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Interesting Polyurethane
Polyurethane from Trees
 Made from oil extracted from bark and mixed with CO2, this cyclic carbonate is a precursor for polyurethane, a common form of plastic with a wide range of everyday uses The University of Toronto’s Ning Yan and her team showed that tree bark can be used to create an isocyanate-free version of polyurethane. The bark is liquefied into an oil, which is then mixed with CO2 to create a product known as cyclic carbonate, a precursor for polyurethane. The cyclic carbonate product contains 15 per cent CO2 by weight, providing a new path to sequestering the greenhouse gas. Yan is the director of the newly formed Low Carbon Renewable Materials Centre (LCRMC) at U of T Engineering, which is supported by the dean’s strategic fund. LCRMC researchers work closely with forestry companies and industry associations to transform forest biomass – including materials that today are discarded as waste – into commercially valuable products. Sources : |
Neem Oil + PU for seed bags
 Azadirachta indica, commonly known as neem or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent. Products made from neem trees have been used in the traditional medicine of India for centuries. In a novel use of neem tree oil, researchers from the IIT-H have developed neem oil encapsulated electrospun polyurethane nanofibrous bags for seed storage. The real-time storage experiment carried out for 75 days showed that 90 per cent of the seeds stored in these bags were uninfected, while 70 per cent stored in commercial bags were found to be infected with storage fungi. The research, led by Chandra Shekhar Sharma, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT-H, demonstrates the suitability of neem oil bags as an ideal storage system. “Polyurethane is the most favoured versatile polymer, and polyurethane nanofibers are elastic, semipermeable, thermally-stable with excellent strength." Sources : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azadirachta_indica https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2020/oct/24/iit-h-develops-neem-bags-to-store-seeds-2214455.html |
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