ABSTRACT
Abstract: Because foams are widely encountered in industry and everyday life and the use of material with a low-carbon footprint is an important issue, an increasing attention has been given to the use of renewable resources and greener technologies to replace materials derived from fossil fuels. In this context, the three major broad categories of renewable resources used as raw materials to full this goal are the phenolic compounds, polysaccharides and vegetable oil. Thus in this chapter, for each one of the three categories, the most promising raw materials and the derivative green foams and processes of elaboration are presented. The focus in this chapter has been on encapsulating the work that has been undertaken using lignin, tannins, cellulose, starch, chitin and chitosan as well as on castor and soybean oils. In each case, the principal characteristics of the raw materials, the possible modications, and the strategies developed to control the process and the characteristics of foams are described. The properties of the designed green foams and their range of possible applications are indicated.
