Next Generation Energy : The Second Coming of Chemurgy

Biofuels—like cellulose-based ethanol—may be frontrunners in the race to replace fossil fuels, but as a recent Economist article points out, plant-based technology has the potential to take over in other industries as well. Agricultural raw materials were once used to make paint, plastic, rubber, even cars- but the wide availability of petroleum and its versatility in manufacturing led to its quick ascendancy over soy and cellulose after World War II. Now that petroleum is undeniably on the way out, agriculture-based industrial technology may have a second chance. And it has a name: Chemurgy.

paint2edit.jpgIt may sound like a specialized branch of alchemy or the science-for-English-majors course you took in college, but chemurgy was all the rage in the 1930s. Its most famous practitioner, George Washington Carver, developed over 300 products using peanuts alone (though he ultimately patented only three of them). He and close friend Henry Ford also experimented with sweet potatoes, soybeans, cowpeas and pecans. A National Farm Chemurgic Council was formed in 1935 and lasted until 1977; the science enjoyed a particular swell during the second World War when corn, hemp, milkweed and other plants were used to supplement rationed materials.

Now, industrial biotech companies are coming back with a vengeance as part of an overall expansion of biotechnology. Genetic engineering can fix many of the problems chemurgy faced in the past, and the products emerging now are more refined than their earlier prototypes, better able to compete in the petroleum-dominated market. As the article states, they must be "clearly superior (and not just greener)" to what's already available. Some companies are confident they've already achieved this; DuPont thinks its new biofiber, called Sorona, will be "the next nylon," and Dow is investing heavily in bioethylene made from Brazilian sugarcane. Ethylene is the most widely produced organic compound in the world. A successful plant-based version could have far-reaching effects in industry.

While competition from existing products is certainly the biggest obstacle facing industrial biotechnology right now, manufacturers also fear that current interest may subside if oil prices drop. For now, they're not letting it stop them; over 20,000 patents were granted in the industry last year, a figure to make George Washington Carver proud. Many products have been in development for years and will soon be available for commercial use; whether these forerunners sink or swim may indicate whether the market is ready for them. What do you think? Is chemurgy back? Are these products really more sustainable?