44
thePeorian.com
F
rom quiet fields to high
powered jet fuel, there is a
new “field to flight” path
being created for redesigned
camelina, mustard, and rapeseed/
canola crops.
Led by a scientist at the Peoria
Ag Lab, the research project
is part of a broad effort to use
renewable resources in gaining
American energy independence.
It is funded by a $7 million grant
from the U.S. Departments of
Agriculture (USDA) and Energy
(
DOE).
Fuels have become the single
largest operational cost to the
airline industry and military and
renewable fuels can significantly
reduce greenhouse gas emis-
sions. Hydrotreated renewable
jet fuels from plant oils have been
commercially demonstrated and
certified for aviation use, but full-
scale production has not occurred
because pricing is not competi-
tive with petroleum fuels.
While hydrotreated renew-
able jet fuels can help meet air
transportation needs for alterna-
tive fuels, secure and stable fuel
sources are required for economic
sustainability. Meanwhile, sig-
nificant fuel purchasers provide
a strong market pull to help
develop complete supply chains
to meet their needs.
The Peoria Ag Lab, formally
known as the National Center for
Agricultural Utilization Research
(
NCAUR), is part USDA’s in-house
research agency, the Agricultural
Research Service. The research
service has strength in building
interdisciplinary teams and coor-
dinating nation-wide networks of
scientists, facilities, stakeholders
and industry cooperators.
CONVERTING
WEEDS INTO FUEL
Ag Lab Chemists Finding
Good Uses for Pennycress
and Other Crops
by Kate O’Hara
Terry Isbell, a chemist at the Peoria Ag Lab, holds a stalk of pennycress. Once considered only a weed, pennycress
is one of several plants that are now being turned into biofuels through processes developed at the Ag Lab.
