Southern Great Plains Center For Sustainable Biopolymer Production
Purpose
To conduct research necessary to develop a sustainable biopolymer industry in the United States. These efforts are aimed at:
- Developing improved varieties of industrial oilseed and fiber crops with the unique chemical compositions necessary to allow the production of biopolymers
- Developing chemical processes that create unique biopolymers from industrial vegetable oils and natural fiber crops using innovative technologies
- Developing sustainable cropping systems for industrial oilseed and fiber crops on the semiarid lands of the Southern Great Plains
- Quantifying the economic impacts of biopolymer production on agriculture, on rural communities, and on the region's wind electrical generation industry in creating new economic opportunities for the Southern Great Plains
- Measuring the environmental and economic impacts of a developing regional biopolymer industry in terms of carbon sequestration, utilization of peak electrical wind generation, and increasing crop diversity
- Determining the energy balance of industrial oilseed feedstocks based polymers production on the Southern Great Plains
Relevance
Biopolymers represent a second generation of renewable agricultural products that process industrial vegetable oils and natural fiber to produce high value products. Vegetable oils are treated with electrical energy to produce aviation fuels, high value fuel additives, high strength resins, and superior lubricating products. Cotton and other natural fibers are modified genetically or chemically to develop a new generation of cellulose based polymer with high value markets. These biopolymers will be critical to ensuring our country’s future energy independence, economic security and balance of trade. The purpose of this program is to conduct the applied and basic research necessary to develop a renewable biopolymers industry based on the agricultural production and wind-generated electrical energy of the Southern Great Plains.
Potential Impacts
- Impact on Community. One 40-million gallon biopolymer plant could bring $142 million of new construction funds, expand the local economic base by $110 million each year of plant operation, and indirectly support more than 700 jobs in a local community
- Economic Impact. One 40-million-gallon biopolymer plant also could increase household income for the community by $20 million annually and boost sales tax receipts for the state and local government by an average of $1.2 million
- Byproduct Utilization. The high-protein meal, a co-product from an industrial vegetable oil extraction plant, could provide high protein feed for more than 250,000 cattle on finishing rations
- Environmental Benefits. Biopolymers are 100 percent renewable and biodegradable and provide a critical link to the utilization of renewable fuels in our current vehicle fleet while significantly reducing the emissions that contribute to global warming, smog and acid rain
Lead Agency: Texas Tech University
Federal Funding Request for FY 2010: $3.5 million