Skip to main content
Photo Carousel Links

The sugar and cottonseed industries are mature but there is always room for improvements.  Both industries could do with a little help.  The Commodity Utilization Research Unit develops technologies that enable growth and profitability in the commercial conversion of sugarcane, sweet sorghum, and energy beets.  We look at making better, cheaper, and cleaner sugar for food and drinks but also focus on making dirt-cheap sugar solutions for conversion into biofuels and bioproducts, as well as finding uses for sugar processing byproducts and quick methods for screening new cultivars.  The Unit also focuses on developing cotton varieties with unique oil composition and “green” oil processing techniques.  In addition, we develop high value applications for cottonseed protein (e.g., glues) and carbohydrate fractions (e.g., as fillers for composite materials), and identify new bioactive food ingredients in seeds from new cotton varieties.  In short, we develop tomorrow’s products today.

The Commodity Utilization Research is located in New Orleans, LA and is part of the Southeast Area.
The Research Leader is K Thomas Klasson.
Email: Thomas.Klasson@usda.gov
Phone: (504) 286-4510
Fax: (504) 286-4367
COMMODITY UTILIZATION RESEARCH
1100 ALLEN TOUSSAINT BLVD
New Orleans, LA 70124-4305