A Review of Current Research on Hydrocarbon Production by Plants

This review assesses the status of research and development in the area of plants that produce hydrocarbons as a possible replacement for traditional fossil fuels. The information is meant to be used as a basis for determining the scope of a possible R and D program by DOE/FFB. Except in the case of guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray), research on hydrocarbon species generally has not advanced beyond preliminary screening, extraction, and growth studies. Virtually no field studies have been initiated; hydrocarbon component extraction, separation, identification, and characterization have been only timidly approached; the biochemistry of hydrocarbon formation remains virtually untouched; and potential market analysis has been based on insufficient data. Research interest is increasing in this area, however. Industrial interest understandably centers about guayule prospects and is supplemented by NSF and DOE research funds. Additional support for other research topics has been supplied by DOE and USDA and by certain university systems. Due to the infant state of technology in this area of energy research, it is not possible to predict or satisfactorily assess at this time the potential contribution that plant hydrocarbons might make toward decreasing the nation's dependence upon petroleum. However, the general impression received from experts interviewed during this review was that the major thrust of research should be directed toward the manufacture of petrochemical substitutes rather than fuel production.