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ABSTRACT Brown grease (BG) is a high‐free fatty acid (FFA) waste coproduct from the food industry that remains largely unexploited. Herein, we describe a design strategy to upcycle BG into high sulfur‐content materials (HSMs) via inverse vulcanization, circumventing the need for costly transition metals or food‐grade compatibilizers. First, BG was esterified with methyl or allyl groups, yielding MeBG and aBG, respectively. This modification masked the polar carboxylic acids and enhanced miscibility with molten sulfur. Subsequent inverse vulcanization produced remeltable HSMs at 80 or 90 wt% sulfur with uniform elemental distributions by SEM–EDX. FT‐IR spectroscopy revealed the consumption of C=C moieties and the formation of C–S bonds, signifying robust cross‐linking. Thermal analysis (TGA, DSC) indicated good thermal stability (Td,5%up to 223°C) and glass transitions characteristic of polysulfide networks. Mechanical evaluations demonstrated compressive strengths up to 19.2 MPa, exceeding the minimum requirement for residential foundation‐grade cement (17 MPa) and rivaling previously reported HSMs containing similarly high sulfur content. Notably, MeBG and aBG incorporate organics comprising up to 97 wt% BG, significantly improving the upcycled mass efficiency relative to earlier BG‐based composites. This esterification‐driven approach thus offers a practical, scalable pathway to convert low‐value BG into advanced materials with tunable thermomechanical properties.
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Polybutadiene Modification of Brown Grease‐Sulfur Materials
ABSTRACT High sulfur‐content materials (HSMs) prepared via inverse vulcanization are attractive for a range of sustainable material applications, particularly when synthesized from waste‐derived feedstocks such as brown grease (BG). Two BG‐based composites,SunBG90andaBG90, were prepared using elemental sulfur and either native or allylated brown grease, respectively. This study explores the effect of reinforcing these sulfur‐rich networks with low loadings (0.5–2 wt. %) of highcis‐1,4‐content liquid polybutadiene (PBD). Incorporation of PBD resulted in significant increases in storage modulus, with a near‐linear relationship between PBD content and stiffness enhancement for both material types. At −60°C, storage modulus increased more than fivefold foraBG90and more than tripled forSunBG90. In contrast, flexural strength and flexural modulus exhibited non‐linear responses, with diminishing or reversed gains at higher PBD loadings, suggesting limits to rubber domain compatibility and dispersion. Thermal analysis confirmed high decomposition temperatures (212°C–226°C) and stable glass transitions, indicating thermal robustness of the reinforced networks. Compared with previous studies requiring higher PBD loadings, these results demonstrate that BG‐based HSMs can be effectively reinforced at low additive levels, offering mechanically robust, low‐cost, and renewable alternatives for structural applications.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2203669
- PAR ID:
- 10647780
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Polymer Science
- Volume:
- 63
- Issue:
- 22
- ISSN:
- 2642-4150
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 4740-4747
- Size(s):
- p. 4740-4747
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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