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Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer
Published on: November 30, 2020
Polymers from renewable materials
1Department of Materials and Design Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM). zafiah@uthm.edu.my
Abstract:
With the world facing depletion of its oil reserves, attention is being focused on how the plastics industry will address shortages and price increases in its crucial raw materials. One renewable resource is that of vegetable oils and fats and about a dozen crop plants make up the main vegetable oil-seed market. The main constituents of these oils are saturated and unsaturated fatty acids that are unique to the plant in which they have been developed. Moreover, technological processes can produce more well-defined and pure oils, and the fatty acid contents in the vegetable oils can be altered with modern crop development techniques. This article describes recent advances in utilising such vegetable oils in sourcing new polymeric materials. It also gives the context for the development of polymers based on renewable materials in general.
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