ARS | Publication request: Preparation of biopolymers from plant oils in green media

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: October 22, 2012
Publication Date: October 22, 2012
Citation: Liu, Z. 2012. Preparation of biopolymers from plant oils in green media. Proceedings of the International Conference on Biomass-Energy Technologies, October 22-24, 2012, Nanjing, China. 1:123-127.

Technical Abstract: The conversion of plant oils to polymers has attracted renewed attention in recent years to replace or augment the traditional petro-chemical based polymers and resins. This is due to concern of the environment, waste disposal, and depletion of fossil and non-renewable feedstocks. Polymers obtained from agricultural raw materials are usually biodegradable and inexpensive. Here we report the polymerization of soybean oil, modified soybean oil, and euphorbia oil in carbon dioxide media (liquid and supercritical condition) catalyzed by Lewis acid. The resulting polymers were characterized by FTIR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, solid state 13C-NMR spectroscopies, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The application of these functionalized soy polymers is reported.