The Center for Plant Science is hosting a presentation by Sten Stymne, a professor from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 20 in Keim Hall room 150. The presentation, which is free and open to the public, is titled “What does it take to get biotech industrial oil crops to the market?”
The potential for plant oils to replace fossil oil in chemical industry is immense, due to the similarities in the chemical structures. Optimized plant oils for industrial uses do not only replace the fossil material contained in the final product but also save energy and investment costs in the processing. To realize the full potential of plant oils for industrial uses, the use of genetic engineering is a must. Great progresses have been done during the last decade in genetic engineering plant oil qualities for industrial uses. However, these qualities are still far from being commercialized, and there are many hurdles to overcome to achieve this. Stymne will outline a road map showing how the scientific community will deal with these hurdles in order for agriculture and chemical industry to adapt this technology, benefiting the rural society and environment.