St. Louis, Missouri
April 30, 2008
As the demand for a plentiful
supply of feedstock oil for biodiesel increases, the
Donald Danforth Plant
Science Center today announced that the
National Biodiesel Board
(NBB), with funding support from the U.S. Department of
Transportation, has granted more than $1.2 million to fund a
three-year research project designed to enhance the oil
production in soybeans. This would increase America's supply of
renewable oil used in the production of biodiesel.
"This grant is yet another of the Danforth Center's unique
partnerships for supporting basic plant science research. In
this case, the partnership will address the pressing needs for
more efficient methods to produce fuels from renewable plant
sources," said Danforth Center President Dr. Roger N. Beachy.
"We greatly appreciate the support of Senator Kit Bond and his
staff in facilitating the relationship between the Danforth
Center and the National Biodiesel Board in an effort to increase
the oil feedstock for biodiesel production."
"We are proud to support the Danforth Center as researchers
there look for ways to get more bang for the buck from each
soybean seed," said NBB CEO Joe Jobe. "Increasing the oil
feedstock supply is vital to the rapidly expanding biodiesel
industry. Soybean oil is one of the primary feedstock sources
used in the production of biodiesel, and we hope this research
will increase the soy oil supply. Plus, whatever advances are
made on beans will have a high likelihood of being transferred
to other oilseed crops – other biodiesel sources."
Danforth Center Principal Investigator Dr. Jan Jaworski will
lead the research project which will be focused on increasing
the oil produced in soybean seeds by altering specific
biochemical pathways that are embedded within the soybean plant.
"We will undertake a new approach to enhancing the production of
soy oil with a goal of increasing the percentage of oil produced
in each seed," Dr. Jaworski explained. "While this approach is
new, we are confident our results will lead to increased oil
production without reducing the amount of protein in the seeds:
soy protein is an important source of food and feed."
"Increasing the efficiency of renewable biofuels from plants is
vital to America's drive for energy independence and is critical
to improving our environment. Making biofuels more efficient
puts America one step closer to a stable home-grown energy
supply and I applaud the partnership of the Danforth Center and
the National Biodiesel Board for their leadership and vision,"
said U.S. Senator from Missouri Kit Bond.
Biodiesel is an environmentally safe fuel, and rises to the top
of transportation fuels when weighing carbon footprint, life
cycle greenhouse gas emissions and energy balance. According to
the U.S. Department of Agriculture's life cycle study, B100
biodiesel reduces life cycle carbon emissions by 78 percent. In
2007 alone, biodiesel's contribution to reducing greenhouse gas
emissions was the equivalent of removing 700,000 passenger
vehicles from America's roadways. Biodiesel is also an efficient
fuel, as it creates 3.5 units of energy for each unit of energy
consumed in the production of the fuel.
Maintaining and enhancing environmental sustainability is a
priority of the biodiesel industry. Using less energy to produce
more oil from the same acreage is a fundamental step toward
sustainability. According to statistics provided by NBB, if over
the next ten years, plant science research could help the
biodiesel industry achieve a ten percent increase in soybean
yield and a five percent increase in oil content, across
America’s entire three billion bushel soybean crop, an
additional two billion gallons of oil could be produced using
the same or less energy than today. Two billion gallons of
biodiesel would replace more diesel fuel than the U.S. refines
from all of the crude oil currently imported from Iraq.
About The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a
not-for-profit research institute with a global vision to
improve the human condition. Research at the Danforth Center
will enhance the nutritional content of plants to improve human
health, increase agricultural production to create a sustainable
food supply, and build scientific capacity to generate economic
growth in the St. Louis region and throughout Missouri. Please
visit www.danforthcenter.org for additional information.
About The National Biodiesel Board
The NBB is the national trade association of the biodiesel
industry and is the coordinating body for biodiesel research and
development in the U.S. Its membership is comprised of state,
national, and international feedstock and feedstock processor
organizations, biodiesel suppliers, fuel marketers and
distributors, and technology providers. |
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