Abstract
The objective of this research was to investigate the development of epoxides from Chlorella vulgaris lipids to obtain a novel bio-based resin. The process involved the production of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) by in situ transesterification of microalgal biomass, followed by epoxidation of the FAMEs to obtain bioresin. During the FAME production process, an assessment was made of the main factors affecting the production of unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters (UFAMEs), such as catalyst dosage and methanol:hexane volume ratio. For step epoxidation, an evaluation of the catalyst concentration, temperature and formic acid:hydrogen peroxide ratio was made. From the results obtained, UFAME production was maximized using 20 wt% of catalyst dosage and a volume ratio of 1:2 (v/v, methanol:hexane). Then, in the epoxidation stage, a higher yield was obtained using 1 wt% of catalyst with a volume ratio of 1:1 and maintaining a temperature of 70 °C. The bioresin was blended with neat epoxy resin (DGEBA) and cured with tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA). Bio-based resin was characterized via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) to evaluate this material as an alternative source for oleochemistry.
Highlights
Algae have been identified as a suitable source for the development of bioproducts, in part due to their not competing with food sources, their ability to grow on waste resources, high photosynthetic efficiency and high growth rate [1]
The FT-IR spectra for the Epoxidized Unsaturated Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (EUFAME) are shown in Figure 5, where the results show that the peak corresponding to the double bond disappears
The results show a decrease with the incorporation of EUFAME, which can be attributed to a plasticization effect due to the flexibility of the long aliphatic chain in the backbone of EUFAME and lower reactivity [23,25]
Summary
Algae have been identified as a suitable source for the development of bioproducts, in part due to their not competing with food sources, their ability to grow on waste resources, high photosynthetic efficiency and high growth rate [1]. Different products have been obtained from algae, such as feedstock for biofuels, polymers with thermo-mechanical properties comparable in quality to synthetic polymers obtained from polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and lipids for the food, textile and manufacturing industries [2]. Microalgae are known to contain a high amount of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates, which could be the feedstock to produce polymeric materials and composite resins [3]. This could be a path to reduce dependence on the use of crude oil to develop petrochemically produced polymers. The use of lipids for polymer production has been motivated mainly by the fact that they are abundant, renewable and relatively cheap [4]
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