The demand for plant-based industrial raw materials has increased as well as research into expanding the utility of plants for current and future uses. Plants are renewable, have limited or positive environmental impact and have the potential to yield a wide range of products in contrast to petroleum-based materials. Plants can be used in a variety of different industries and products including bioenergy, industrial oil and starch, fibre and dye, rubber and related compounds, insecticide and land rehabilitation. This title offers a comprehensive coverage of each of these uses. Chapters discuss.

Industrial Oil Crops presents the latest information on important products derived from seed and other plant oils, their quality, the potential environmental benefit, and the latest trends in industrial uses. This book provides a comprehensive view of key oil crops that provide products used for fuel, surfactants, paints and coatings, lubricants, high-value polymers, safe plasticizers and numerous other products, all of which compete effectively with petroleum-derived products for quality and cost. Specific products derived from oil crops are a principle concern, and other fundamental aspects of developing oil crops for industrial uses are also covered. These include improvement through traditional breeding, and molecular, tissue culture and genetic engineering contributions to breeding, as well as practical aspects of what is needed to bring a new or altered crop to market. As such, this book provides a handbook for developing products from renewable resources that can replace those currently derived from petroleum. Led by an international team of expert editors, this book will be a valuable asset for those in product research and development as well as basic plant research related to oil crops. - Up-to-date review of all the key oilseed crops used primarily for industrial purposes - Highlights the potential for providing renewable resources to replace petroleum derived products - Comprehensive chapters on biodiesel and polymer chemistry of seed oil - Includes chapters on economics of new oilseed crops, emerging oilseed crops, genetic modification and plant tissue culture technology for oilseed improvement

Plant Factory: An Indoor Vertical Farming System for Efficient Quality Food Production, Second Edition presents a comprehensive look at the implementation of plant factory (PF) practices to yield food crops for both improved food security and environmental sustainability. Edited and authored by leading experts in PF and controlled environment agriculture (CEA), the book is divided into five sections, including an Overview and the Concept of Closed Plant Production Systems (CPPS), the Basics of Physics and Physiology – Environments and Their Effects, System Design, Construction, Cultivation and Management and Plant Factories in Operation. In addition to new coverage on the rapid advancement of LED technology and its application in indoor vertical farming, other revisions to the new edition include updated information on the status of business R&D and selected commercial PFALs (plant factory with artificial lighting). Additional updates include those focused on micro and mini-PFALs for improving the quality of life in urban areas, the physics and physiology of light, the impact of PFAL on the medicinal components of plants, and the system design, construction, cultivation and management issues related to transplant production within closed systems, photoautotrophic micro-propagation and education, training and intensive business forums on PFs. - Includes coverage of LED technology - Presents case-studies for real-world insights and application - Addresses PF from economics and planning, to operation and lifecycle assessment

Petroleum-based industrial products have gradually replaced products derived from biological materials. However, biologically based products are making a comebackâ€"because of a threefold increase in farm productivity and new technologies. Biobased Industrial Products envisions a biobased industrial future, where starch will be used to make biopolymers and vegetable oils will become a routine component in lubricants and detergents. Biobased Industrial Products overviews the U.S. land resources available for agricultural production, summarizes plant materials currently produced, and describes prospects for increasing varieties and yields. The committee discusses the concept of the biorefinery and outlines proven and potential thermal, mechanical, and chemical technologies for conversion of natural resources to industrial applications. The committee also illustrates the developmental dynamics of biobased products through existing examples, as well as products still on the drawing board, and it identifies priorities for research and development.

The genetic variability that developed in plants during their evolution is the basic of their domestication and breeding into the crops grown today for food, fuel and other industrial uses. This third edition of Plant Evolution and the Origin of Crop Species brings the subject up-to-date, with more emphasis on crop origins. Beginning with a description of the processes of evolution in native and cultivated plants, the book reviews the origins of crop domestication and their subsequent development over time. All major crop species are discussed, including cereals, protein plants, starch crops, fruits and vegetables, from their origins to conservation of their genetic resources for future development.

The global biodiversity and climate emergencies demand transformative changes to human activities. For example, food production relies on synthetic, industrial and non-sustainable products for managing pests, weeds and diseases of crops. Sustainable farming requires approaches to managing these agricultural constraints that are more environmentally benign and work with rather than against nature. Increasing pressure on synthetic products has reinvigorated efforts to identify alternative pest management options, including plant-based solutions that are environmentally benign and can be tailored to different farmers’ needs, from commercial to small holder and subsistence farming. Botanical insecticides and pesticidal plants can offer a novel, effective and more sustainable alternative to synthetic products for controlling pests, diseases and weeds. This Special Issue reviews and reports the latest developments in plant-based pesticides from identification of bioactive plant chemicals, mechanisms of activity and validation of their use in horticulture and disease vector control. Other work reports applications in rice weeds, combination biopesticides and how chemistry varies spatially and influences the effectiveness of botanicals in different locations. Three reviews assess wider questions around the potential of plant-based pest management to address the global challenges of new, invasive and established crop pests and as-yet underexploited pesticidal plants.