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thePeorian.com
The Future
Terry Isbell, a research chemist
at NCAUR and principle director
for the hydrotreated renewable
jet fuel project, has led multiple
research groups both inside
and outside of the Agricultural
Research Service. He
has also been heavily
involved with industry
and intermediaries
on an ongoing basis.
His current research
includes developing
advanced biodegrad-
able engine lubricants
known as estolides and
developing pennycress
—
a plant from the
mustard family —that
he discovered to have
high potential as an
energy crop. Penny-
cress is currently being
developed for use as
biodiesel.
“
I was walking
through a field one
day, picked up some
pennycress and
wondered how much
oil would be in those
tiny seeds,” he said.
“
So I brought it back
to the lab and tested it;
turned out the seeds
had a higher percent-
age of oil than soy-
beans.”
That knowledge
took on new sig-
nificance as interest in biodiesel
grew along with the increase in
petroleum prices. The primary
source for biodiesel is soybeans,
but a debate was underway:
Should soybeans be used for food
or for fuel?
“
It was a problem almost
custom-made for pennycress to
solve,” Isbell noted.
An energy crop with no food
value, pennycress sidesteps the
food vs. fuel debate. Added to the
crop rotation between corn and
soybeans, it generates additional
income for growers. Yielding
nearly clear oil that requires lim-
ited refining, it is highly attractive
for conversion to biodiesel.
The pennycress research
project includes collaboration
with geneticists, plant breeders,
universities and private sector
companies in an effort to turn a
weed into an income-generating
domestic crop with a future as
a biofuel. This year 500 acres
were harvested; next year there
will be 1,500 acres in commercial
production.
“
There is no lack of interest in
this area of research,” Isbell said.
“
The scientific value of this jet
fuel project is huge and working
closely with this number of top
people is very exciting.”
More than 20 principle investi-
gators have been assembled from
across the nation to
conduct the four-year
project, represent-
ing federal agencies,
universities and the
private sector, the
Agricultural Research
Service said.
The interdisciplin-
ary team will address
multiple supply chain
barriers and work to
establish a supply of
high-quality feedstock
to produce HRJ fuel
at competitive prices.
The expertise includes
specialists in genet-
ics, plant breeding,
agronomy, chemis-
try, remote sensing
technology, economics,
rural sociology, market
analysis, business
development and tech-
nology commercial-
ization, the research
service said.
Establishing a sup-
ply of high-quality
feedstock includes
developing new lines
of the oilseed crops
designed for increased
oil quality and yield and new
strategies to expand production
using remote sensing and crop
modeling technologies. “Since no
single region or crop variety can
meet all of the needs for oilseed
feedstocks across a diverse
environment, the crops will be
incorporated into several existing
agricultural areas of the Western
United States,” it said.
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