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Updated: Oct 31, 2025

Scalable Step-by-Step Approach of Sustainable Bioplastic Production from Food Waste
Published on: July 18, 2025
Light-Driven Waste-To-Value Upcycling: Bio-Based Polyols and Polyurethanes from the Photo-Oxygenation of Cardanols
Robin Stuhr1, Patrick Bayer2, Christian B W Stark1
1Dept. of Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Martin Luther King Platz 6, 20146, Hamburg, Germany.
Abstract:
The upcycling of waste biomass into valuable materials by resource-efficient chemical transformations is a prime objective for sustainable chemistry. This approach is demonstrated in a straightforward light-driven synthesis of polyols and polyurethane foams from the multi-ton waste products of cashew nut processing. The photo-oxygenation of cardanol from nutshell oil results in the formation of synthetically versatile hydroperoxides. The choice of the workup method (i. e., reduction, hydrogenation, epoxidation) enables access to a diverse range of alcohols with tunable alkene and OH functions. Condensation with isocyanates to give rigid polyurethane foams provides a resource-efficient waste-to-value chain that benefits from the availability of cardanol and installation of OH groups from aerial O2 .
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