Abstract: Bagasse was liquefied into polyols with sulfuric acid as catalyst, and the product was used to prepare rigid polyurethane foams. The effects of catalyst, surfactant, foaming agent and isocyanate upon density and mechanical properties of foams were studied. Results showed that at dosage of catalyst B 2.53%, density is the smallest, while its influence toward compression modulus is not significant. With the increased dosage of catalyst D, both density and strength decrease. At the dosage of AK-8805 2.06%,density is the smallest and compression modulus is high. The content of NCO influences the properties of the foams, when content of PM-200 is between 200%-240% its compressive properties is the optimum.

Key words: bagasse, liquefaction, polyol, polyurethane, rigid foam