4. Conclusions and outlook

Cardanol, a major component of CNSL and a by-product of the cashew nut industry, is a cheap and abundantly available non-food oil, currently produced in excess of 900 kt per year. This raw material is in fact a versatile industrial compound with great potential for replacing certain products based on fossil resources. The presence of a phenolic group combined with a C15 alkyl chain bearing olefinic double bonds makes cardanol an interesting starting material for the synthesis of a variety of high-value-added products using the reactivity of each of these functions. Considerable attention has recently been devoted to transformations of the phenolic group and double bond(s) of cardanol for the synthesis of polymer precursors. Additives, and in particular plasticizers, have also been synthesized, demonstrating remarkable performance and a very acceptable toxicological profile, better than many...