There has been great interest in the replacement of petroleum-based polyols
with biobased polyols in polyurethane applications. However, current products mainly
triglyceride-based polyols have many drawbacks, and also do not have the structural
efficiency and physical performance characteristics that restrict them to limited
applications.
To minimize all these limitations, the synthesis of low molecular weight liquid polyols
can be performed via a robust, simple, environmentally friendly, and solvent-free
‘biocatalytic route’. In contrast to chemical methods, enzyme-catalyzed reactions
proceed with high enantio- and regioselectivity, under mild conditions, avoiding
protection deprotection steps, providing an attractive alternative to conventional
chemical methods. Bio-renewable, non-toxic and low-cost monomers, such as 2,5
dihydroxymethyl furan, 1,4 butanediol, glycerol, diglycerol, isosorbide, D-mannitol,
D-sorbitol, citric acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic
acid, sebacic acid and many more can be employed in preparing biobased polyol
prepolymers via enzymatic catalysis.
Keywords: Biobased polyols, Enzyme catalysis, Polyurethanes.
