Biobased Manufacture of Alkenyl Phenolics and Polysaccharide Feedstocks from Cashew Nut with Supercritical Water and Carbon Dioxide Processing

The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is a branchy evergreen tree native to tropical areas that grows in a wide range of soils and has a 25 year life span. Cashew nuts rank third in the the world production of edible nuts and represent a major source of alkenyl phenolic compounds. The fruit of the tree consists of an outer shell (epicarp), a tight fitting inner shell (endocarp), testa and the kernel. The pericarp of the fruit contains a strongly vesicant liquid that is mostly anacardic acids and cardols, which has to be removed before obtaining the valuable cashew nut kernel. In current cashew nut processing techniques, much of the phenolic liquid is wasted or damaged through heat treatment steps and many parts of the nut and tree are ineffectively utilized. As part of research philosophy, we are examining the application of supercritical fluids to improve the processing of renewable resources. In this work, we examing the reactive phase behavior of the cashew nut material and some of the phenolic liquid solubility characteristics. Reactive phase behavior is the characteristic phase behavior of a material in the presence of a solvent during reacting conditions. The reactive phase behavior of many polymers and biological materials in water will be especially important in developing new agricultural-based processes. Sasaki et al. [1], found that cellulose could be completely dissolved in water without acids, bases, or other catalysts as mixture