ABSTRACT
The use of fossil carbon-based raw materials in the manufacture of specialty chemicals is going down because of their spiraling prices end high rate of depletion of the stocks. This necessitated a look at the renewable natural resources that can serve as alternative feedstock of raw materials for the specialty chemicals in industry. In this respect cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) is an abundant agricultural by-product, holds considerable promise as a source of unsaturated phenol, an excellent raw material for the production of specialty chemicals. The total annual production of CNSL in India is around 15,000 tones whereas, the potential availability is around 60,000 tones and the consumption is about 11,000 tones. The rest of the CNSL is wasted or burnt. The world production is around 1.25 lakh tones [1].
