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23.01.2006 00:01

Plant potential in the pipeline

Dipl. Ing. agr. Ursula Ross-Stitt Büro für Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Max-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie

Plants, rather than fossil fuels can provide our future energy, fuel and everyday products and today an international group of scientists will reveal how. The EPOBIO project which involves researchers at the Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, is releasing its first series of reports on the endless possibilities of plants.

What have you done so far today; made a cup of tea, driven to work, sent an e-mail or text?

Each of those activities is dependent on oil, from fuel for transport to the plastic parts of your kettle, car, keyboard and mobile. Development of our high-impact consumer lifestyles is accelerating even as fossil fuel supplies are dwindling and the impact of their use on the environment becomes ever more apparent.

But plants, rather than fossil fuels can provide our future energy, fuel and everyday products and today an international group of scientists will reveal how. The EPOBIO project which involves researchers at the Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, is releasing its first series of reports on the endless possibilities of plants.

The renewable revolution
Plants offer a sustainable tool to achieve the renewable revolution. They are 'green factories' using energy from sunlight to make the raw materials for producing biofuel, bioplastics and a range of other products cheaply and in large quantities. The EPOBIO reports present detailed analyses of how plant products and plants themselves can be used to replace products made using oil. Researchers at the Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology are studying how plant cell walls, the most abundant renewable resource on earth, can be used more efficiently for the production of bio-based products.

Professor Markus Pauly, project leader and Dr Ralf Moeller, report author said "Understanding the basic principles of how plants synthesize these valuable resources will be key to developing plants with enhanced yield and better processing properties. This will provide us with a sustainable and economically viable supply of bioproducts and biofuels".

Key issues highlighted in the report are:
* biofuels, power, chemicals, materials and fibres can be all made from plants rather than oil in integrated processing systems called biorefineries.
* the use of plant material reduces greenhouse gas emissions while guaranteeing security of supply.
* cell walls are mainly made of carbohydrates. After digestion of the walls, the released sugars can serve as raw materials for the production of ethanol, or other chemicals such as lactic acid, which can be used to manufacture biodegradable plastic.
* cell walls of various plant species and varieties need to be studied and analysed for their digestibility and sugar yields, in order to identify the principal characteristics influencing their industrial application properties.
* plant material and processing methods need to be optimised so that cell walls can be more easily deconstructed in order to increase yield and quality of the end products and reduce energy and chemical inputs.

The accompanying EPOBIO reports present:
Biopolymers: The need for alternative sources of natural rubber:
* natural rubber is a strategic commodity, irreplaceable by synthetic alternatives for many of its applications, e.g. heavy duty tyres for SUVs, trucks and aeroplanes.
* the incidence of allergic reactions to proteins in natural rubber (latex) is increasing. Natural rubber is used to make protective medical products, posing a potential risk to both patients and medical workers.
* the rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis, is at risk from a fungal disease which has already decimated large-scale rubber production in South America.
* future shortages in supply are predicted
* the rubber-producing shrub, guayule, can be grown in Europe as an alternative source of non-allergenic natural rubber.

Plant oils: The potential of producing lubricants from plants:
* plant oils have similar structures and properties to oil derived from petroleum and can be used as replacements in many applications.
* plant waxes have excellent properties as lubricants but their use has previously been limited by the high cost of extraction from jojoba seeds.
* the low cost production of waxes from the non-food oil crop Crambe will provide a sustainable supply of lubricants to use in engine, transmission and hydraulic fluids.

EPOBIO Director Professor Dianna Bowles said "Two key threats to society are our dependence on finite fossil fuels and climate change. Plants have the potential to provide us with everything now made using petroleum. In this way, we can create a sustainable society for the future and address immediate concerns such as rising energy costs, security of supply and our impact on the environment."

The Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology is one of 12 partners in the EPOBIO project which involves experts in plant science, environmental impact assessment, economic analysis and social expectations and combines these strengths to identify the plant-based products which offer greatest benefit to society within the next 10-15 years.

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Editor Notes:
1. Full versions of the reports and executive summaries are available to download from http://www.epobio.net, along with further supporting information and images.
Plant Cell Walls flagship report - Cell wall saccharification
Biopolymers flagship report - Alternative sources of natural rubber
Plant Oils flagship report - Production of wax esters in Crambe

2. Contact details for press information:

EPOBIO Director
Professor Dianna Bowles
Director, CNAP, University of York, UK
e-mail: djb32@york.ac.uk
tel: +44 (0)1904 328780

EPOBIO Co-ordinator
David Clayton
CNAP, University of York, UK
e-mail: dc530@york.ac.uk
tel: +44 (0)7795 315069

Plant Cell Walls project leader
Professor Markus Pauly
Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Germany
e-mail: Pauly@mpimp-golm.mpg.de
tel: +01 517 353 433

Plant Cell Walls report author
Dr Ralf Möller
Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Germany
e-mail: moeller@mpimp-golm.mpg.de
tel: +49 (0)331 567 8263

Biopolymers report author
Dr Jan van Beilen
University of Lausanne,
Switzerland
e-mail: vanbeilen@biotech.biol.ethz.ch
tel: +41 (0)44 6333444

Biopolymers project leader
Professor Yves Poirier
Director, Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
e-mail:yves.poirier@unil.ch
tel: +41 (0)21 692 42 22

Plant Oils report author
Dr Anders Carlsson
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
e-mail: anders.carlsson@vv.slu.se
tel: +46 (0)40 415561

Plant Oils project leader
Professor Sten Stymne
Department of Crop Science,
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
e-mail: sten.stymne@vv.slu.se
tel: +46 (0)40 415519

3. EPOBIO stands for "realising the Economic POtential of sustainable resources - BIOproducts from Non-Food Crops."
EPOBIO is an international project to realise the economic potential of plant-derived raw materials and establish the priorities for bioscience research in order to deliver bio-based products for the market place in 10-15 years. The EPOBIO project involves a consortium of 12 European and US partners and is led by the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products at the University of York, UK. The project is funded as part of the European Commission's Sixth Framework Programme, receiving €1.4 million, with co-operation from the United States Department of Agriculture.
website: http://www.epobio.net
email: info@epobio.net
tel: +44 (0)1904 328761


4. The Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology's research focus is plant metabolism and its regulation. Its mission is to study the dynamics of plant metabolism in the context of the plant system as a whole.

5. CNAP, the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, is a research centre in the Department of Biology at the University of York in the UK. The aim of CNAP's research is to realise the potential of plant- and microbial-based renewable resources through gene discovery to make products needed by society.

6. For general enquires about EPOBIO, please contact Dr Louisa Wright on +44 (0)1904 328802, +44 (0)7795 315036, e-mail:lw15@york.ac.uk.
For general enquiries about the Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, please contact Ursula Ross-Stitt on +49 331- 56 78 310

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Weitere Informationen:

http://www.epobio.net Full versions of the reports and executive summaries are available to download, along with further supporting information and images.

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Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
Biologie, Informationstechnik, Tier / Land / Forst, Wirtschaft
überregional
Forschungs- / Wissenstransfer, Forschungsprojekte
Englisch

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