**6. Conclusion**

Several advantages are foreseen from this study. Some important advantages are being identified through this method of polyol production. Firstly, it is attractive and economical. RBD PKO-based polyol is a naturally formed macromolecules found in Malaysia. It is extremely plentiful, easy to process and refine, capable of being cultivated with minimum capital investment and suitable for conversion to quality polyols using an inexpensive reaction process. Secondly is the simplicity of the process, which requires only a few reactors for producing the polyol as well as formulating the resin. Commercially, the process acquires only a few personnel to produce consistently good quality polyols. Thirdly, compare to the manufacturing of the petrochemical-based polyols, the process is relatively safe, where it involves the usage of hazardous chemicals. Generally, it is non-toxic and of low volatility.

Two major environmental advantages can be realized. Firstly, the source of oil is truly renewable, where it does not lead to permanent depletion of resources which has a limited global availability. Secondly, the amount of energy required to convert the natural oils to polyol is considerably less than using the conventional process. The foam made from this RBD PKO-based polyol is low in density, light in color, high in strength but low in water sorption. The produced RBD PKO-based polyurethane foam in this study also has other advantages as tabulated in Table 6.


**Table 6.** The advantages of producing RBD PKO-based polyurethane.

The PUF meets the British Standard requirements in any medium of the tested environmental stress test. This ester-type polyurethanes are easily attacked by prolonged contact with water, diluted acids and moist heat (causes swelling and slow hydrolysis) and swollen by aromatic hydrocarbons. These rigid PUs either the PUF, are resistant to the action of most organic solvents and are seriously degraded only by strong acids, oxidizing agents and corrosive chemicals. Only polar solvents, which significantly swell the polymer, lead to shrinkage of the foam structure. Evaporation of the solvent normally returns the polymer to its original state.

In terms of application, these composites are most suitable in structures where stiffness and dimensional stability are of prime importance but is only a secondary choice to areas where structural strength is more vital than the component rigidity.
