CONTEXT

The invention presents mainly a new clean process to obtain polyols, in particularly diols. This patent protects these new polyols and a way for the synthesis of polymers also.

Polyols may be produced from petroleum. As the world’s petroleum resources are depleting, scientists wordwide have been looking into renewable raw materials and more precisely into vegetable oil to replace
petroleum-based polyols. Vegetable oil molecules must be chemically transformed in order to introduce hydroxyl groups. Nevertheless, many reactions for preparing polyols from vegetable oils are not very selective. By-products, in addition to alcohol groups, are created during the transformation. Furthermore, many conventional methods of preparing polyols from vegetable oil do not produce polyols having a significant content of hydroxyl groups.

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION

The process of the invention relates to three major steps in preparing polyols from mono- or diester of vegetable oil. All of the obtained synthons by this process are at least bifunctional (polyols) with a well-defined structure. This process is performed with a clean catalytic system (heterogeneous catalysis).

By this way, it is possible to obtain two kinds of polyols.

BENEFITS

The main use of polymeric polyols is as reactants to make other polymers. For example, they can be reacted with isocyanates to make polyurethanes. Here, it is possible to use a clean process from renewable resources and the very well defined structures of polyols make way for an easy synthesis of polyurethane resins.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

Depending on the type of polyol and isocyanate used the generated foam exhibits different properties. By careful selection of the polyol and isocyanate, foam with varying properties can be generated. It could be soft and flexible with totally open cells, which are used in the furniture industry to very hard dense wood like closed cell rigid foam. The various categories are flexible slab stock (like furniture, bedding, accoustic insulation), flexible cold cure moulded, rigid foam (Refrigerators, thermoware, industrial insulations) and elastomeric applications (coating and adhésives).

DEVELOPMENT STAGE

Products have shown good properties in adhesive and cosmetics applications. The pilot scale (2kg) has been achieved. The scale up is Under developpement (50kg).