A well-oiled chemical plant

Reactive Reports has reported on novel methods for turning raw hydrocarbons into useful materials previously (Issue 6), now an alliance of industry and academic scientists is hoping to make agricultural plants, and not petrochemical plants, the source of the ingredients for some plastics and other products.

The Oilseed Engineering Alliance, between Dow, Michigan State University, Miami University, Washington State University and Brookhaven National Laboratory will pool expertise in oilseed crops such as, soy, canola and rape to improve their oil and fatty acid profile.

John Ohlrogge

The hope is that modifying the oil profile of such plants might provide a renewable feedstock for the chemical and polymers industry but the development of crops for this purpose might also lead to novel materials in themselves.

According to project co-ordinator John Ohlrogge and masters student Mike Pollard, working in the National Plant Lipid Co-operative (NPLC) at Michigan State University, plants can easily perform chemistry that is difficult for chemists using traditional methods so the research will be aimed at persuading the plants to produce stable fatty acids and oils for manufacturing as well as making them easier to extract.