Apricot kernels and cashew nuts. We have been eating these delicacies in large quantities for decades. But who would have thought they would one day become the object of interest for nanotechnologists and biochemists looking to use them as renewable and biodegradable substitutes for petrochemicals?

The use of renewable biomass as an alternate source for fuel and the production of valuable chemicals is becoming a topic of great interest and a driving force behind research into biorefinery concepts. In the early parts of the 20th century, most nonfuel industrial products such as medicines, paints, chemicals, dyes, and fibers were made from vegetables, plant and crops. During the 1970s, petroleum based organic chemicals had largely replaced those derived from plant materials, capturing more than 95% of the markets previously held by products from biological sources.