Description

The industrial use of agricultural commodities has been an issue generating a signi cant amount of interest. As the cost of petroleum-derived products increases, the need to change to a more biobased economy can be clearly seen. In addition to food uses, plant oils have found their way into industrial products in the plastics, pharmaceutical, inks, adhesives, coatings, and many other industries. The advantages of plant oil-derived industrial products can be illustrated by several of the 12 principles of green chemistry including the call for the use of renewable feedstock, the minimization of hazards, and the generation of substances with as little toxicity as possible. Because of their biobased nature, products formed from plant oil are often biodegradable, and because the CO2 generated from their degradation can be incorporated into the next year s crop, they can be nearly CO2 neutral.