Plastics production from vegetable oils

Polymers Unsaturated fatty-acid chains offer opportunities for polymerisation that can be exploited to develop uses in surface coatings and plastics manufacturing. Polyunsaturated fatty acids can be dimerised to produce feedstocks for polyamide resin (nylon) production. Work is also ongoing to develop polyurethanes from vegetable oils through manipulation of functionality in the fatty-acid chains, to produce both rigid foams and elastomers with applications in seals, adhesives and moulded flexible parts (see Chapter 5 for more information). 

The major market for plasticizers is dominated by ptimary plasticizers, phthalate esters, while 10—15% of plasticizers are derived from vegetable oils. The annual plasticizer market is "0.91 MMT (1 million t) and growing. Of the epoxidized vegetable oils, soybean oil is used in "75% of production. Epoxy linseed oil is used in vinyl liners of botde caps and medical mbing, where extraction of plasticizet must be avoided. Epoxy sunflower oil is more compatible with vinyl resin, while epoxy tall oils are used in some plastic products. 

They impart enhanced durability or permanence on PVC products, hence the name permanent plasticizers. Another group of plasticizers known as epoxy plasticizers is derived from vegetable oils. An example is epoxidized soybean. These plasticizers confer heat and hght stability on PVC products, which, however, usually have relatively poor low-temperature properties. 

The dibasic acids, dimer acids, are produced commercially from vegetable oil fatty acids or esters, mainly C18 unsaturated fatty acids or esters, such as linoleic acid, ricinoleic acid, oleic acid. These fatty acids or esters derived from vegetable oils, such as dehydrated castor oil, tall oil, tung oil etc., are polymerized to give a mixture of dibasic and polybasic acids. This polymerized monomer chiefly includes dibasic dimeric fatty acids and small fractions of the monomeric, trimeric and higher polymeric fatty acids and, therefore, these are designated by the term dimer acids . These dimer acids find an outlet as important intermediates for the manufacture of plasticizers, synthetic lubricants, and high polymeric products because of their increased functionality compared with ordinary fatty acids. 

Abherents. Compounds capable of promoting separation of two substances such as plastic or rubber products from the metal molds in which they are formed. Common release agents are waxy or fatty-Uke materials such as wax, tallow, or vegetable oil. 

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