Synthesis and characterization of different types of epoxide-based Mannich polyols from low-cost cashew nut shell liquid

Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) is a natural aromatic organic oil consisting of phenolic compounds with interesting structures. Extraction of CNSL was performed in a Soxhlet apparatus. The major (90 %) component of CNSL is anacardic acid, which is easily decarboxylated to cardanol (10 %) by use of conventional methods. In this paper we describe a three-step synthesis of Mannich polyols for rigid foams. The first step is synthesis of N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1,3-oxazolidine (the Mannich precursor) by condensation of paraformaldehyde and diethanolamine. The second step involves synthesis of the Mannich base phenolic ring of cardanol by reaction with N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1,3-oxazolidine. The third step is alkoxylation. The synthesized polyols were characterized by FTIR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy and thin-layer chromatography.