Algenesis cracks diisocyanate problem to make fully bio-based polyurethane

Polyurethanes are all around us – in the foam we sit and sleep on, in the insulation that keeps our houses warm and our fridges cold, and even in our shoes. It’s a complex polymer with two different monomers – a polyol and a diisocyanate. Bio-based polyols are now commonplace, but the same can’t be said for the diisocyanate. Now, polyol-producing San Diego, US-based startup Algenesis has managed to develop a process to make a bio-based diisocyanate, too, and a pilot plant has recently started up.