Renewable resources vegetable oils

Incorporation of a natural, renewable resource (vegetable oil) as a starting substrate. 

The annual global production of major vegetable oils increases every year to meet the growing demand for eco-friendly and renewable resources. Vegetable oils are mass produced renewable resources, mainly derived from the seeds of a wide variety of plants. The term describes triglycerides of fatty acids which are liquid under ambient temperature and pressure. ... 

Castor is the only renewable vegetable oil resource (see Chemurgy) having a hydroxyl group stmcture and functionaHty that leads to diverse oleochemicals. In 1988, approximately 35,000 t/yr of castor oil were used to prepare raw materials for the manufacture of nylon-11. It is estimated that 40,000—45,000 t of... 

Biodiesel is diesel fuel produced from vegetable oils and other renewable resources. Many different types of oils can he used, including animal fats, used cooking oils, and soybean oil. Biodiesel is miscible with petroleum diesels and can he used in biodiesel-diesel blends. Most often blends are 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent traditional diesel. Soy diesel can be used neat (100%), hut many other types of biodiesel are too viscous, especially in winter, and must be used in blends to remain fluid. The properties of the fuel will vaiy depending on the raw material used. Typical values for biodiesel are shown in Table 1. 

Biodiesel is a fuel derived from renewable natural resources such as soybean and rapeseed and consists of alkyl esters derived from transesterification of triglycerides with methanol. In spite of all the advantages of biodiesel, such as low emissiotts, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and lubricity, the major hurdle in penetration of biodiesel is its high cost because of the expensive food grade refined vegetable oil feedstock. 

Biomass is a renewable resource from which various useful chemicals and fuels can be produced. Glycerol, obtained as a co-product of the transesterification of vegetable oils to produce biodiesel, is a potential building block to be processed in biorefineries (1,2). Attention has been recently paid to the conversion of glycerol to chemicals, such as propanediols (3, 4), acrolein (5, 6), or glyceric acid (7, 8). 

Biologically degradable rubbers can be produced from relatively cheap renewable resources such as vegetable oils and fatty acids. Due to the abundance in fatty acid compositions, many different biorubbers can be manufactured, having their own specific properties. Based on these types of rubber, several commercially interesting applications, e.g. consumables, are now being developed. 

In concepts for new products the performance, product safety, and product economy criteria are equally important. They are taken into account already when the raw material base for a new industrial product development is defined. Here, renewable resources have often been shown to have advantages compared with fossil feedstock. Over the years it has been demonstrated that the use of vegetable fats and oils in oleochemistry allows the development of competitive, powerful products that are both consumer- and environmentally-friendly. Products from recent developments fit with this requirement profile. 

In the development of the protein-fatty acid condensates it was possible to combine the renewable resources fatty acids (from vegetable oil) and protein, which can be obtained from both animal waste (leather) as well as from many plants, to construct a surfactant structure with a hydrophobic (fatty acid) and a hydrophilic (protein) part (Fig. 4.12). This was carried out by reacting protein hydrolysate with fatty acid chloride under Schotten-Baumann conditions using water as solvent. Products are obtained that have an excellent skin compatibility and, additionally, a good cleaning effect (particularly on the skin) and, in combination with other surfactants, lead to an increase in performance. For instance, even small additions of the acylated protein hydrolysate improve the skin compatibility. An... 

Vegetable oils represent only 5% of the renewable resources available. Today, vegetable oils currently provide a marginal carbon feedstock contribution to the chemical industry in such applications as solvents, surfactants, and lubricants. Vegetable oils may, however, play a much more important role in the future. They are mixtures of fatty acid trigclycerides whose typical molecular structures are given in Figure 10.12. 

Ecovio FS Paper is also a compound of Ecoflex FS and PLA with a very high content of renewable resources. This grade was optimized for extrusion coating of paperboard. It can be processed on standard PE equipment and shows an excellent adhesion to card board and paper. The Ecovio coating forms a barrier for fat vegetable and mineral oil, liquid and aroma. Applications of choice are compostable paper cups for hot and cold drinks, freezer boxes or paper wraps for snacks. 

One of the renewable resources that is very important for the chemical industry and is produced at a very large scale is the group of oils and fats. Oils and fats, either from animal or vegetable origin, are of course primarily used for food purposes, although their use for industrial purposes has increased a lot in the last decade, mostly because of the growing production of biodiesel [69]. 

Dunn, R. O., and Bagby, M. O. 1996. Low-Temperature Filterability Properties of Alternative Diesel Fuels from Vegetable Oils. In Cundiff, J. S., Gavett, E. E., Hansen, C., Peterson, C., Sanderson, M. A., Shapouri, H., and VanDyne D. L. (Eds.), Proc., Third Liquid Fuel Conference Liquid Fuel and Industrial Products from Renewable Resources (pp. 95-103). St. Joseph MI American Society of Agricultural Engineers. 

Some of the renewable resources for the production of green energy are vegetable oils and animal fats. The use of neat lipids as transportation fuel has not been very successful due to their high viscosity which is leading to engine problems. The production of biodiesel (alkyl esters of fatty acids) is one of the best alternatives, and the blending of biodiesel with petroleum diesel is now widespread in Europe and in the U.S. 

These development activities appear to be paying off with the announcement in September 2005 that Amcor PET Packaging is working with Husky to develop a European market for compostable PLA bottles for applications such as still mineral water, vegetable oils and dairy products. The market for PLA bottles is attracting a lot of attention in Europe and consumers are starting to show an interest in packaging made from renewable resources. 

Biodegradable polymers that are based on renewable resources include polyesters such as polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). Biodegradable polymers can also be made from extracts from plants and vegetables such as corn, maize, palm oil, soya and potatoes. 

Research groups are pursuing one or both courses to enhance the value and uses of vegetable oil for food and to expand industrial crop production and develop renewable resources that can replace products derived from petroleum. Although none of these have been commercialized yet, the following examples present anticipated new oils. 

Natural oils and fats comprise the greatest proportion of renewable resources as substrates, since they are produced easily from vegetables and animals. The range of possibilities was summarized in 1988 [2]. 

Fats and vegetable oils, including tall oil are renewable resources for surfactants. The soaps of natural fatty acids and dispropoitimiated rosin soaps are the most important emulsifier types for the production of synthetic mbber, and sodium or ammonium salts of fatty acids and hydroxy fatty acids are also largely used in PVC manufacturing. 

Further renewable resources that occur only in smaller amounts are often summarized as vegetable secretions and extracts. Waxes, natural rubber, colophony, turpentine oils, herbal dyes, and essential oils are important examples. 

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