The feasibility of polymer synthesis employing fractionated palm oil - a brief overview

Abstract

Biodegradable polymers derived off renewable resources have potential in replacing conventional polymers, although it is not a rule that these polymers necessarily be scaffolding, casings, agricultural products and much more. Currently, a large fraction of biodegradable. Conventional polymers are widely used worldwide as packaging materials, polymers produced worldwide are derived from petroleum, and are largely non-biodegradable and some require thousands of years to be degraded. These non-biodegradable polymers have caused many environmental problems and issues. There are concerns to find and explore new sources of energy, especially the renewable energy to replace the dependence on petroleum based products. Recently, there have been discoveries of component triglycerides inside vegetable oil that possesses characteristics required of organic compounds in the synthesis of polymers. Some researchers have begun to embark on research that explores the potential of vegetable oil in producing polymer based products. Such research is focused on soy-bean oil, while similar research on oils from corn, rapeseed and olive has been conducted. Considering that vegetable oil (palm oil) comprises of triglycerides with a similar breakdown of unsaturated and saturated triglyceride components, it is feasible that a study on the potential of this natural resource in the synthesis of polymer be explored further. By employing a fractionation process and using an available polymerization technique to polymerize unsaturated palm oil components, a polymer could be generated. Apart from the lack of such research, the abundance of oil palms in Malaysia may be reason enough to explore and expand the potential of palm oil in the synthesis of polymers.