a waterborne polyurethane dispersion. Colloidal stability of the jatropha-based polyurethane dispersions (JPUDs) were investigated by particle size analysis. A JPUD with a small particle size in the range of 6.39 to 43.83 nm was obtained, and the trend was associated with the soft segment of the polyol in the formulation. The zeta potentials of the JPUs ranged from −47.01 to −88.9 mV, indicating that all synthesized JPUs had high dispersity and stability. The efficient synthesis procedure, low cost, and excellent properties of the resulting product are thought to offer an opportunity to use jatropha oil as a sustainable resource for polyester polyol preparation.

Adopting Sustainable Jatropha Oil Bio-Based Polymer Membranes as Alternatives for Environmental Remediation

This study aimed to optimize the removal of Cu(II) ions from an aqueous solution using a Jatropha oil bio-based membrane blended with 0.50 wt% graphene oxide (JPU/GO 0.50 wt%) using a central composite model (CCD) design using response surface methodology. The input factors were the feed concentration (60–140) ppm, pressure (1.5–2.5) bar, and solution pH value (3–5). An optimum Cu(II) ions removal of 87% was predicted at 116 ppm feed concentration, 1.5 bar pressure, and pH 3.7, while the validated experimental result recorded 80% Cu(II) ions removal, with 95% of prediction intervals. A statistically non-significant term was removed from the analysis by the backward elimination method to improve the model’s accuracy. Using the reduction method, the predicted R² value was increased from −0.16 (−16%) to 0.88 (88%), suggesting that the reduced model had a good predictive ability. The quadratic regression model was significant (R² = 0.98) for the optimization prediction. Therefore, the results from the reduction model implied acceptable membrane performance, offering a better process optimization for Cu(II) ions removal.