Copolymerization of palm oil with sulfur using inverse vulcanization to boost the palm oil industry

Abstract

Nowadays, most of the world’s palm oil is being produced in Malaysia and Indonesia; however, the demand for this vegetable oil as an edible oil is declining in many countries since consuming palm oil in excess can result in serious health problems. Consequently, finding new applications such as the production of bio-based polymers to make use of this cheap and abundant vegetable oil seems necessary. Herein, we report the copolymerization of palm oil with sulfur with different feed ratios via inverse vulcanization. The copolymers are then characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction analysis. The results confirmed the formation of the polymers and their stability against depolymerization. Altogether, the obtained sulfur-palm oil copolymers showed great properties such as thermal stability up to 230°C under a nitrogen atmosphere and rubbery properties at room temperature. Although the Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) thermograms had previously confirmed the high conversion of elemental sulfur into the polymeric structure by comparing the initial sulfur content and the final polysulfide content in the polymer, some unreacted elemental sulfur was also observed in the final product. Sulfur-palm oil (S-Palm oil) is a new green polymer that helps to find a new use for palm oil as a big industry as well as sulfur which is underutilized and left in stockpile as a byproduct in gas and petroleum refineries.

Green and sustainable natural derived polysulfides for a broad range of applications

“…Copolymerization of S 8 with palm oil (a mixture of linoleic acid and oleic acid) at different feed ratios at 170 °C for 1 h produced poly( S -palm oil) with a T g value below −50 °C and an amorphous structure. 98 Inverse vulcanization of non-edible rubber seed oil with sulfur at 170 °C affords polysulfides with excellent solubility in tetrahydrofuran. 99 Rubber seed oil is composed of 19% saturated fatty acids and around 81% unsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid 25%, linoleic acid 37%, and linolenic acid 19%).…”

Recent advances in synthesis of polymers based on palm oil and its fatty acids

“… 170 Another study about copolymers from palm oil was the copolymerization of palm oil with sulfur via the inverse vulcanization method. 171 The elemental sulfur has an octet ring structure that will be opened if it is heated higher than its floor temperature (>159 °C) to form sulfur atoms with a biradical linear chain, accompanied by color changes from yellow to orange. The biradical linear chain of sulfur will homopolymerize to form polysulfide, which is not stable and subsequently depolymerize leading to the reformation of elemental structure crystals.…”

Itaconic Anhydride as a Bio-Based Compatibilizer for a Tung Oil-Based Thermosetting Resin Reinforced with Sand and Algae Biomass

“…The wide availability, low cost, and unique triglyceride structure of vegetable oils make them ideal candidates for polymer synthesis, since they can undergo direct polymerization or modification reactions, e.g., acrylation, epoxidation, and Diels-Alder reactions, producing monomers that are able to originate from linear to highly crosslinked materials [3,4]. Some recent studies report the production of bio-based monomers and polymers derived from vegetable oils [5][6][7][8][9][10]. Tung oil, for example, is very versatile from a chemical point of view.…”