Waste vegetable oils turned into chemicals for drugs and plastics
Dual catalytic system converts complex carboxylic acids into terminal alkenes
A new dual catalytic system can produce highly functionalised terminal alkenes from fatty acids. The technique could one day enable industrial production of valuable chemicals from a renewable source, such as vegetable oils.
Alkenes are one of the most useful classes of chemicals and can be turned into a range of products from polymers to pharmaceuticals.