Mx. Chara Aznable (they/them) of Pnictogen

we would love to be able to make our own plastics at the Pnictogen Wing homestead, from biomass. so that prompts the question: what living creature would be (a) easy to grow or culture in the relatively limited space available in a single-family home with a yard, and (b) the most fruitful as a feedstock for production of a useful polymer?

I already know a little. furfural (furan-2-carboxaldehyde) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural are two attractive candidates for a biomass-derived chemical that could be used to make plastics. Furfural can be obtained from the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of pentosans, biopolymers of five-carbon sugars found in such substances as corncobs and oat hulls. 5-hydroxymethylfurfural can be obtained in a like method from the breakdown of cellulose, starch, etc.

#chemistry #polymers

Mar 3 at 8:44pmWeb
Show threadMx. Chara Aznable (they/them) of PnictogenMar 3

Another possible avenue starts with the epoxidation of unsaturated vegetable oils, yielding epoxides that can serve as monomers in the condensation of thermosetting resins.

Plant proteins from various sources have been used to make plastics, though I am having difficulty finding specific information. In particular I would like to know what George Washington Carver achieved in this area with peanuts and soybeans. Zein, a protein found in corn, is another feedstock for plastics that I know about.