Chemistry in a Biobased Economy

Agriculture, Forestry & Food $103 billion Chemicals & Polymers $89 billion Two industries make up about 40% of the GDP in Ohio

Ohio  Is a leader in the nation in many agricultural areas.

Of the 50 states, Ohio is…. 1st in the production of Swiss cheese. 2nd in eggs. 6th in soybeans, and 6th in corn for grain. 3rd largest producer of tomatoes in U.S. and has the world's largest ketchup processing plant in Fremont, Ohio. Ohio is a lead producer of horticulture products, from greenhouse and nursery plants to bulbs.

Soybeans play a huge role in Ohio business. Soybeans are a 2.6 billion dollar business in Ohio each year; 98% of soybean meal becomes animal feed. Soybeans are Ohio’s #1 export. Every other row of soybeans is exported. More than half to China. Ohio is #16 in the nation for beef production, and #5 in flower production.

Every major city in Ohio has a major chemical or polymer producer.

How important are polymers to Ohio? It is the #1 producer of polymers in the United States!

How important are polymers to Ohio? It’s also the #1 producer of many things made from polymers

Plastic is Ohio’s # 4 export.

Current Source of Chemicals & Polymers? Oil While we may know that the supply of oil will affect our cars and the cost to fill our gas tanks, it also affects all the products made from petroleum.

The Agriculture and Chemicals and Polymer Industries are working together to provide a solution: Bioproducts!

Why BioProducts ? The future price of oil is uncertain because of: Increasing Global Demand Uncertain Supply Volatile Price

Bioproducts are greener too! They are: Renewable Carbon neutral Produced locally Biodegradable Lend themselves to a greener chemistry Have reduced toxicity And require less energy over their entire life cycle.

Utilizing natural diversity of plant kingdom Designing plant traits Targeting specific chemical functionality Biotechnology can design the plant for the product characteristics:

An example: Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Plastic is commonly reinforced with agricultural waste cellulosic materials to enhance performance ($25 billion market)

Proctor & Gamble’s sustainability goals are based on a deep understanding of the consumer. sustainability/index.shtml

Ohio companies are investing heavily in sustainability efforts: “Emery Oleochemicals has announced a $50- million investment at its Cincinnati, OH, manufacturing site.” October 12, html

It has the same carbon backbone! How can soybeans replace petroleum in chemical production?