A High-Energy Perennial
Yulex Corporation is the lead developer in producing products from guayule, a unique desert plant native to the arid southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. Guayule is unrivaled in a variety of key metrics compared to established or alternative industrial crops such as corn, switchgrass, miscanthus, camelina, and others:
Guayule has nearly 50 percent more energy content in its biomass than other cellulosic feedstocks.
As a perennial cultivated crop, guayule offers the grower (farmer) an economically attractive alternative to, for example, cotton and alfalfa. Guayule can be harvested as soon as 18 months after planting and, thereafter, harvested on an annual cycle, yielding an unrivaled 20 tons of biomass per acre.
New Technology Creates Clean Tech Enterprise
Yulex has established a significant intellectual property portfolio based on the processing of guayule, particularly as it relates to the extraction of resins and biopolymers. While aqueous extraction technologies have been advanced for latex isolation and purification (used to make Yulex® natural rubber), Yulex has developed novel supercritical fluid (SCF) extraction technologies for isolation and purification of resin and rubber.
Yulex Corporation is currently trialing its proprietary and patented SCF extraction process which creates industrial dry rubber, resins and energy. The process can be operated using carbon dioxide alone or carbon dioxide in conjunction with other fluids, which is recycled in a “closed loop” system. Not only can resin and rubber be produced in a cost-effective manner, they can be produced in an environmentally friendly manner as well.
The products derived from the application of Yulex’s SCF extraction technology to guayule biomass offer unique advantages. Resins produced from the SCF extraction process have application as adhesives that easily bond in aqueous environments and, thus, are desirable for medical product manufacturers looking for superior bandage and surgical adhesives. Dry rubber can also be derived using the SCF extraction process and is a high-performance material for companies manufacturing high-end products such as heavy equipment and aircraft tires.
In conjunction with other technology-based companies and universities, research is underway to develop new thermochemical technology to produce “green” energy in the form of electrical power. Yulex will power its own operations with electricity generated from the burning of guayule biomass, selling excess power into the electrical grid. In addition, Yulex is evaluating technologies that would use syngas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen) derived from guayule biomass that could be bio-catalytically converted to ethanol.
