Dow gets dollars for plant-oil technology

The Dow Chemical Company has been awarded nearly $5 million by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for research on making plastics and chemicals from renewable plant oils such as castor seed oil.

Details of the program, which is expected to last four years, are still being negotiated. Subject to congressional appropriations, US federal government funding for the work is expected to be $4,767,770, which is 50% of the program's cost.

The project brings together Dow, Castor Oil of Plainview, TX and the United States Department of Agriculture's Western Regional Research Center (WRRC) of Albany, CA, to work on improving properties of plant oils so that industry can more easily substitute them for petrochemical-based raw materials.

The plant-oil award is among six major awards totalling $30 million from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop process technology for the production of chemicals, plastics, materials and other products from plant matter and natural waste materials and establish university education and training programs in bioproducts.

The projects address areas identified in the National Energy Plan for increasing development of bioproducts and bioenergy.

Castor is already an established industrial crop in countries other than the US. Castor oil is used in paints, coatings and specialty nylons, but in its current form cannot produce properties suitable for wide use in plastics and chemicals.

Dow will work on the chemistry of the oils, and work with Castor Oil and the WRRC to develop new castor varieties and improved agricultural technologies.