Patent Title: POLYMERS PREPARED FROM MEVALONOLACTONE AND DERIVATIVES

 Number/Link: US2016/0130389

Applicant/Assignee: Visolis

Publication date: 12-05-2016

“Gist”: Use of mevalonolactone derivatives as monomers for PU and other polymers

Why it is interesting: 3,5-Dihydroxy-3-methylvaleric acid and its corresponding lactone “mevalonolactone”, is a common metabolic intermediate and can be produced industrially by fermentation of biomass. Mevalonolactone can be converted to diacids, (unsaturated) diols, triols etc., which could be useful as a renewable and inexpensive feedstock for polymers like polyester, polyamides and polyurethanes. In an example mevalonolactone is reacted with ethanolamine resulting in the triol  3,5-dihydroxy-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methylpentanamide which is in turn reacted with 4,4′ MDI to make a model polyurethane.

Dihydroxymethylvaleric acid and its corresponding lactone