Department of Organic Chemistry, Ghent University, Belgium.
ChemSusChem. 2009;2(8):692-713. doi: 10.1002/cssc.200900075.
A lot of attention is currently being paid to the transition to a biobased economy. In this movement, most efforts concentrate on the development of bioenergy applications including bioethanol, biodiesel, thermochemical conversion of biomass, and others. However, in the energy sector other nonbiomass alternatives are known, whereas no valuable alternatives are available when thinking about chemical building blocks. Therefore, it is also essential to develop new routes for the synthesis of bio-based chemicals and materials derived thereof. Such intermediates can originate either from plants or from animals. Castor oil is a non-edible oil extracted from the seeds of the castor bean plant Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae), which grows in tropical and subtropical areas. Globally, around one million tons of castor seeds are produced every year, the leading producing areas being India, PR China, and Brazil.2 10-Undecenoic acid or undecylenic acid is a fatty acid derived from castor oil that, owing to its bifunctional nature, has many possibilities to develop sustainable applications.
当前，人们非常关注向生物基经济的转型。在这一转变中，大多数努力都集中在生物能源应用的开发上，包括生物乙醇、生物柴油、生物质热化学转化等。然而，在能源领域，人们还知道其他非生物质替代品，而在考虑化学建筑模块时，却没有有价值的替代品。因此，开发用于合成生物基化学品和由此衍生的材料的新途径也是必不可少的。这些中间体可以来源于植物或动物。蓖麻油是从大戟科植物蓖麻种子中提取的不可食用油，这种植物生长在热带和亚热带地区。全球每年生产约 100 万吨蓖麻种子，主要生产地区是印度、中国和巴西。2 10-十一烯酸或十一碳烯酸是一种从蓖麻油中提取的脂肪酸，由于其双官能团性质，有许多可能发展可持续应用的机会。
