FocusCrops for fuels, chems make comeback

05 March 2008 18:55  [Source: ICIS news]

By Doris de Guzman

 NEW YORK (ICIS news)--Development of industrial oilseeds as an economical feedstock for chemicals and biofuels has risen across the globe, according to industry sources.

The food-versus-fuel debate is driving most of the research toward new industrial crops such as jatropha and camelina to replace edible oils like soybean, canola and palm.

Agriculture bioscience company Targeted Growth Inc. (TGI) based in Seattle, Washington, and Montana-based Great Plains -the Camelina Company, are both planning to commercialise camelina production for biofuel within five years.

TGI formed a joint venture called Sustainable Oils with biodiesel producer Green Earth Fuels last year for the production and marketing of camelina-based biodiesel.

“Camelina requires very little water and fertilizer, grows very well on marginal land and can stand up to harsh conditions,” said Sustainable Oils CEO Don Panter. “All of these factors together make it an ideal crop, which could mean no food is being displaced to grow camelina.”

“We feel that camelina will play a big role as a global biofuel feedstock,” said Great Plains CEO Sam Huttenbauer. “Biofuel produced from crops such as camelina can help the world become less reliant on fossil fuels. Camelina is an amazing crop and there will no doubt be new uses and potential unlocked as our development of this crop continues.”

Bioscience company Metabolix is reportedly also looking at camelina as well as brassica juncea (Indian mustard) to produce bioplastics and fuels. Metabolix recently partnered with Missouri-based Danforth Plant Science Center for the project.

“Oilseeds are already a major source of industrial chemicals based on the oil, and more recently have increasingly been used as a source of biofuels. Our concept is to develop oilseeds which produce bioplastic in the seed as a value-added co-product,” said Metabolix chief scientific officer Oliver Peoples.

Outside the US, jatropha is becoming more popular as a new source of biodiesel feedstock. India-based plant biotechnology company Terasol LABS plans to commercialise jatropha-based biodiesel in 2009.

“We believe jatropha is a good candidate for biodiesel feedstock because of its oil yield versus input cost profile as compared to first-generation feedstocks,” said Terasol CEO Sundeep Bhan. “Correct cultivation of jatropha can be done in degraded land and can be environmentally sustainable with no need for deforestation.”

Terasol said it is also working on castor crops but mostly for chemical applications.

“Castor is an attractive raw material to use as a replacement in many downstream derivative products that are typically made from petrochemicals,” said Bhan. “As oil prices remain high, we continue to see new uses and applications for castor oil derivatives in fabrics, plastics, paints, lubricants, personal care products and other markets.”

Other oilseeds being developed for use as potential chemical feedstock include crambe, lesquerella, echium and cuphea, according to Andrew Hebard, CEO of Technology Crops International (TCI).

Cuphea is said to be a potential alternative to coconut and palm oil, while lesquerella could replace castor oil in the US, according to TCI.

“Much study is being done in the developments of these oilseeds and interest is growing strongly from the chemical industry,” said Hebard. “Right now these oilseeds are going through a process of acceptance and commercialisation.”

For more on oilseed developments see the 17 March issue of ICIS Chemical Business

Bookmark Simon Robinson’s Big Biofuels Blog for some independent thinking on biofuels

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By: Doris de Guzman
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