Field pennycress shows feedstock potential

Biodiesel Magazine
November 2010
By Erin Voegele
Posted Nov. 10, 2010

Research conducted by the UDSA’s Agricultural Research Service has identified a promising new feedstock for biodiesel production, Thlaspi arvense. More commonly known as field pennycress, the plant is a member of Brassicaceae family, which includes canola and camelina.

The project is being completed at the Peoria-Ill.-based ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research. According Bryan Moser, an ARS research chemist, the research team has been studying field pennycress for approximately seven years, while the biodiesel component of the project has been ongoing for the past four years.

“The work that we do in our unit, the Bio-Oils Research Unit, spans basically everything from agronomic development and oil process, all the way to the production of biodiesel and evaluation of the properties of methyl esters that result from field pennycress oil,” Moser said.

Read more