College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

Bio-based

Chemistry's George Kraus is attempting to bring scientists from different disciplines together to discuss biorenewable resources.
Few scientists and engineers have become actively involved in the emerging and highly interdisciplinary bio-based industry.

George Kraus, professor of chemistry, is leading an effort to change that.

Kraus is the heading a task force of faculty and scientists from the College of Engineering, the College of Agriculture, the Plant Sciences Institute and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. His goal - get people working together on developing bio-based materials and energy.

"Part of this effort is to develop ways we can work together," he said. "This task force will advise the Biorenewable Resources Consortium (BRC) on a number of issues."

The BRC is a partnership dedicated to the development and utilization of agriculturally derived alternatives to petrochemicals and other nonrenewable fossil resources. Iowa's corn, soybeans, switchgrass and crop-based resources such as corn stover can be utilized to replace petroleum-based ingredients in the production of such products as liquid fuels, commodity, chemicals, lubricants, plastics and building materials.

The Ames Laboratory in conjunction with Iowa State's Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station and the University’s Plant Science Institute direct the partnership.

"We're talking about how to bring together various scientific disciplines on campus and encourage more bio-based projects and proposals," Kraus said. "A group like the task force can coordinate these very different groups that haven't interacted much before. We come a long way, but we certainly have a way to go."

Kraus feels that Iowa State is nicely positioned to assess and develop biorenewable alternatives to the use of petrochemicals through conventional crops and biomass.

"By working with related groups such as the Center for Crops Utilization in the Plant Sciences Institute and the Center for Sustainable Environmental
Technologies in IPRT, there is a chance that we can uncover many opportunities in this area," he said. "I don't think there are many academic institutions working on this concept."

The benefits to Iowa agriculture loom large according to Kraus.

"There is a lot of potential for use of sustainable materials such as crops and crop residues for the creation of value-added products," he said, "Rural economies throughout Iowa and the entire Midwest will benefit from our discoveries."

In early January Iowa Congressman Tom Latham announced that he had secured $2 million in federal funds to establish and fund the first round of research and development at the BRC.

"These funds will allow us to assemble cutting-edge research teams drawn from many different disciplines that can help find new uses for agricultural products, which will open entirely new markets," said Tom Barton, Ames Laboratory director. "This will ultimately have important economic and environmental impacts for the nation, but, most important, it will benefit the Iowa economy and the Iowa farmer."

The Ames Laboratory and Iowa State are also members of a related regional consortium that also includes the Argonne National Laboratory, Purdue University, the University of Illinois, Michigan State University and the USDA Laboratory in Peoria, Ill.