Bibliometric Review of State-of-the-art Research on Microbial Oils' Use for Biobased Epoxy

Abstract

Epoxy resins are widely used polymers from which a variety of products are derived and applied in many industries. Most epoxy resins are still obtained from mainly fossil feedstocks, such as epichlorohydrin and bisphenol A, which are also highly toxic. Additionally, fossil derived epoxy resin products are forming non-biodegradable waste at their end of life. Recently the number of studies aiming to find solutions and other raw materials for the replacement of fossil derived epoxy resins has increased, showing that bio-based epoxy resins are a promising alternative. An interesting alternative raw material for bio-based epoxy resins is epoxides derived from microorganisms, such as epoxidized microbial oil. This review article explores and compares the latest solutions for the use of microbial oils in the production of bio-based epoxides, outlines the prospects for their future use and points out the shortcomings of these solutions.