Plastic is made using crude oil can plant oils be used instead?
Answer:
not really.
the fact that in english for both things the same word is used does not mean that they have the same chemical structure.
crude oil is petrol-it contains hydrocarbons, the unsaturated of which (natural, or synthetic) can be polymerized to form polymers, or plastics.
plant oil, or fat are not hydrocarbons, they are esters. and although part of them are partially unsaturated, making polymerization theoretically possible, it is quite a mess.
no. plant oils contain only short molecules where crude oil consists of very long strands similar molecules.
As well as trying to use plant oils as fuel they are trying to get them to be used for plastics as well. As you may know they are slowing advacing in the use of plant oils as fuel, which is very similar to its application in plastics, the demand for an alternative more inexpansive fuel over shadows the research on plant oils being used for plastic production. Plant oils can be used in plastics but the process is much more expensive so at the moment it is less effecient to use plant oils but it is possible.
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