Monday, April 29, 2013
Exhibit Hall
Terpenes are a major component of pine tree resin and existing loblolly pine varieties have terpene contents ranging from 3 to 5 percent. Terpene based fuels produced from biomass could play a major role in reducing US dependence on foreign oil. Terpenoid fuels have an advantage over ethanol because they can be used as a drop-in fuels, which are compatible with most modern engines, have no issues with corroding gaskets, pipelines, or tanks, and require very little processing before they can be added to diesel or jet fuel. Pulp mills currently collect terpenes as tall oil to sell as a profitable coproduct. Increasing terpene content in wood through genetic modification would yield higher profit for pulp mills and has the potential to jumpstart a new biofuel industry. Breeding programs for trees produces 100’s to 1000’s of plants that need to be characterized for biomass composition and terpene content. Utilizing a high throughput method developed at NREL to determine biomass composition, we have analyzed approximately 2500 loblolly pine samples for terpene content. These measurements allow us to select trees and lines with high terpene content to guide the breeding program forward.