Canola Oil Used to Make Polyurethane

Canadian researchers have developed a process for making polyurethane plastic sheets from canola oil rather than from petroleum.

Suresh Narine, Xiaohua Kong and colleagues at the University of Alberta produced the polyurethane, or PUR, using an improved version of a process in which canola oil is treated with ozone to make the chemical raw materials used in PUR.

PURs are a versatile group of plastics, widely used in such products as liquid coatings and paints, adhesives, building insulation, shoes, and automotive interiors. The researchers said their low-cost process eliminates the need for complicated technology, and produces PUR sheets with excellent mechanical properties.

It is reasonable to believe that the vegetable-based PUR could be a potential candidate to replace or practically replace petroleum-based PUR, in sensitive and high end applications such as in the biomedical area, the researchers said.

The study appears in the current issue of the American Chemical Society journal Biomacromolecules.