NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: There is an urgent need in the U.S. for renewable, domestic, supplies of fine/specialty and commodity chemicals, biofuels, and materials currently obtained from dwindling petroleum based resources. For example, various aromatics [e.g., styrenes, ethyl benzene, 2-phenylethanol (PEA)] are currently annually produced synthetically as commodity chemicals from our finite petrochemical resource. Frequently, such production processes have considerable drawbacks that include harsh synthetic conditions, formation of undesirable side-products, and use of non-renewable petrochemicals. Herein, we wish to build on our existing technology to produce a highly valuable chemical, phenylethanol (PEA), from transgenic hybrid poplar. The research and development needed for this Phase 1 study is to thus develop the necessary technologies to isolate PEA for subsequent commercial production. We consider that this approach will bring forward the long-awaited commercial platform for hybrid poplar to produce valuable chemicals currently either imported from foreign countries, or obtained from the petrochemical industry. Success here then opens up massive opportunities to produce a large range of highly valuable fine/specialty and commodity chemicals in a renewable and sustainable manner. OBJECTIVES: This Phase 1 research and development effort will lead to robust production methodologies for specialty/commodity chemical phenylethanol (PEA) production and recovery using hybrid poplar. The proposed research strategy will thus ultimately be of enormous benefit to the Nation, to commercial end users, and to the general populace. This is because in this specific case natural PEA produced and sold by Ealasid, Inc. using results from this SBIR funded research, will result in lower cost, sustainable, products entering the market. However, success here also provides the basis for a more generic biotechnological platform using poplar for production of other valuable products in a very similar way with modest land usage envisaged as well. In order to make the necessary major scientific progress over the 8 month timeframe envisaged in Phase 1, there are 2 interlocking goals as follows: Rapidly establish optimum inexpensive and cost competitive conditions for isolation of natural phenyl ethanol (PEA) and its derivatives, including conversion and recovery of PEA derivatives; Assess additional biotechnological approaches to further enhance/increase levels of PEA and its derivatives in transgenic hybrid poplar. In subsequent follow-on Phase II research and development, Ealasid, Inc. will address and resolve 2 related downstream objectives: (i) Research and development of further scale-up production systems to initially and conservatively reach a 100 acre, circa 37 ton production scale of natural PEA and (ii) Conducting additional research to strategically generate subsequent products for the Ealasid, Inc. production pipeline. Moreover, as the Ealasid, Inc. production methodology is by its nature rural, then many of the jobs created by Ealasid, Inc. will also be rural. Ealasid, Inc. envisages creating 50 jobs as our program develops. Furthermore, a recent article on our work (Cover page story Seattle Times, February 10, 2014) appeared in numerous leading newspapers nation and worldwide, as well as TV, radio and other media outlets.
