Guayule and guar being looked at as potential biofuel feedstock

March 3, 2018 |

In New Mexico, researchers from New Mexico State University’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and College of Engineering have joined the Sustainable Bio-economy for Arid Regions project led by the University of Arizona. The SBAR project will research guayule and guar, two plants that grow well in the Southwest, as potential feedstock for biofuel and for high-value products such as rubber, resin and polysaccharide.

Guar research at NMSU’s Agricultural Science Center in Clovis has demonstrated that the low-water-use and drought-resistant crop is ideal for New Mexico and the Southwest. Through research and extension activities that will be performed by the SBAR team, farmers in New Mexico will eventually be able to take advantage of this huge market presented by the high demand for guar gum.

The SBAR project is funded by a five-year grant of up to $15 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Check out The Digest’s Multi-Slide Guide to the SBAR project here.

Category: Fuels

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