The 5th Plant Bio-Industrial Oils Workshop was a great success! Ag-West Bio, National Research Council-Plant Biotechnology Institute and Genome Prairie would like to extend our gratitude to the speakers for sharing their knowledge and ideas, and to the session chairs, event sponsors and all attendee who made the 2009 workshop possible. We hope it was informative, insightful,  entertaining and offered an excellent opportunity to network

Presentations are now available by clicking on the following links:

Workshop attendees: To view presentations, click here and enter the password you received by email. If you haven't received your password, please contact us.

Click here to see photos from the workshop.

If you did not attend the workshop, but would like a copy of the presentations, they are available on disk for a fee. Please call 306-975-1939 for more information.

Accommodations

The beautiful and historic Delta Bessborough Hotel --  the 'castle' on the bank of the South Saskatchewan River in downtown Saskatoon is once again the venue for the Plant Bio-Industrial Oils Workshop.

Website: http://www.deltahotels.com/hotels/hotels.php?hotelId=8
Toll free: 1-877-814-7706

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Registration

ON-LINE REGISTRATION FOR PLANT BIO-INDUSTRIAL OILS IS NOW CLOSED

Thank you!

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Program

Click here for a printable version of the program (subject to change).
 

Program at a Glance: (Last update: February 21, 2008)

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Speakers and Panelists
International and local experts (from both industry and research) will speak on the topic of plant bio-industrial oils from the perspective of producers, breeders, and business. An overview of current and potential applications will also be presented, as well as an update on what's happening around the world.

Confirmed Speakers: (click on each name to view speaker bios and abstracts)

Chris Anderson
Vice-president of crop production, Canola Council of Canada

Biography:
Chris Anderson is the Canola Council of Canada’s Vice President of crop production working out of the Winnipeg office. Chris joined the Council in January 2007 as crop production program manager. In his new position, he will lead the Council’s team of agronomy specialists, develop and deliver technology transfer programs, coordinate agronomic research, and work with all parts of the industry to ensure a sustainable supply of canola.

Chris will also manage the co-ordination of crop trials by the Western Canada Canola/Rapeseed Recommending Committee (WCRRC).

Chris has a farm background and an M.Sc. from the University of Manitoba. He has worked for Advanta Seeds and most recently before joining the Council, Chris was with Monsanto Canada in canola product development and quality assurance.

Canola Council of Canada
The Canola Council of Canada is a national, nonprofit association funded by stakeholders in the canola industry. Our mission is to enhance the industry's ability to profitably produce and supply seed, oil and meal products that offer superior value to customers throughout the world. Members include canola growers, crop input suppliers, grain handling companies, exporters, processors, food and feed manufacturers and governments.

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William Anderson
National Manager, Policy in the Plant Biosafety Office (PBO)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

Biography:
Dr. Anderson is currently the National Manager, Policy in the Plant Biosafety Office (PBO) of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Bill has responsibilities related to the development of policies and strategies regarding plant biosafety. As well, he directs the development and management of CFIA national programs related to environmental biosafety to address exports and imports of regulated plants with novel traits (PNTs). Dr. Anderson received his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Saskatchewan in 1993. Dr. Anderson has broad experience related to plant biotechnology having worked in industry, government (Provincial and Federal), regional and international organizations on development and implementation of standards related to the environmental biosafety of products of agricultural biotechnology.

Abstract:
Regulatory oversight models for the intentional environmental release of plants intended for industrial purposes
Plants intended to be cultivated for industrial purposes that are new to Canadian agriculture, or have traits that are new to their species in Canada, are subject to Government of Canada regulatory oversight. The goal of this oversight is to identify potential risks and determine appropriate measures to ensure that the release of a plant does not pose unacceptable risks to the environment and or food/livestock feed safety. Depending on the nature of the plant, history of its use and the proposed use, its environmental release may be regulated under the CFIA’s plant health framework, the plant biosafety framework, or under a new approach incorporating principles used in both of these established regulatory pathways. The Government of Canada is working on refining regulatory frameworks to achieve life-cycle approach that addresses environmental and human/livestock health risks from crop production to processing and use of the final product.

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Stewart Campbell
Canadian Bioenergy

Stewart Campbell is responsible for Canadian Bioenergy's commercial development activities including the introduction of new and improved product offerings. Stewart has a PhD in Physical Organic Chemistry from the University of Alberta and an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Venture Development from the University of Calgary.

Prior to joining Canadian Bioenergy, Stewart consulted to the plant biotechnology industry, government agencies and venture capital firms on the commercial utility and processing of crops with new traits. Stewart started his career as an Oilseed Scientist with AAFC Saskatoon Research Station. He later was an executive in canola processing with United Oilseeds in Lloydminster (now ADM) and Canbra Foods in Lethbridge.

Canadian Bioenergy is Canada’s leading supplier of premium biodiesel. The company has established effective relationships with petroleum distributors to ensure that high-quality biodiesel is widely available to industrial, commercial and government fleets. Canadian Bioenergy is Canada’s first and only BQ-9000 certified marketer of biodiesel. The firm has started construction of a world-scale, canola based biodiesel facility situated adjacent to Bunge Canada's canola operations near Edmonton, Alberta.

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Rick Cuellar
Vice President of Business Development
Agrisoma Biosciences Inc.

Biography:
Responsible for Agrisoma’s partnering initiatives, ongoing licensing activities, and strategic planning for product development, Dr. Cuellar has more than 20 years experience in combined biotechnology scientific and business development. Dr. Cuellar is an inventor on six U.S. patents in metabolic engineering, crop improvement and transformation technology. Prior to joining Agrisoma, Dr. Cuellar was Principal of REC Associates LLC, a U.S. consulting practice specializing in technical and business development for early and mid stage technology companies. Prior to that, Dr. Cuellar held management positions with Promega Corporation, VYSIS Inc. (now Abbott Molecular), and Amoco Corporation. Dr. Cuellar began as Senior Research Scientist, Amoco Technology Company where he led research and development teams in metabolic pathway engineering of plants.

Dr. Cuellar received his PhD in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, and was a postdoctoral fellow at The Plant Breeding Institute in Cambridge in the UK and at Purdue University in Indiana.

Abstract:
Agrisoma: Engineering Crops for Renewable Fuels
Agrisoma’s technology platform is its unique Engineered Trait Loci (“ETL”) technology. ETL is based on an elegant chromosome modification that uses the plants own cellular processes. ETL allows facile engineering of specific chromosomal loci and subsequent efficient multiple gene expression. Agrisoma uses ETL to specifically design new plants for the emerging biodiesel and renewable fuels industry. This presentation will discuss the ETL technology, and demonstrate an application for designer biodiesel feedstock oils.

Agrisoma Biosciences Inc. was founded in 2001, and currently has operations in Burnaby, B.C., Saskatoon, Sask., and Ottawa, Ont.  Agrisoma’s technology platform is its specific chromosomal loci and subsequent efficient multiple gene expression technology. Agrisoma uses Engineered Trait Loci (ETL) technology to specifically design new plants for the emerging biodiesel and renewable fuels industry. The technology allows Agrisoma to create and test improved varieties of major oilseeds (two of which are the major feedstocks for North American biodiesel refiners) far more rapidly than conventional methods. With this technology, Agrisoma has been able to achieve new oil compositions optimized for fuel manufacturing.

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Jay De Rocher
Scientific Director, Targeted Growth

Biography
With more than 20 years experience in plant molecular biology and biochemistry, and over 15 years of research experience with transgenic plants, Dr. De Rocher joined Targeted Growth in 2003. Previously, he worked as a Senior Scientist with EDEN Bioscience Corporation and was a postdoctoral associate at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory at Michigan State University. Dr. De Rocher received his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Washington and his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Arizona.

Abstract:
Development of Camelina as an Alternative Oilseed Energy Crop

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Laurence Parslow
Director of R&D, BioExx Extraction Inc.

Biography:
Mr. Parslow has 15 years of experience in a variety of plant extraction industries including design, construction, start-up and management of such facilities.

Prior to being recruited by BioExx, Mr. Parslow was Operations Manager for Paxis Extraction Ltd., in Shippagan, N.B. where he was a senior member of a team that was responsible for the design, construction and start-up of a methanol Paclitaxel extraction facility. Following start-up, he was directly responsible for process improvements and the optimization of a counter-current extraction processes and the secondary solid phase concentration of the extract.

Prior to that, he spent almost ten years as Plant Manager and later, Vice President for Marine Extract Ltd., a division of Arkion Life Sciences LLC., previously DCV, Inc, a joint venture between Dupont and Con Agra. Marine Extract Ltd. was the first large scale facility to start-up in Canada and only the second in North America to produce chitin and chitosan from shellfish. Mr. Parslow was involved in all aspects of design, process improvements, equipment installation and the supervision of operating, maintenance and construction staff at Marine Extract Ltd.

Mr. Parslow also spent several years with the New Brunswick Research and Productivity Council where he was directly involved in co-ordination and direction of Analytical Protocols for residue and spray drift studies, residue extraction, analysis by GC and HPLC and as well for implementation of Good Laboratory Practices to the facility.

Mr. Parslow has a B.Sc. in Chemistry with Electives in Business and Economics, from The University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, P.E.I., and a B.Sc.Eng. in Chemical Engineering, from The University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, N.B.

Abstract:
Extracting Value
The presentation will outline BioExx’s goal to utilize its patented unique technology in not only cost effectively extracting lipids from oil seeds like Canola and Flax but also in increasing the value of proteins and other by products.

BioExx offers tremendous economic and added value product potential for the massive ($60 billion) and rapidly growing global agri-business industries, particularly in light of the ever increasing demand for high quality vegetable proteins for the aquaculture feeds and food products.  Construction of the first commercial facility in Saskatoon will commence this spring.

About Bio-Extraction Inc.
The global demand for ever higher food value from agriculture is growing at an unprecedented pace, driven by population growth and economic growth. At the same time, food supply constraints are increasing, due to urban development of arable land, alternate uses of crops for bio-fuel and other industrial purposes, and many crops having already maximized yields. The result is an alarming imbalance between over-demand and under-supply.

BioExx owns patented technology which allows for much lower temperatures to be used for the extraction of active ingredients and oils from biomass. This makes BioExx particularly well suited to process oilseed crops in a manner that allows for the production of much higher value additives to the food chain, in the form of higher yields of high value proteins which tend to be temperature sensitive. While forming just a small, but very valuable part of the solution to prominent global agricultural problems, BioExx has a mandate to rapidly grow the company through the construction and operation of extraction facilities around the world – and because of its much lower energy requirements, to do so in a very environmentally responsible manner.

BioExx recently completed an $11 million financing to construct its first commercial processing facility that will process 40,000 metric tonnes annually to produce both Canola Oil and a range of Protein Concentrate products. Production is expected to commence within the next year.

To find out more about Bio-Extraction Inc. please visit our website at www.bioexx.com .


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Gregory Penner
President and CEO of NeoBio

Dr. Gregory Penner holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Crop Science department at the University of Saskatchewan, an M.Sc. in Cytogentics from the Plant Science department of the University of Manitoba and a B.S.A. in Plant breeding/Genetics from the same university. He worked as a research associate for the National Research Council in Saskatoon and with AAFC in Ottawa before joining the Cereal Research Centre in Winnipeg, where he became the head of cereal biotechnology. In 1998 Gregory joined Monsanto Inc. in St. Louis, where he led economic evaluations of a number of business opportunities, and managed their advancement to commercialization from both a technical and a business perspective. In the fall of 2002, Dr. Penner obtained the contract to lead the Soy 20/20 Project, where he analysed soy-based market opportunities for Ontario.

Gregory has been the President and CEO of NeoBio Consulting since 2002. NeoBio provides senior level advice and project management to private industry and government in regard to the development of biobased strategies. The primary focus has been working with chemical companies to identify and develop strategies for biobased replacement of petrochemicals.

A vision for a hybrid chemistry future

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Murray Drew
Associate Professor
Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan

Biography
Murray Drew is an Associate Professor of in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Saskatchewan. He received his PhD from the University of British Columbia in 1989 and worked in industry for 10 years on the use of plasma and egg antibodies as replacements for antibiotics in animal feeds. Currently his research interests include the development of novel feed ingredients for aquaculture feeds.

Abstract:
Can canola and flax oil replace fish oil in aquaculture feeds?
In order for aquaculture to continue growing it must address the problem of its reliance on fish oil as the major lipid source in aquafeeds. Recent work at the University of Saskatchewan has investigated the use of canola and flax oil as replacements for fish oil in diets fed to rainbow trout and shown that fish growth rate, flavour and fatty acid composition are not adversely affected.

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Randal Goodfellow
Senior Vice President, Corporate Relations, Ensyn Technologies Inc.

Mr. Goodfellow joined Ensyn on January 1st, 2008, but is no stranger to the company, as Ensyn was a long standing client of the consulting firm that he sold at the end of 2007. In his current capacity he oversees the company's public affairs, government relations, and communications activities. In 17 years as a consultant he advised senior executives from the private, public, and academic sectors on policy and communications issues related to the bio-based energy, chemicals and materials that can be generated from renewable natural resources. Randal was the founding President of BioProducts Canada. Randy has a B.Sc. (Agr.) from McGill University.

Ensyn Technologies Inc., 

Ensyn’s patented Rapid Thermal Process RTP™ technology that has been producing bio-oil in facilities in Wisconsin since 1989, and to date it remains the world’s only 'fast pyrolysis' technology that has operated on a sustained commercial basis. Fast Pyrolysis converts, in less than two seconds, residual biomass from the forestry and agricultural sectors, to light liquid bio-oil, for the production of bio-energy and renewable transport fuel, and for the subsequent extraction of natural chemicals.

Ensyn has designed, built, and commissioned seven RTP™ commercial plants in the United States and Canada; the largest - its own - is located in Renfrew, Ontario, Canada, and processes 100 tonnes of dry residual wood per day. Projects are underway to build plants that are approximately 5 - 10 times the size of the Renfrew plant.

Ensyn’s corporate strategy is to jointly build facilities with secure feedstock suppliers and/or users of the products that are produced from pyrolysis of biomass, such as forest products companies, agricultural products processing companies, as well as energy and fuel production companies looking to green their market offerings.

Ensyn Technologies was incorporated in 1984. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Ensyn also has corporate presence in the United States and Britain.

Abstract:
“How Green Is Green?”
The environmental impact of the current offerings of biofuels are being questioned. Do they reduce GHGs and to what extent? What are their net energy balances, i.e. for every barrel of fossil fuel input what is the output of fossil fuel equivalent?

Based on these questions and studies that are not that favourable, certain jurisdictions are rethinking their biofuels strategies saying, “We simply can’t embrace concepts that people claim are green, we have to be sure of the details in each case” – European Union Biofuels Directive.

Next Generation Biofuels companies such as Ensyn will need to show that they are green and validated. Life Cycle Analysis, that cover all the way from what goes in the ground to produce a feedstock, to what happens at the end of life to industrial materials, seems to be the way to go. Can the need for LCAs for all other bio-based chemicals and materials be far behind?

Drawing upon his current quest as to what a company needs to do to show its environmental performance, Mr. Goodfellow will share observations about what it may mean to others, and offer suggestions about the need to work together to reduce the uncertainty that exists around both what is needed and what will be accepted.

Abstract: How green is green?

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Jack Grushcow
President and CEO of Linnaeus Plant Sciences Inc.

Biography:
Jack Grushcow was the founder and CEO of Consumers Software Inc., one of Canada’s largest software companies. He went from a one man start-up to world leader in the development and marketing of Electronic Mail software. Consumers Software Inc. had sales in excess of $20 million and delivered a 30% pretax profit while maintaining an annual R&D budget in excess of $3 million. The company was acquired by Microsoft in 1991, in what was then the largest transaction of its kind. The technology developed by Consumers Software provides the underpinnings of the Microsoft Mail family of products including MS Outlook.

Mr. Grushcow served on the Science Council of British Columbia from 1991-1993. He was selected as one of British Columbia’s top business people under the age of 40 by B.C. Business Magazine and has been awarded Canada’s top export development award. He has authored three books on the subject of applying computer systems to business applications with Prentice-Hall and two books in the area of analyzing commodity futures with John Wiley & Sons.

Jack Grushcow is a founder, President and CEO of Linnaeus Plant Sciences Inc. The mission of Linnaeus is to create value-added, renewable, biodegradable industrial oils in temperate climate oil seed crops. These new oils represent alternatives to current petrochemicals and reduce the refining expense and pollution that often accompanies them. In the future, Linnaeus expects to engineer completely novel oils which will form the basis of the next century’s exciting new materials, including specialty plastics, nylons, lubricants and non-polluting fuels.

A direct benefit of this technology will be significant value creation for farmers, offering increased revenue potential. The introduction of new value-added crops to Canadian farmers should provide significantly higher returns per acre and provide the growers with an alternative crop in times of over capacity in other traditional crops.

Linnaeus is the network lead of the Industrial Oil Seed Network. This is a large network funded under the Federal Agricultural Bioproducts Initiative Program. Its purpose is to develop and commercialize oil seeds for industrial applications. The network includes expertise in molecular biology, agronomy, Tribology, GHG policy and biorefining.

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Erik Hagberg
Senior Research Scientist
Archer Daniels Midland

Biography:
Dr. Hagberg is a Senior Research Scientist at Archer Daniels Midland working towards developing renewable sources of specialty and commodity chemicals. He received his B.A. in Chemistry from Gustavus Adolphus College and his PhD in Organic Chemistry working for Prof. Valerie Sheares Ashby from Iowa State University. He completed his post-doctoral studies at IBM Almaden Research Center working with Prof. Ken Carter and Dr. James Hedrick on the development of imprint lithography resists and polymeric data storage media. He recently joined ADM Research from GE Plastics where he worked with the Process and Product Technology groups for the High Performance Polymers business. At ADM, Dr. Hagberg is part of a team responsible for developing methods to convert biomass and agricultural commodities into feed-stocks for the chemical and polymer industries.

Abstract:
Designing a Sustainable Future: New Industrial Products from Oilseeds
Oilseeds such as canola and soy provide a diverse array of product streams which, in addition to supplying the growing demand for food and animal feed, can be harnessed to supplement the expanding demand for fuels and chemicals. Oilseeds have long been a source of chemical feed-stocks such as linseed oil, but the breadth of economically viable products that can be derived from plant oils is just beginning to be realized. Recent growth in the biodiesel industry has spurred the development of processes to convert glycerol and carbohydrates to value added products such as propylene glycol. These processes and other new technologies are currently being implemented by ADM allowing agriculture to supply societies’ growing nutritional needs and provide the building blocks to fuel the global economy.

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Linda Hall
BioIndustrial Crops
Alberta Agriculture and Food / Agricultural Food and Nutritional Sciences
University of Alberta, Canada

Biography
Dr. Hall is a weed scientist working in the environmental risk assessment of crops with novel traits. Research projects include evaluation of pollen and seed mediated gene flow in safflower for plant-made pharmaceuticals, herbicide resistant wheat, and flax, canola, camelina and triticale for bioproduct. Teaching responsibilities include weed science, cropping systems and herbicide physiology.

Abstract:
Lessons from Canola (Brassica napus) – Implications for the Next Generation of Oilseed Crops
(Linda Hall Alberta Agriculture and Food, University of Alberta and Hugh Beckie, Agriculture and AgriFood Canada, Saskatoon)
Eleven years after its introduction, herbicide resistant (HR) canola occupies over 95% of the canola acreage. However, canola has significant levels of seed and pollen mediated gene flow which allows transgenes to move temporally and spatially. Losses of seed at harvest introduce several thousands of seeds/m-2 to the seed bank, and seed burial can induce secondary seed dormancy. Thus, seed persists in the seed bank from three to five years, and volunteers in subsequent crops are common. Seed lost along roads, railways and ports has permitted populations of HR canola to develop both in Canada and Japan. Pollen mediated gene flow from adjacent plants can approach levels of 30% but rapidly diminishes with distance from the source. Inter-specific gene flow has been documented and transgenic hybrids of canola and B. rapa occur in Eastern Canada.

For the most part, herbicide resistance has not altered canola fitness or invasiveness in natural or ruderal areas. HR canola is as safe as conventional canola in food and feed, and Canadian growers have tolerated the loss of access of intermittent European canola markets to have access to HR traits. Similar levels of gene flow can be anticipated for other small seeded crops and crops with moderate levels of outcrossing. Additional biosafety concerns need to be considered for new traits, such as drought tolerance or nitrogen efficiency, or new crops including ‘prairie carnation’ (Saponaria vaccaria) or camelina (Camelina sativa).

Invasiveness may be enhanced by traits that alter crop fitness or new/abandoned crops may be inherently weedy under Canadian conditions. If products are not substantially equivalent or unsafe for food and feed, crops may require segregation and a co-existence system. Finally, growers may need to accept the loss of European markets that remain resistant to transgenic crops. Currently, there are no clear regulatory or marketing pathways for potentially invasive crops or crops with altered product profiles.

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Hazimah Abu Hassan
Director of Advanced Oleochemical Technology Division, Malaysian Palm oil Board

Biography:
Hazimah Abu Hassan obtained her BA degree in Chemistry from California State University (Chico) and Master of Science (Natural Product/organic chemistry) from University Putra Malaysia (UPM). She later pursued her PhD in 1998 (also from UPM). Her thesis was on reactions of glycerol through complexation with copper (II).

She joined Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) in 1990 as a research officer. She was promoted to Senior research officer in 1999 and now has been appointed as the Director of Advanced Oleochemical Technology Division of MPOB since April 2007. Her research work involves synthesis of oleochemical derivatives, recovery of valuable chemicals from oleochemical wastes, synthesis of polyols and polyurethanes and reactions of glycerol and derivatives.
 

Abstract:
Research in Other Non-Food Oil Uses – With Special Reference to Palm Oil
Unlike other vegetable oils, oil palm fresh fruit bunches offer two types of oils, namely palm oil (from the mesocarp) which has an equivalent fatty acid compositions to tallow, and palm kernel oil (from the kernel of the fruit) which is equivalent to coconut oil. From these two oils, various palm products could be obtained such as palm stearin, palm fatty acid distillates, glycerin, crude palm oil, processed palm oil, palm oleic acid and many more which can be used as raw materials for various industrial applications. Currently about 20% of palm products are being used in the non-food sector. Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), through its Advanced Oleochemical Technology Division (AOTD) is actively looking at the downstream activities of the industry. Understanding the properties of these palm feedstock, a number of research projects are at various stages of implementations, especially in the production of surfactants (anionic, cationic, nonionic), new oleochemical derivatives, polymers using basic oleochemicals such as fatty acids and glycerol as raw materials, agrochemicals, grease and lubricant, polyols and polyurethanes, biodiesel and including cosmetics and personal care products. Some of these research findings and results will be highlighted.

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Franz J. Luxem
R&D Manager, Stepan Company

Biography:
Franz Luxem received his education at the University of Bonn (MS, Chemistry), Germany and The University of Florida (PhD, Chemistry), Gainesville. Dr. Luxem currently holds the position of R&D Manager at Stepan Company and is responsible for Biodiesel, Solvents and Additives and Global Process development. Prior to his current position, also at Stepan, he was responsible for process/product development for biodiesel, glycerin derivatives, agricultural solvents and adjuvants as well as alkoxylation and esterification technology. Before joining Stepan Company he conducted research in polymers and plastic additives at a variety of companies, including Dow Chemical.

Dr. Luxem holds several patents in the area of process development for polymers, plastic additives and biodiesel.

Abstract:
Methyl esters from Seed Oils: Industrial Products and Key Intermediates
Seed oils such as canola or soybean and many others offer excellent potential as raw materials for key industrial products. A variety of processes applied to seed oils, ranging from simple hydrolysis (or alcoholysis) to metathesis, can provide a wide array of products as well as basic chemical intermediates. Recently, methyl esters have received considerable attention as biofuel – namely biodiesel. While the emphasis has been placed on methyl esters as biofuel, the fact that these products have a number of other applications and are also key raw materials has moved into the background. This presentation aims to highlight the importance and value methyl esters have as industrial products and intermediates – other than a fuel source.
 

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Maurice Moloney
Chief Scientific Officer, SemBioSys Genetics Inc.

Biography:
Dr. Moloney, SemBioSys’ scientific founder, has over 20 years of extensive experience in plant biotechnology and has been Chief Scientific Officer since July 2001. Dr. Moloney held the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Industrial Research Chair in Plant Biotechnology from 1995 to 2004 and was also a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary where he taught since 1987. Prior to these positions, Dr. Moloney was the head of the Cell Biology Group at Calgene Inc., where he developed the first transgenic oilseed plants using canola as the target crop. This resulted in a landmark patent in plant biotechnology and eventually became the basis of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready® and Bayer’s Liberty Link® canola products. Dr. Moloney has published more than 70 original research papers and is an inventor on over 20 issued or pending patent families. Dr. Moloney serves on many federal and corporate advisory boards and is currently a member of NSERC Council and the Chairperson of NSERC’s Committee on Research Partnerships. Dr. Moloney has received a number of prestigious awards, including the Alberta Science and Technology (ASTECH) Award for leadership in Alberta Technology. Dr. Moloney received his B.Sc. in Organic Chemistry from Imperial College at the University of London and his doctorate in Plant Biochemistry from Leicester Polytechnic in the United Kingdom. Recently, Dr. Moloney was honoured by the University of Lethbridge with a D.Sc. honoris causa.

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Kent McKay
NDSU Agronomy Specialist, NCREC, Minot, ND

Biography:
Kent McKay is an Agronomy Specialist for the North Dakota State University Extension Service. He is located at the North Central Research Extension Center in Minot, ND. He has worked at his current position since 1991. Kent received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from NDSU. His Master’s thesis (1991) evaluated the adaptation of crambe production in North Dakota. Kent was instrumental in establishing a crambe industry in North Dakota in the 1990’s. Kent’s research with oil-seed and pulse crops is internationally known.
 

Abstract: The History of Crambe Production in North Dakota; “A True Success Story”

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Matt McLean
Executive Director
Southwestern Ontario Bioproducts Innovation Network (SOBIN)

Biography:
Matt was born in Sarnia, Ontario and raised on a small beef and field crop farm in Lambton County. He received his agricultural education at the University of Guelph where he attained both a B.Sc. in Environmental Biology and a MBA in Agriculture Business.

After completing his studies in 1997, Matt worked as a sales representative for a small grain elevator and farm supply outlet north of Strathroy, Ontario. A little over a year later, Matt accepted a position as Executive Assistant with the Ontario Soybean Growers (OSG) in Chatham, Ontario. While with the OSG, Matt held progressively higher positions with the last being Research and Bioproducts Manager based out of Guelph, Ontario.

In July of 2005, Matt left the OSG to take on a new and exciting position as Executive Director of the Southwestern Ontario Bioproducts Innovation Network (SOBIN) based in Chatham. In this position, Matt works closely with industry, research, training and community organizations to help accelerate the development and adoption of bioproducts, energy conservation and alternative energy sources throughout the region.

Matt lives in a rural area, southwest of Strathroy, with his wife and three young sons.

About SOBIN:
The transformation of agricultural-based commodities into environmentally-friendly and cost -competitive products is growing - breathing new life into economy of Southwestern Ontario. The region's traditional economic leaders - the agriculture, chemical and automotive industries - are facing growing competitive pressures. So the timing is ideal to make Southwestern Ontario a centre for cultivating bioproducts technology and expanding the market for it. The region’s high concentration in agriculture, chemical, plastic and automotive production forms a natural base for the development of new bioproducts.

A network has been formed to capitalize on this unique opportunity, to enhance the competitiveness of the region’s industries, and to generate new sources of economic growth. It's called SOBIN - Southwestern Ontario Bioproducts Innovation Network.

SOBIN is a not-for-profit organization dedicated advancing new bioproducts and finding new uses for biobased feedstock in manufacturing primarily in the automotive, chemical and energy industries.

The Mission of SOBIN is to strengthen the economy of Southwestern Ontario by cultivating new bioproducts, fostering energy conservation and expanding alternative energy sources. We envision progressive companies leading the world in growing all facets of the bioproducts industry in Southwestern Ontario, leading to a vibrant regional economy.

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Peter Schrum
Director, Bio-Fuels Kontor SA (Pty.) Ltd, Johannesburg, SA
 

Biography:
As honourable president of the German Biofuel Association (BBK) with over 250 members, Peter Schrum is active in supporting biofuels all over the world. He is in contact with stakeholders in Europe, Africa and South America, which are involved in the commercial production of vegetable oil, biodiesel, ethanol, synthetic fuels made of biomass and biogas. With over 20 years of experience, he has a profound knowledge of the business and is experienced and skilled in the production of biofuels from different raw materials. He is a respected and questioned expert for investors, politicians and journalists. He conducted and consulted over 400 projects in the environmental field over the last 24 years. As chairman and member of the board of companies which are working in the field of biofuels and regenerative energies he was directly enlisted in various projects all over the world.

Abstract:
Biofuels as an Option
As the price for petrol and fossil fuel is continuously rising and will increase even further, new means of securing and guaranteeing the mobility of the people have to be developed. Alternatives like biofuels are thought of as an option for securing electricity and mobility. The reason why there are so many different opinions, possibilities and discussions about biofuels is that the subject is very complex and not easy to explain. It begins by illustrating the various value chains resulting from biofuels production and ends with the questions of CO₂ reduction (including the emissions of cultivating or just relying on the “zero”-emission).

Biofuels are not a new technology: vegetable oil was already utilized early in the 20th century by Rudolf Diesel (engineer of the engine). In the 1970s, when the world market price for sugar dropped significantly, Brazil started to produce ethanol out of sugar cane for use in vehicles. For the first time, biofuels were utilized on a large scale. Today, Brazil gets more than 30% of its fuels from ethanol. In Germany, large scale production of biodiesel started at the end of the 1990s and reached its peak in 2006/2007 with an annual production of over 3,5 Mio tons of biodiesel, substituting more than 12% of the German diesel consumption.

The presentation will provide you with a short overview about the four pillars of biofuels and how they are, and will come into effect, on a short- & long - term basis. The most common biofuels currently in use will be presented: bioethanol, biodiesel, vegetable oil and bio methane. The advantages of biofuels, especially with a regional focus and resource management will be pointed out in order to promote a pure biofuel strategy. Necessary political framework to introduce biofuels and give the right incentives for viable investments in the field is illustrated. Concluding with Canada’s potential in the biofuel production, the BBK e.V. expects to give participants of the 4th Plant Bio-Industrial Oils Workshop a broad overview on the option and possibilities of biofuels.
 

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Ulf Ståhl
Researcher at ScanBiRes Ltd.

Biography:
Ulf Ståhl, Researcher at ScanBiRes Ltd., PhD in plant physiology, has performed research on basic understanding of lipid biosynthesis for application in plant biotechnology for fifteen years, working mainly with acyltransferases and phospholipases.

ScanBiRes Ltd. or Scandinavian Biotechnology Research Ltd. is a small, Swedish biotech company with interest in vegetable oil biotechnology, especially in developing new oil qualities for industrial uses. The company was started by Professor Sten Stymne and associated researchers in year 2000 and performs research and development projects in collaboration with industrial partners.

ICON: Industrial Crops Producing Added Value Oils for Novel Chemicals
Vegetable oil is the agricultural product that chemically most resembles fossil oil and therefore has great potential to replace it both for fuel and for production of various chemicals and materials. Cracking fossil hydrocarbons and building the desired chemicals with advanced organic chemistry usually requires many times more energy than is contained in the final product. Thus, using plant material in the chemical industry does not only replace the fossil material contained in the final product but also save substantial energy in the processing. EC FP7 project ICON brings together the most prominent scientists in plant lipid biotechnology in an unprecedented world-wide effort, in order to produce added value oils for lubrication purposes in dedicated industrial oil crops within the time frame of four years. ICON will also develop a tool box of genes and understanding of lipid cellular metabolism in order for rational designing of vast array of industrial oil qualities in oil crops. The project has 12 partners from EU, six from Canada, four from USA, one from Australia and one from China. The strong Canadian participation in ICON is a reflection of Canada’s world leading position in plant lipid biotechnology as well as the close personal and scientific contacts between EU and Canadian scientists. Resources allocated to formalize and facilitate coordination between EU and Canadian research projects in this area can be expected to lead to substantial synergistic effects. Therefore, ICON has set off 1% of its EC contribution to such co-operative activities.
 

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Thorsten Zank
Research Scientist and Innovation Manager for BASF Plant Science

Biography:
Thorsten Zank is a biologist by training, having studied plant biology, biochemistry and molecular biology. His scientific activities are focused on modifying seed lipid metabolism with the aim to increase the overall seed oil content in transgenic crops and to optimize the fatty acid composition for human nutrition. His activities as Innovation Manager at BASF Plant Science are focused on selecting new projects in the areas of more efficient agriculture, animal & human nutrition as well as renewable resources.

BASF Plant Science GmbH: Company Profile
BASF Plant Science GmbH is the plant biotechnology company of BASF SE, the world leading chemical company and a major manufacturer of fine chemicals and agrochemical products. BASF Plant Science GmbH was founded as a joint venture with the Swedish seed breeding company Svalöf Weibull AB in 1998. The BASF Plant Science Group is a globally networked research company consisting of eight R&D units in five countries in Europe and North America. It currently employs about 700 people. The network also comprises numerous cooperative agreements with research institutes, universities and biotech companies. With the technologies developed by the BASF Plant Science Group, and the knowledge that we are currently gaining about plant transcriptomes, metabolomes and phenomes, the BASF Plant Science Group is one of the world's leading plant biotechnology companies.

It is the aim of the BASF Plant Science Group to make products with a clearly recognizable benefit or added value. In this context, BASF Plant Science develops crop plants for more efficient agriculture, crop plants that contribute to improved, healthier animal and human nutrition, as well as crop plants that can be used as renewable resources.

PUFA and High Oil are the main projects of BASF Plant Science, focusing on the lipid metabolism in the seeds of oilseed crops. One projects aims to develop transgenic oilseed crop plants with a fatty acid composition in the seed oil optimized for human nutrition. The goal of another project is to develop crop plants with an enhanced oil quantity in the seeds.

Abstract:
Lipid Research at BASF Plant Science
The presentation will outline the goal and status of existing projects within BASF Plant Science aiming to modify plant lipid metabolism. One project aims to develop transgenic oilseed crop plants with a fatty acid composition in the seed oil optimized for human nutrition. Another project aims to develop crop plants with an enhanced oil quantity in the seeds for nutritional and industrial applications.

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Sponsors

Thank you to the following sponsors, who are helping us make the Plant Bio-Industrial Oils Workshop a success:

POS Pilot Plant Corporation is a confidential, contract research organization. We offer over 30 years experience in process development, toll processing, and analytical services for industries such as wellness, food ingredients, and non-food industrial bioproducts. Our cGMP-compliant facility features grams to tons processing capability, 11 laboratories, and five separate pilot plant processing areas. POS scientists, technicians, engineers and operators specialize in extraction, fractionation, modification, and purification of bio-based materials. www.pos.ca

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SemBioSys Genetics is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company (TSX:SBS) developing a pipeline of innovative therapies that address critical unmet needs in cardiovascular and metabolic disease. SemBioSys leverages the unique biomanufacturing advantages its proprietary transgenic plant technologies to enable the development of therapeutic proteins and non-pharmaceutical products that face cost and capacity barriers to commercialization. www.sembiosys.ca

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Genome Prairie is the leading organization for support and management of large-scale genomics and proteomics research projects in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. With its partners, Genome Prairie has supported more than $120M of research activity in plant, animal and human genomics, bioinformatics, instrumentation development and bioethics since 2000.

Genome Prairie works collaboratively with all levels of government, universities, industry and Genome Canada to implement national strategies in genomics and proteomics research to benefit all Canadians.

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Sponsorship offerings for the Plant Bio-Industrial Oils Workshop will provide varying levels of recognition and profile to an exclusive audience of key industry stakeholders. Research, industry and government representatives will comprise the delegates for this workshop. YOU decide how best to present your company to the bio-oils industry!

For more information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jazmin Bolaños at 306-668-2659.

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Media

We welcome credentialed, working journalists of the general media to attend Plant Bio-Industrial Oils Workshop. Media registration is complimentary for credentialed members of the news media. Public relations executives and consultants, authors, researchers, and editors of trade association publications and newsletters may not register as media.

Conference organizers will review all media registrations for authenticity and have the authority to decline registration of persons who do not meet eligibility criteria. Conference organizers will contact you concerning the status of your registration request.

For media guidelines, interview scheduling, or other information, please contact Deb Shutiak, Communications Director of Ag-West Bio at 306-668-2656.

Thank you for your interest and participation!

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Contact
Ag-West Bio Inc.
101 - 111 Research Drive
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
S7N 3R2
Tel: 306-975-1939
Fax: 306-975-1966
E-mail: agwest@agwest.sk.ca

Visit the Ag-West Bio Inc. website:
www.agwest.sk.ca


Ag-West Bio, at the forefront of Saskatchewan ’s bio-economy, works as a catalyst for partnerships and industry growth through investments, aiding strategic alliances, providing regulatory advice and communications.

Click here to check out previous conferences in this series.
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