These are exciting times for biofuels and renewable chemicals. A sense of urgency is driving a frenzy of activity on both research and commercialization fronts. Presciently, the American Chemical Society selected "Chemistry for a Sustainable World" as the theme for the Spring 2010 national meeting within which was organized a symposium entitled "Renewable and Sustainable Polymers". This book compiles a series of chapters from this symposium and provides a sampling of the promising opportunities and research directions currently underway across the globe. Included are chapters on the synthesis of materials from renewable feedstocks such as seed oils, carbohydrates and proteins as well as chapters on how advances in chemical and biological catalysis are enabling entirely new monomers and polymers.

These are exciting times for biofuels and renewable chemicals. A sense of urgency is driving a frenzy of activity on both research and commercialization fronts. Presciently, the American Chemical Society selected "Chemistry for a Sustainable World" as the theme for the Spring 2010 national meeting within which was organized a symposium entitled "Renewable and Sustainable Polymers". This book compiles a series of chapters from this symposium and provides a sampling of the promising opportunities and research directions currently underway across the globe. Included are chapters on the synthesis of materials from renewable feedstocks such as seed oils, carbohydrates and proteins as well as chapters on how advances in chemical and biological catalysis are enabling entirely new monomers and polymers.