Researchers at the Gdansk University of Technology have developed a patent-protected method for obtaining polyester bio-polyesters from maize fermentation products that can replace petroleum derivatives in the production of polyurethanes. The invention was awarded at an international trade fair and may find application in the plastics industry for the production of, for example, elastomers, flexible foams, paints or varnishes.
One of the two main components from which polyurethanes are obtained and which affect the properties of the resulting product are polyols. PG researchers have developed linear polyester bio-polyols and a way to obtain them using compounds of natural origin.
Bio-polyols can be used as an intermediate to obtain polyurethane elastomers, and from them then such items as phone cases, elastic watch straps and toy components, car seals, mattress fillings, shoe soles, coating materials, paints, varnishes or adhesives.
