STUDIES ON THE UTILIZATION OF HURA CREPITANS L. SEED OIL IN THE PREPARATION OF EMULSION ALKYD RESIN/GRAPHENE OXIDE BIO-COMPOSITE

The utilization of bio-renewable resources such as triglyceride oils and graphene oxide (GO) for the development of environmentally friendly surface coating products is encouraged worldwide due to their greener nature and the need for sustainable economy and development. This project is aimed at utilizing Hura crepitans L. seed oil (HCSO) and graphene oxide (GO) in the preparation of emulsion alkyd bio-composites. Hura crepitans L. seed oil (HCSO) was extracted from the mature seed of the plant via the solvent extraction method, and graphene oxide (GO) was prepared from natural graphite using a modified Hummers method. The HCSO was used in the preparation of an emulsion alkyd resin of 46% oil length via a two-stage alcoholysis-polyesterification process. Followed by the introduction of fumaric acid in the polymer backbone and the neutralization of the free acid functionality with triethylamine (TEA) and labeled as EAH to serve as the control. Two emulsion alkyd bio-composites were prepared using EAH as the polymer matrix and 1.5% (EAHG-1) GO by the insitu method and 1.5% (EAHG-2) GO by the solution blending method, while GO served as the reinforcing agent. The effects of GO on water solubility and other physicochemical properties were investigated. The percentage yield of HCSO was 34.55%. The specific gravity of HCSO was 0.847. The colour of the HCSO was brown. The viscosity of HCSO was 22.1 mPa.s. The solid content of EAH, EAHG-1, and EAHG-2 was 80.37%, 89.58%, and 94.45%, respectively. The EAH and EAHG-2 were more highly soluble in water than the EAHG-1. Graphene oxide and HCSO, if properly processed, can be good starting materials for the synthesis of bio-renewable, greener surface coating products.