2006 Annual Report 4d.Progress report. This report serves to document research conducted under a Trust between ARS and the Clorox Company. Additional details can be found in the report for the parent CRIS Project No. 5325-41000-044-00D: Development of Agriculturally-Derived Biopolmer Composities for Non-food Applications. Agriculturally derived polymers and commodity chemicals are produced in surplus and are underutilized. As part of this CRIS research at the WRRC under the CRADA with a Clorox was conducted to develop binders for charcoal briquettes. A new, more effective binder was developed that is used in very small amounts and uses starch as one ingredient. The work was performed at the Western Regional Research Center in collaboration with Clorox engineers from Pleasanton, CA. The research findings could significantly reduce material costs for charcoal production and could provide a new niche market for agricultural starches.