A research group led by Assistant Professor Shinji Kanehashi of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology has developed a bio-based polymer from natural vegetable oil (cashew oil) that does not use compounds such as formaldehyde and heavy metal catalysts that are harmful to the environment and the human body when forming materials.Cashew oil is obtained from cashew nut shells, which are not edible and are mostly waste disposal.
Due to recent global environmental problems such as global warming and fossil fuel depletion, as well as the problem of microplastic pollution, a low-carbon society and coexistence with biomass are required for the realization of a sustainable society.In particular, there are great expectations for the highly effective utilization of carbon-neutral (which does not generate excess carbon dioxide) and renewable non-edible biomass, which does not depend on finite fossil resources and is friendly to the global environment.
In this research, we focused on cashew oil obtained from nut shells, which are non-edible and waste biomass generated from the cashew nut industry.We have developed a bio-based polymer that can be formed at room temperature by photopolymerization using allylation and thiol-ene reaction.This polymer is thermally stable up to around 350 ° C and is highly flexible.Furthermore, conventional cashew products have the problems that it is difficult to make them colorless and transparent due to the characteristics (coloring) of the raw materials, and that the physical properties change significantly over time. Furthermore, the change over time could be significantly suppressed.
These characteristics have the potential to greatly expand the possibilities of cashew oil products, and can be expected to be applied to a wide range of material fields as materials derived from unused waste biomass.Furthermore, we can expect great expectations for science and technology and economic support for emerging countries such as Vietnam and India, which are countries where cashew nut shells are generated.
