"Fat" plastics

Recent studies have identified a process which reportedly makes it possible to optimise the conversion of fats such as lard, vegetable oils and, in general, organic waste oils into olefins for polymer production. The method which allows this by-product to be obtained and, if further processed, to be used in the plastics industry, includes the irradiation with UV light and was developed by two researchers from BioSolar, a company headquartered in Millbury (Ohio, USA).
More precisely, this system generates a range of by-products including glycerin (or glycerol), which can be transformed, by means of catalytic processes, into acrylic acids and other raw materials destined to the plastics industry.
The study was published on the Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering magazine, edited by the ACS (American Chemical Society), and represents a new step forward in the scientific research which aims at identifying new industrial raw materials derived from renewable resources.