Resins from vegetable oil

UK researchers have developed ways to make bio-resins from vegetable oils which could offer a sustainable alternative to petroleum- based thermoset resins.

Thermoset resins are some of the most commonly used materials in the construction, furniture and automotive industries. Around 350,000 tonnes a year are currently produced in the UK to make a wide variety of composite materials from particleboard to glass fibre panels. At present all the raw materials are derived from petrochemicals, and the toxicity and volatility of starting materials such as formaldehyde require careful environmental, health and safety monitoring.

But now, research supported by the Sustainable Technologies Initiative shows how the renewable polymers could offer a commercially viable alternative that would help manufacturers to meet tighter environmental regulations and reduce consumption of finite petrochemical resources.

In the REPLANT project, a research team from BC, the BioComposites Centre at the University of Wales, Bangor, who specialise in renewable plant technology, worked with industrial partners Cambridge Biopolymers, a contract manufacturer and a resin end-user.