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Research Activities - United Kingdom
DEFRA Science and Research - Part 3. |
The following projects are included:
| Contract | NF0526 | Improved lavender oil |
| Contract | NF0528 | Novel feedstock for pharmaceuticals |
| Contract | NF0603 | Wool for buildings |
| Contract | NF0614 | Assessing biomaterials |
| Contract | NF0616 | Hemp bast fibre |
This project aims to make the UK lavender industry more competitive in the world market by developing cultivars of the species L. angustifolia, L. latifolia and their hybrid L. x intermedia. The project is in line with DEFRA's policy on Renewable Industrial Materials by impacting on the production and exploitation of lavender oil.
The project is market-led. With the collapse of the hop industry, hop growers in the UK have been encouraged to switch to alternative essential oil crops, such as lavender which can be processed by existing equipment (eg by Botanix Ltd, Paddock Wood (BOT) ). The two commercially important lavender species are L. angustifolia (low yield but good quality) or L. x intermedia (high yield but undesirable levels of camphor and cineole). The only lavender cultivars available for oil production are French and not ideally adapted to UK conditions. In response to grower demand, Botanix and Downderry Nursery (DOW) started a L. angustifolia breeding programme in 2000 to produce cultivars suitable for UK conditions. East Malling Ornamentals Ltd (EMO) specialises in the production of novel cultivars by in vitro chromosome doubling and/or mutagenesis. The project focuses on pre-competitive research and is a collaborative project between two small businesses.
The research has two approaches based on chromosome doubling and mutagenesis. It aims to generate a tetraploid clone of the L . x intermedia cultivar 'Grosso' which will be crossed with L. angustifolia to produce a triploid L. x intermedia clone with 2 sets of L. angustifolia chromosomes and one set of L. latifolia, lowering camphor and cineole content. A tetraploid L. angustifolia will also be generated which will enable a triploid, sterile, L. angustifolia to be bred, extending the harvest window and improving oil yield. It will also produce a low-camphor low-cineole mutant of 'Grosso' for short-term improvement and a low-camphor low-cineole mutant of L. latifolia as breeding material. These improvements will make UK lavender oil production much more competitive and encourage more growers to take up this relatively new crop, thus improving the rural economy. Growers will by advised of progress on the project at annual workshops.
By the end of the project, we will have
Objectives
Time-scale and Cost
A recent review of indigenous plant species in upland areas demonstrated clear potential for exploitation as raw materials for medicinal uses, but concluded that much development work would be required to realise this potential. We have identified flavanoid building blocks as key intermediates that are available from upland crops (especially heather), and that can potentially be transformed into very high value pharmaceuticals. Novel methodologies have been identified to convert flavanoid building blocks into a number of different types of structure with anticipated diverse medicinal potential, including anti-cancer, anti-depressant, anti-viral and therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease.
The main objective of this project is to establish the value of upland indigenous plant species as a feedstock for these novel transformations and thereby bring economic and environmental benefits to the upland community.
Policy Relevance
The development of strategies for the creation and exploitation of non-food crops is a recurring theme of recent policy reports. Attainment of these research goals will assist Defra in its aim of promoting the exploitation of natural resources to 'sustain and enhance the distinctive environment, economy and social fabric' of our countryside.
Intended Use of Results
The output from this project will be definitive information about specific ways each upland plant species could be the source of compounds with pharmaceutical potential. This output will be used in two complementary ways: by the upland community to identify changes in management practice which will be required to produce the necessary materials in sufficient amount and by the pharmaceutical industry as a subject for investment.
Objectives
It should be emphasised that in all areas work will focus on pre-competitive, proof of principle, synthetic chemistry. There are no plans for detailed biological screening of compounds at this stage.
Time-scale and Cost
Recent investigations by DEFRA have identified a need to make better use of UK sheep's wool. Demand for natural fibre insulation board products in the building industry has significantly increased in recent years. The formation of renewable fibre board products constructed from UK grown wool and natural binders has been identified as a technically feasible approach and such boards have the potential to markedly increase product functionality in terms of thermal efficiency and vapour breathability as compared to existing boards composed of non-renewable materials. To enable the exploitation of such wool fibreboard products it is essential to develop a suitable manufacturing supply chain and to engineer the structure and properties to meet the specific environmental sustainability and technical performance requirements of board products used in the building industry.
Second Nature UK Ltd have undertaken preliminary feasibility studies to show that sheep's wool can be used as a base material for such a thermal/acoustic insulation board. These studies have established that a board can be made using various natural binders. The main objective of this project is to establish a supply chain that will enable the manufacture, distribution and installation of the board. This will be achieved by optimising the wool/binder matrix for thermal and acoustic resistance and mechanical strength. Tests will be carried out to ensure resistance to fire, degradation and vermin attack. The work will be conducted in consultation with supply chain stakeholders.
Policy Relevance
The development of new insulation boards with renewable materials from agriculture provide a viable alternative current materials from non-renewable sources will reduce the reliance on non-renewable materials and provide alternative uses for agricultural production. Technology uptake and the development of a functional supply chain are recognised by Defra as limiting factors for the use of the renewable materials from agriculture. This project will address both, by focusing on the establishment of the supply chain and disseminating the results to promote technology uptake.
Intended Use of Results
The major output from this project will be in the form of a pre-production prototype insulation board that will satisfy the market needs and meet the regulatory controls of the UK Building Industry. Definitive information on the properties of both the board and its constituent materials will be published together with the probable impact that commercial exploitation of the product will have on sustaining economic development in the countryside.
Objective
Time-scale and Cost
The main objective of this project is to provide companies involved in the emerging biomaterials industry in the United Kingdom with ready access to the means and data to conduct comparative environmental assessments of their products in a format which gives confidence to their prospective customers about their claimed benefits. This will be achieved by means of a free-access package of information, data and tools which is accessible through a suitable national website. This outcome of the project will be relevant to the current government policy of encouraging the development of the biomaterials industry by reducing key barriers in the supply chain. The target group for the tool will be developers and companies, as well as their potential customers including those responsible for government procurement and subsequent accreditation.
Objective
Time-scale and Cost
Forward thinkers and administrations realize that renewable materials must be found and developed to enable the creation of sustainable industries to replace existing reliance on finite oil and other ecologically suspect production methods and resources. The DEFRA document 'A strategy for non-food crops and uses - creating value from renewable materials' was released in early November 2004 by Lord Whitty. The document concisely states the current situation and is a cogent plan.
The single biggest factor, which hampered the development of the hemp industry, has been "retting." This is the process of the uncontrolled breakdown of cellular materials, pectins and gums, which bond the hemp fibres and wooded centre together. It is traditionally performed either by laying the cut crop on the ground for between 3 and 12 weeks or by placing the cut plants in lagoons. This process is time and resource dependant and it depends on the environmental conditions, which do not lead to reliable results, to ensure that climatic conditions are conducive to a successful "retting" process. It is also worth noting that failure to ret - if using traditional methods - can mean part or total failure of a crop, if the weather conditions are not consistent as has been the case for the last two UK seasons.
The application of this new technology produces a much broader range of fibre products because there is no retting. The fibre yield is dramatically increased. The improved fibre quality and consistency allows for a broader range of industrial and apparel uses. The hurd - wooded plant centre - is also in a condition which is far better suited to industrial uses. This new hemp fibre needs to be evaluated across the whole range of existing hemp uses and then tested for new applications beyond those that were possible with the inferior retted hemp product. Hemp was the most traded commodity in the world for many centuries. Universally grown and produced hemp fibre was replaced by cotton when Ely Whitney developed the cotton gin in the US in the 1800s.
In Europe local production of basic fibres for industry and apparel were replaced initially by imports from half way around the world and more recently by synthetic fibres created from finite sources of oil. E.g. Nylon. Hemp provides Europe with the opportunity for a locally grown fibre source. The strategic benefits of locally grown fibre for industry cannot be underestimated. The hemp industry is an emerging industry in Europe, but it lacks both a basic and an applied methodology for extracting the fibre and regulating its processing standards. Worldwide there is a lack of basic knowledge about converting hemp fibres into consistent quality and cost competitive products.
The main objective of this project is to provide an analysis of the hemp fibre bast supply chain as an industrially viable non-food crop. The purpose is to provide an environmentally friendly, consistent and cost competitive fibre source for a diverse range of markets in the UK and Europe. The project will be implemented in three stages:
It is to this end that Eurofibre in collaboration with Springdale Crop Synergies has compiled a consortium of industry partners and universities to identify the range of constraints and market demand which a robust UK supply chain for hemp must understand to be successful in today's market place. The ability of universities to provide an independent third party view across a large number of industry partners and end markets, strengthens the outcome of the results of this supply chain analysis.
The results from this project will provide industry with a 'green', competitive, locally produced fibre source that can be applied across a diverse range of industry and markets. For example, The Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data will be gathered in on-site research during 2005 to characterize inputs and outputs for the novel and innovative (non-retting) 'green' against the 'conventional' (retting) decortication methods for hemp. This will enable comparison of the relative environmental impacts and new products of the novel green technology to be compared with those of conventional decortication and current approach and preparation of an appropriate environmental statement of environmental benefit offered through the new green decortication route.
The LCI data will be used with existing and new data to develop LCA scenarios to exemplify environmental benefits offered by green decortication in typical hemp-based products. The LCA will be a valuable addition to the EU database being developed as part of the overall DEFRA strategy and the agronomic data and methods will be useful to improve and develop the rotational limitation of UK farming and climatic variations. The extremely dry summer season of 2003 and the wet summer season of 2004 have proven there can be no fibre quality consistency with conventional retting methods. However, the innovative non-retting method can eliminate this effect of weather and provide an industry viable and consistent hemp fibre product year in and year out.
The results will also provide government with a better understanding of how to maximize rural and industry strategies to deliver economic, social and environmental benefits while also providing a positive direction to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This will play its part in the secure creation of sustainability for the limited and finite farmland resources.
Objective
The objectives of this project are to create a Supply Chain Analysis (defining methodology) and to demonstrate (via Case Studies) the positive impact that innovative technology and novel agronomy can have on a non-food fibre crop supply chain.The aim of this project is to provide a system which will assist current fibre markets and future markets to embrace this environmentally sound and renewable resource that can be utilised locally or exported.
1. Review
2. Implementation of a Supply Chain Analysis
3. Case Study - Innovative Conversion Technology and Novel Agronomy on the Development of Viable Industry Commodity
To illustrate/ demonstrate the impact of innovative technology and novel agronomy on the success of a non-food crop supply chain. Technology Evaluation
Fibre Resource Evaluation
Dry fibre static decortication
Green in-field decortication
Analysis of Agronomic Principles
4. Report & Demonstration
Time-scale and Cost
Contacts
Contact
© Copyright 2006 Policy Statements
Updated
by CPL Press:
03/07/2007
- biomatnet@biomatnet.org
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