Fiber Reinforced Vegetable Oil Based Vinyl Polymer Composites

Vegetable oil is a triglyceride which acts as a multipurpose raw material for the production of bio-degradable polymeric constituents. Several expertise have been established to convert these natural resources into novel monomers, polymers, and polymer composites with diverse properties and multi-functionalities. The various properties which these vegetable oils incorporate into the polymer constituents are high modulus, tensile strength, corrosion resistance, antibacterial and flame retarding characteristics. These important properties of the vegetable oil based polymers make them comparable to conventional polymers made from petrochemicals. The good performance of these polymeric resins makes them commercially viable as a source of thermoplastic and thermosetting resins. As the petroleum resources are limited, long-term availability of petroleum supplies is questionable these vegetable oil-based polymers come across as an attractive alternatives to petrochemical-based polymers. The petroleum oil prices have also been very volatile and disruptions in oil supplies have created a situation where use of bio-renewable feedstock offers stable, constant and viable solution. This vegetable oil are available from the by-product of agricultural production and it can be developed into a new economic strategy to tackle the flicking oil prices, unstable/unsteady supply of petroleum oils and low reserves of petroleum. Thus, this bio-based feedstock for polymer production can carter the needs of the ever increasing market for the polymeric goods which is a sign of industrialization and urbanization. Fiber reinforced polymers have been widely utilized to increase the mechanical strength, flexural properties, impact strength of the composite polymers. The review presents recent advances in the characterization, and properties of fiber reinforced polymers from vegetable oils with vinyl polymers matrices. The current and potential future applications of these types of polymers and polymer composites have also been discussed.