Polymerization of epoxidized vegetable oil derivatives: Ionic-coordinative polymerization of methylepoxyoleate

Heterogeneous catalysis with an organic–inorganic hybrid based on MoO3 chains decorated with 2,2′-biimidazole ligands

Polymeric [MoO₃(2,2′-biimidazole)]·H₂O outperforms other one-dimensional MoO₃-ligand hybrid materials as a heterogeneous and recyclable catalyst for (bio)olefin epoxidation and sulfoxidation.

Epoxidación enzimática de metil ésteres de ácidos grasos de origen vegetal y sus aplicaciones como alternativa para sustituir a los derivados del petróleo

Recientemente, la modificación de aceites vegetales para obtener ésteres metílicos de ácidos grasos (FAMEs) o biodiesel ha emergido como una alternativa para la sustitución de los derivados del petróleo, esto debido a los problemas ambientales y de salud que genera su uso. Debido a su estructura química es posible epoxidar estas moléculas y usarlas directamente para producir plastificantes o lubricantes. Sin embargo, éstas también pueden ser sujetas a modificaciones para mejorar sus propiedades y el de servir como intermediarias para la síntesis de poliuretanos. Puesto que los métodos convencionales para la producción de epóxidos también son una fuente potencial de contaminación, se ha sugerido el uso de catalizadores enzimáticos como una alternativa sostenible o “Verde” para su preparación, ya que permiten obtener productos con alta pureza y mejores rendimientos. Este artículo presenta una revisión de la literatura disponible centrándose en la epoxidación enzimática de los FAMEs, así como sus principales aplicaciones.

Photoinitiator Free Resins Composed of Plant-Derived Monomers for the Optical µ-3D Printing of Thermosets

In this study, acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO) and mixtures of AESO and vanillin dimethacrylate (VDM) or vanillin diacrylate (VDA) were investigated as photosensitive resins for optical 3D printing without any photoinitiator and solvent. The study of photocross-linking kinetics by real-time photorheometry revealed the higher rate of photocross-linking of pure AESO than that of AESO with VDM or VDA. Through the higher yield of the insoluble fraction, better thermal and mechanical properties were obtained for the pure AESO polymer. Here, for the first time, we validate that pure AESO and mixtures of AESO and VDM can be used for 3D microstructuring by employing direct laser writing lithography technique. The smallest achieved spatial features are 1 µm with a throughput in 6900 voxels per second is obtained. The plant-derived resins were laser polymerized using ultrashort pulses by multiphoton absorption and avalanche induced cross-linking without the usage of any photoinitiator. This advances the light-based additive manufacturing towards the 3D processing of pure cross-linkable renewable materials.

Direct valorisation of waste cocoa butter triglycerides via catalytic epoxidation, ring-opening and polymerisation

BACKGROUND

Development of circular economy requires significant advances in the technologies for valorisation of waste, as waste becomes new feedstock. Food waste is a particularly important feedstock, containing large variation of complex chemical functionality. Although most food waste sources are complex mixtures, waste from food processing, no longer suitable for the human food chain, may also represent relatively clean materials. One such material requiring valorisation is cocoa butter.

RESULTS

Epoxidation of a triglyceride from a food waste source, processing waste cocoa butter, into the corresponding triglyceride epoxide was carried out using a modified Ishii-Venturello catalyst in batch and continuous flow reactors. The batch reactor achieved higher yields due to the significant decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in the laminar flow tubular reactor. Integral and differential models describing the reaction and the phase transfer kinetics were developed for the epoxidation of cocoa butter and the model parameters were estimated. Ring-opening of the epoxidised cocoa butter was undertaken to provide polyols of varying molecular weight (M_w = 2000-84 000 Da), hydroxyl value (27-60 mg KOH g^-1) and acid value (1-173 mg KOH g^-1), using either aqueous ortho-phosphoric acid (H ₃ PO ₄) or boron trifluoride diethyl etherate (BF ₃·OEt₂)-mediated oligomerisation in bulk, using hexane or tetrahydrofuran (THF) as solvents. The thermal and tensile properties of the polyurethanes obtained from the reaction of these polyols with 4,4'-methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) are described.

CONCLUSION

The paper presents a complete valorisation scheme for a food manufacturing industry waste stream, starting from the initial chemical transformation, developing a process model for the design of a scaled-up process, and leading to synthesis of the final product, in this case a polymer. This work describes aspects of optimisation of the conversion route, focusing on clean synthesis and also demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of the development projects, requiring input from different areas of chemistry, process modelling and process design. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Microwave-assisted rapid synthesis of a polyether from a plant oil derived monomer and its optimization by Box–Behnken design

In this study, a new strategy for making biopolyethers from plant oil derived monomer (α-olefin) was developed using microwave irradiation, conditions were optimized and compared with a conventional method.

Synthesis and characterization of polyurethanes made from copolymers of epoxidized natural oil and tetrahydrofuran

Polyols were synthesized from epoxidized natural oils and tetrahydrofuran through ring opening copolymerization catalyzed by Lewis acid. The properties of these polyols depend on the type of natural oils as well as the reaction conditions (monomer concentration, catalyst amount, reaction temperature and reaction time). These polyols were evaluated as a raw material for making polyurethane (PU) in order to understand the structure-property relationship between a natural oil and PU made from it. The tensile test analysis shows that the incorporation of natural oil moiety into the PU polymer network improves the elasticity of these PU samples when compared to a benchmark PU sample. In addition, the PU samples made from palm oil and soybean oil based polyols exhibit better tensile strength than benchmark PU. These polyols samples are suitable for making elastomeric PU, where high flexibility (high elongation at break) of PU is a common requirement.

Vegetable-oil-based polymers as future polymeric biomaterials

Vegetable oils are one of the most important classes of bio-resources for producing polymeric materials. The main components of vegetable oils are triglycerides - esters of glycerol with three fatty acids. Several highly reactive sites including double bonds, allylic positions and the ester groups are present in triglycerides from which a great variety of polymers with different structures and functionalities can be prepared. Vegetable-oil-based polyurethane, polyester, polyether and polyolefin are the four most important classes of polymers, many of which have excellent biocompatibilities and unique properties including shape memory. In view of these characteristics, vegetable-oil-based polymers play an important role in biomaterials and have attracted increasing attention from the polymer community. Here we comprehensively review recent developments in the preparation of vegetable-oil-based polyurethane, polyester, polyether and polyolefin, all of which have potential applications as biomaterials.