Tannins as a sustainable raw material for green chemistry: A review

[Display omitted] •Tannins have phenolic structure and also act as antioxidants.•It is possible to extract tannins from different plants.•Tannins are currently used in tanning, adhesive making, fisheries, and so on.•The potential of tannin in the manufacture of various bio-materials is under study. Tannins as herbal extracts are a good alternative for green chemistry. They are found aplenty in some plant species and can be extracted by simple methods. The tannins main feature and advantage is their phenolic structure which is very similar to synthetic phenols. Another key feature of tannins is their actions as antioxidants. The use of tannins is often connected to one of these features. They are now actively used in leather tanning, adhesive making (especially wood adhesives), fisheries, beverages manufacturing, animal feed and many others. Considerable amounts of research has also been recently conducted on the possibility of using tannins in the manufacture of biosourced foams, wood preservatives, corrosion inhibitors, polyurethane surface coatings, epoxy adhesives, binders for Teflon coatings and etc. This paper deals with different uses of tannins and with the latest research which has been done on this subject.