Sustainable products from bio-oils
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mass as an alternative to produce polymeric materials Biomass is one of the most abundant natural resources, with an annual production of 1.3 billion dry tons in the United States alone.1 Biomass is any organic matter that is renewable over time, and in the context of energy, it often refers to plant-based materials such as agricultural residues, forestry wastes, and energy crops.2 The ongoing world energy crisis has led to the development of programs that have stimulated extensive research programs on biomass conversion. Energy security is now a primary concern for countries such as the United States that are highly dependent on imported crude oil to meet their domestic energy requirements. For instance, during the past 10 years, the US Department of Energy and the US Department of Agriculture have prioritized the development of bioenergy and bioproducts, with a production goal of 18% of the current US chemical commodities from biomass by 2020, and 25% by 2030.1,3 As a result, increased research on the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass (mainly composed of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose) to produce biobased polymers and resins has been the subject of increased industrial and academic interest. Modern-day needs for the polymer industry require metrics such as lower costs, higher performance, recycled feedstocks usage, lighter weight, lower carbon footprint, and lower
environmental impact. Table I shows global plastic consumption.4 By 2020, this production growth is estimated to have an annual increase of approximately 5.5%, reaching an estimated average value of 538 million metric tons by 2020.4 In particular, thermosetting polymer resins play an important industrial role due to their high versatility with respect to physical, thermal, and mechanical properties, leading to materials with high modulus, strength, durability, and chemical resistance to solvents. One of the major driving factors for this market is the growing demand for composite materials. Thermoset resins are widely used as the matrix material in composite manufacturing. For example, in the United States, the demand for fiber-reinforced composites will increase 4.7% annually to 4.3 billion pounds (1.95 billion kg) in 2017, valued at USD$22.9 billion.5 In the future, green composite materials and biopolymers will be two important areas of development and will strongly impact the economy of the polymer sector. For example, in 2012, the Nova-Institute in Germany released the results of a market study titled “Bio-Based Polymers in the World— Production, Capacities, and Applications: Status Quo and Trends toward 2020.”6 The report forecasted a production capacity for bio-based polymers that will triple from 3.5 million tons in 2011 to nearly 12 million tons by 2020. There are several major players in the bulk biopolymers production industry;
Bernal Sibaja Hernández, Department of Chemical Engineering, Auburn University, USA; [email protected] Mehul Barde, Department of Chemical Engineering, Auburn University, USA; [email protected] Br
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