Influences of turkey feather fiber loading on significant characteristics of rigid polyurethane foam: Thermal degradation, heat insulation, acoustic performance, air permeability and cellular structure

[Display omitted] •RPUFs with varying contents of TFFs were produced via one-shut free rise method.•Alternative use of waste turkey feathers was found in production of advanced RPUFs.•Notable upgrading in heat insulation and air permeability features were recorded.•TFFs-filled RPUFs showed better sound absorption ability at certain frequency. This comprehensive study delves into the preparation and detailed characterization of rigid polyurethane foams (RPUFs) filled with varying content levels (3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 wt%) of turkey feather fibers (TFFs) fabricated from the waste feathers. TFFs-loaded RPUFs were successfully produced via one-shut free-rise method in a closed mold. The obtained foam samples were evaluated by the examination of their chemical structure (FTIR analysis), thermal degradation behavior (TGA analysis), insulating performance (thermal conductivity and acoustic tests), application potential (air permeability test) and cellular morphology (SEM). TGA analysis revealed that the incorporating of TFFs at low percentage provided the thermal stability to the foams since the strong chemical interactions were formed between TFFs and RPUF matrix, however, this effect was lost at higher contents. 17% improvement (from 0.0352 to 0.0291 W/m.K.) in thermal insulating performance was recorded at the foam sample containing 3% TFFs beyond which thermal conductivities of the specimens increased gradually and, reached to the relatively maximum value. This improvement can be explained by the presence of high numbers of uniform distributed closed cells from RPUFs and hollow honeycomb structure of TFFs in the foam matrix. As for the acoustic features, the TFFs-modified foams showed tend to increase their acoustic performance in almost all frequencies with the increasing of the TFFs percent, which is attributed to the consistent increment in the apparent densities of the foam and reduction in the cavities in the matrices. Additionally, in comparison with unfilled foam, the foams with 3 and 6 wt% of TFFs illustrated lower air permeability (12.6% reduction) thanks to TFFs acting as an additional micro-barriers restricting air passage in the matrices. Furthermore, the taken SEM images revealed that the cellular structures of the resulting foams were considerably influenced by TFF loadings. The uniform cell distribution without any defective shapes was seen at low TFFs contents, whereas the formation of distorted and inhomogeneous cellular structures, local TFFs a