Whole-plant oils, potential new industrial raw materials

Abstract

In an extensive screening program, 14 plant species have been identified which have good potential as hydrocarbon- and rubber-producing crops. These plants contain from 5 to 10% oil plus polymeric hydrocarbon on a dry weight basis. Since their dry matter yield should be 11,200 to 22,400 kg/ha/year, they would produce several times as much oil as conventional oilseed crops. In these plants, the oil is not concentrated in storage organs, i.e., seed or fruit tissue, but is distributed throughout the whole plant. Several species are lactiferous, with oil as a major component of the latex. A few which are of primary interest as potential new sources of natural rubber produce an equal yield of by-product oil. A prominent feature of most whole-plant oils is their large component of nonglyceride esters. Such oils could become valuable new feedstocks for production of plasticizers for rubber and plastics and new sources of waxes, long chain alcohols, sterols, terpenes, fatty acids, and other products. A petroleum refinery could be operated on whole-plant oils, and some species are being referred to as potential “gasoline trees.”