The replacement of polyols synthesized from petrochemical by polyols originating from natural products, notably from vegetable oils and animal fats, has been the subject of research projects for a number of decades.

Very recently, however, the polymers industry has intensified its efforts to include the "green products", such as biobased polyols, in applications already available in the market. Examples of such applications include polyurethane foams, elastomers and epoxides.

This book describes the extraction of the natural constituents of several fruits and plants as well as their chemical conversion to polyols. In addition to the chemistry involved in the process, particular emphasis is attributed to their applications.

Deny Kyriacos is the President & CEO of GEM-Chem which is based in Brussels, Belgium. He holds a B.Sc. (Distinction, Honours, University award in Chemistry) from Alexandria, Egypt, and Ph.D. from Loughborough University in the UK. Before starting his own company, Dr. Kyriacos has worked at Upjohn, GE and ICI International.