A product based on an ARS licensed technology was the subject of an 18 month 150,000 mile field trial in Las Vegas, NV. 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.
Stable fly mouth part viewed through scanning electron microscope (SEM)
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
A resting stable fly during blood-feeding study (showing their fully engorged abdomen)
Pennycress, a potentially viable renewable fuel source, is cultivated and improved in the Bio-Oils research unit.
About Bio-Oils Research (BOR)
The primary focus of the BOR unit is product development from new industrial crops that possess certain agronomic and other 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.
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