| abstract |
Polyols are produced by an alkoxylation process in which a vegetable oil containing hydroxyl functional groups is combined with a DMC catalyst to form a mixture, the DMC catalyst is then activated by adding ethylene oxide and/or propylene oxide to the vegetable oil/catalyst mixture, and ethylene oxide and propylene oxide are added to the mixture containing activated DMC catalyst in amounts such that the total of percentage of ethylene oxide in the polyol plus percentage of primary hydroxyl groups in the polyol produced is from 50 to 77% and the percentage of primary hydroxyl groups is at least 30% but less than 50%. These polyols are useful for the production of molded polyurethane foams, particularly, hot-cure molded polyurethane foams. |