NMSU researchers explore production of polymers from biomass

High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal

Energy sources, such as biodiesel and ethanol, are currently being produced on the industrial scale from plants, plant products and algae. Now researchers from New Mexico State University are investigating ways to use these renewable biomass sources to produce polymeric products that might be used for biomedical or food-related applications.

Delia Julieta Valles-Rosales, assistant professor of industrial engineering, is interested in developing novel methods to convert biomass, such as vegetable oil, into biopolymers that could be molded into value-added products. She has assembled a group of industrial engineering students along with chemistry and chemical engineering researchers in a quest to develop a patentable, bioplastic material.

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