Polymerized vegetable oils, agricultural

Vegetable oil-based polymers are one of the most useful polymeric materials in the context of advanced polymers in modern society. They are versatile because of their structural diversity and their ease of modification. Sectors such as agriculture, automotives, biomedical and packaging all require environmentally friendly polymers. In the civilised world of today, materials need to follow the principles of green chemistry with a triple bottom line approach in order to keep the environment clean and useful for future generations. This book therefore aims to blend the basic ideas along with advanced understanding of this important class of polymers. 

The main actors involved in oleochemistry are located in Asia, because of the climatic suitability for such agricultural activity Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines being the main producers. Fats from animal biomass are produced mostly in the US and Europe. The respective production of fats and oils for the four main continents, Asia, North America, Europe and South America, is 44,16,15 and 14 per cent. The present chapter deals exclusively with the use of vegetable oils as sources of polymeric materials, because the structures of fats do not lend themselves meaningfully to that application. 

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