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                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Bio-oils Research: Peoria, IL
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USDA-ARS researchers, including BOR Research Leader Steven Cermak, were recognized by the the Secretary of Agriculture and the Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics (REE), with Technology Transfer Awards for the advancement of pennycress as a commercial off-season oilseed crop for the United States.
 ARS scientists team up to fight flies.Read the story.  Stable fly mouth part viewed through scanning electron microscope (SEM)
 Another big award for BOR's Pennycress researchers  Read about the serendipitous start to this project.
 Plants give rise to biodegradable base oils-with a helping hand from science. Read the story. In a field trial, the conventional motor oil formulation (left) had typical levels of varnish at the end of the test, while the ARS based formulation (right) showed a high degree of overall cleanliness and minimal varnish.
 Congratulations to the BOR pennycress researchers!!! **Dr. Steve C. Cermak** **Dr. Terry Isbell** **Dr. Roque Evangelista** have won the 2022 ARS Technology Transfer award!
 BOR scientist help develop better biofuel.  Read the story from ARS News. Read or listen to the story from WCBU
 Congratulations to the BOR Hall of Famer **Dr. Terry Isbell**
 Soy-based hydrogel powder, invented by ARS, can be mixed with water to form a gel which has great potential to be a drug-delivery agent


**Mission Statement** Scientists in the Bio‐oils Research Unit (BOR) develop new commodity plant oils and commercially viable industrial bio‐based products from new and existing vegetable oils that are technically and economically competitive with or superior to comparable existing commercial petroleum‐derived materials. /ARSUserFiles/50100530/BOR docs for menu/usda-logo.jpg
Bio-Oils Research Unit Overview
**Steven C. Cermak, Ph.D., Research Leader**USDA, ARS, NCAUR – Peoria, Illinois
steven.cermak@usda.gov     (309) 681-6533
/ARSUserFiles/50100530/BOR docs for menu/Cermak-QR_code_enl.jpg ♦Plant Genetic Resources, Genomics and Genetic Improvement (NP #301)o Coordinated Analysis of Soybean Breeding Germplasm (CRIS 009)♦ Product Quality and New Uses (NP #306)o Development of New Value-Added Processes and Products from Advancing Oilseed Crops (CRIS 185)o New High-Value Biobased Materials with Applications Across Industry (CRIS 186)o Versatile Biobased Products with Multiple Functions (CRIS 192) Research Accomplishments
♦New commercialized bio-based crankcase oil ♦Making air travel more sustainable with soy-fuel innovations♦New soy-based hydrogel powder – can be mixed with water to form a gel which has great potential to be a drug-delivery agent♦Pennycress, a potentially viable renewable fuel source, cultivated and improved♦Analysis of soybean breeding germplasm – Provides >7,000 annual compositional analyses♦Diesel fuel gets a boost from tung oil♦New insect repellent – all-natural insect repellent and formulation packages♦Predicting shelf life of biodiesel♦AAIC 2021 A.E. Thompson Career Achievement Award – Dr. Terry Isbell♦AAIC 2021 Outstanding Researcher Award – Dr. Roque Evangelista♦ARS 2022 Hall of Fame Scientist – Dr. Terry Isbell♦ARS 2022 Technology Transfer Award – Drs. Steven Cermak and Roque Evangelista
Capabilities and Collaboration Areas
♦Only pilot plant with seed-oil-to product capability♦Polymer and tribology testing equipment♦Oil processing equipment♦Distillation and separation equipment♦Pfaudler 5- and 50-gallon glass lined reactors♦Developing new industrial processes and products from industrial crops♦Specialty seed processing♦Bio-fuels development♦Multiple chemical reactors ♦Chemical analysis instruments: FTIR, GC-MS, DSC,TGA, Raman, GPC, etc
/ARSUserFiles/50100530/BOR docs for menu/Cermak-Engine_oil.png/ARSUserFiles/50100530/BOR docs for menu/Cermak-Aviation_fuel.jpg/ARSUserFiles/50100530/images/Pilot plant photos/50 and 5 gal 531.jpg/ARSUserFiles/50100530/images/Pilot plant photos/parr 5 gal 424.jpg
/ARSUserFiles/50100530/images/Pilot plant photos/Cermak-Extruder.jpg /ARSUserFiles/50100530/images/Pilot plant photos/Cermak-Oil_refining_unit.png **About Bio-Oils Research (BOR)** **Mission Statement** Scientists in the Bio‐oils Research Unit (BOR) develop new commodity plant oils and commercially viable industrial bio‐based products from new and existing vegetable oils that are technically and economically competitive with or superior to comparable existing commercial petroleum‐derived materials. **Strategic Goals** **Conversion of Vegetable Oils to Industrial  Products:** Improve the properties of vegetable oils and  their components so they can be used as industrial materials such as printing inks, coatings, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, greases, polymers, composites, surfactants, and adhesives. **Biobased Lubricants:** Determine the friction and wear properties of biopolymers for use in lubricant formulations; determine the reaction mechanism and products of the surface interaction process; and develop predictive models to obtain desired products. **Industrial Products from New Crops:** Identify new sources of raw materials from alternative crops; devise new analytical methods to analyze components; and develop optimum seed processing and industrial processes to recover value‐added products from new crops. **Primary focus** The primary focus of the BOR unit is product development from new industrial crops that possess certain agronomic andother beneficial features not found in traditional commodity crops. Interdisciplinary expertise in chemistry, chemical engineering and agricultural sciences is used to generate new, commercially‐viable materials from agricultural feedstocks. This product development spans the full spectrum from discovery of new crops, their agronomic development and chemical conversion to industrially significant materials. Equipment and expertise is available for planting and harvesting new crops, extraction of seed oil and refining and converting crude seed oils into highervalue bio-based materials and fuels.  Additionally, the Unit contains an extensive collection of highly specialized instrumentation that is used to measure composition and physical properties of fuels, lubricants and other bio-based products. These individual areas of expertise and equipment are leveraged in concert to generate a unique capacity for truly innovative breakthroughs. ****


People Bantchev, Grigor Cao, Xiaozhou
                                            *- Linda* Cermak, Steven
                                            *- Steve* Deadmond, Billy Dexter, Nathaniel
                                            *- Nat* Dunn, Robert
                                            *- Bob* Durham, Amber Evangelista, Roque Isbell, Paul
                                            *- Paul* Jackson, Deborah
                                            *- Debbie* Knetzer, Daniel
                                            *- Dan* Liu, Zengshe
                                            *- Kevin* Lowery, Benjamin
                                            *- Ben* Moser, Bryan Walter, Erin Winfield, Demichael


Midwest Area   steven.cermak@usda.gov


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