Guayule plant and guayule concept tire. This Bioproducts Research partnership with industry demonstrated that a modern passenger tire can be made from US-grown guayule natural rubber. Read more.
Mission
The mission is to expand the utilization of grain products and crop residues by developing biobased products and biofuels through Improved enzymatic conversion tools, grain separation processes, and processing technologies. Research falls within the context of biorefining, whereby Crops are disassembled or modified to create value-added products and co-products as fuels, commodity materials, specialty chemicals, and as platforms for further processing.The Bioproducts Research Unit works closely with growers' groups, processors and a wide range of commercial partners to provide new technologies that add value to agricultural coproducts. This includes creating environmentally-friendly biomaterials, including green chemicals, nanocomposites, sustainable plastics, and critical commodities, such as US-grown rubber. The team is uniquely placed to develop strategies that are specifically applicable to serve the agricultural community of the Western US.
