Recycling of organic fraction of municipal solid waste as an innovative precursor for the production of bio-based epoxy monomers

This paper reports the preparation of newly synthesized bio-epoxy monomers, suitable for replacing petrochemical-derived epoxy resins. An original green method able to produce epoxy monomers starting from neat carbohydrates, waste flours, and even from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), was here proposed. Hence, for the first time, the epoxidation of carbohydrates was attained only through the exposition to UV and ozone radiation, without using any organic solvent to carry out the reaction. Besides the innovation in the epoxidation method, this work explored the possibility of valorizing waste materials, by recycling carbohydrate scraps; in particular, the exposition of waste flours and municipal solid waste to UV and ozone and their consequent epoxidation allowed obtaining green precursors for the production of a bio-based epoxy resin. Applicability and suitability of the synthesized compounds for epoxy monomers were investigated by curing experiments with a selected amount of a model cycloaliphatic amine-type hardener, i.e. isophorodiamine (IPDA).