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AOCS Industrial Oil Products Division
Newsletter September 2008

Industrial Applications of Renewable Resources: A Conference on Biobased Technologies
October 13-16, 2008
Hyatt Regency Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Co-sponsored by AOCS and the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE: Park Ridge, Illinois, USA), the Industrial Applications of Renewable Resources conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Cincinnati (Ohio, USA) on October 13-16, 2008. Three topics will be featured: alternative fuels (Tuesday, October 14), lubricants and oleochemicals (Wednesday, October 15), and biobased chemicals and biopolymers (Thursday, October 16). Meeting registration includes a one-day option for individuals interested in one specific topic area.

"STLE is enthusiastic about the partnership with AOCS on this conference," commented Executive Director Edward Salek. "I am confident that the opportunity to bring together the top people from our respective constituencies will lay the groundwork for a better understanding of the technical and societal issues related to this topic."

Presenters include an array of international experts with backgrounds in academia, government, and industry. Subjects range from new applications to life cycle analyses to technical and economic perspectives. "Currently, there are plenty of warning signs that our petroleum-based energy system is not globally sustainable," noted Jim Kenar, a research scientist at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR: Peoria, Illinois, USA) and a member of the organizing committee. "With this realization comes a critical question: How then do we, as a scientific community, transition our socioeconomic reliance on coal and petroleum for energy and materials to a sustainable global economy based on ecologically sustainable technologies utilizing renewable resources while fulfilling demand for food?

"We hope to provide some answers to that question by focusing on three areas that present challenges to the development of a biobased economy —fuels, chemicals, and polymers. We aim not only to highlight some of the cutting-edge technological innovations behind the growing body of biobased research, but also to provide researchers, industry, managers, environmentalists, and policy makers with comprehensive insight into the global paradigm shift that is occurring, the opportunities and challenges that shift brings, as well as projections for the future," Kenar concluded. The other members of the organizing committee are Mark Matlock, senior vice president, Research, Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM), USA; Robert M. Gresham, director of professional development, STLE, USA; Edward P. Salek, executive director, STLE, USA; and Todd Werpy, vice president, Biofuels & Biochemical Research, ADM, USA.

The conference also includes an Information Exchange, where businesses and organizations can display materials, promote products and services, and network with others interested in exploring the potential of renewable resources applied to alternative fuels, lubricants, chemicals, and polymers. For more information regarding the Information Exchange, contact Valorie Deichman (valoried@aocs.org or +1-217-693-4814).

The conference will be followed on October 17 by a short course organized by AOCS member Sefa Koseoglu entitled The Changing Biodiesel Market: Alternative Feedstocks & Retrofitting for Alternative Products. For more information about the meeting and the short course that follows, visit www.aocs.org/meetings/ia.

Do you have news that would be of interest to members of the Industrial Oil Products Division? If so, please let Bryan Moser know at Bryan.Moser@ars.usda.gov or call him at 309-681-6511.

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Also in this newsletter:

A Word from the Newsletter Editor, by Bryan Moser

A Word from the IOP Vice Chairman, by Kenneth Doll

Request for Newsletter Articles, Announcements, and Other Relevant Information, by Rafael Hernandez

Call for Assistance: 100th AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo, by Kenneth Doll

Upcoming Short Courses Related to Industrial Oil Products

Celebrating 100 Years! 1909-2009

Soybeans: Chemistry, Production, Processing, and Utilization
AOCS Monograph Series on Oilseeds, Volume 2

AOCS, 2710 S. Boulder, Urbana, IL 61802-6996 USA