Decarboxylated Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (DCNSL)

About This Product

Decarboxylated cashew nut shell liquid, supplied as DCNSL and also known as technical CNSL, is produced by heating natural CNSL until the anacardic acid it contains loses carbon dioxide and converts to cardanol. It is a dark brown viscous liquid and is the form in which most CNSL enters industrial use. The treatment changes more than acidity. Anacardic acid carries a carboxyl group bonded directly to the aromatic ring, and that group decomposes unpredictably on heating, releasing carbon dioxide. In a combustion or resin process that means gassing, foaming and inconsistent behaviour at exactly the point where consistency is needed. Removing it beforehand gives a liquid that handles predictably at elevated temperature, with lower acidity and therefore less corrosion risk to storage and burner equipment. What remains is cardanol-rich, retaining good calorific value and the phenolic antioxidant character of the parent material. Like CNSL it contains no glycerides, so it is not a transesterification feedstock; it is used as a renewable fuel oil, a blend component and a chemical feedstock. It is used as industrial and boiler fuel, as a renewable fuel blend component, and as feedstock for cardanol distillation, friction materials and phenolic resins. Bio Green Fuels supplies DCNSL to specification on cardanol content, residual anacardic acid, calorific value, viscosity, moisture, ash and acid value.