OSAKA, Japan (Feb. 10, 2010)—Japanese researchers have submitted a patent to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for a method of producing renewable polyurethane adhesives.
According to the patent, researchers from Osaka University, Bio-Energy Corporation and Kansai Chemical Engineering, have reacted a castor oil initiator with lactic acid chemicals made through sugar fermentation to develop a low-melting point, star-branched polyester polyol.
Traditionally, these polyols have high cystallinity and a high melting point, which makes them too viscous to easily make polyurethanes.