By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — Ohio’s Bioproducts Task Force advised the state to increase its biorefining capabilities.

Ohio is not producing enough biopolymers to feed into the manufacturing process. Studies need to be done to find out exactly what products can be made the most efficiently and effectively in Ohio.

Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Ohio Agriculture Director (ODA) Robert Boggs recently announced these task force recommendations that will be submitted as part of a report to Gov. Ted Strickland and the Ohio General Assembly.

Doug O’Brien, assistant director of ODA, chaired the task force which was created by Ohio House Bill 233. The goal was to identify ways in which Ohio may become a leader in the bioproducts industry by linking the state’s $98 billion food and agriculture industry with its $49 billion chemical and polymer industries.
Bioproducts are commercial and industrial materials than can be made from agricultural products. Examples include lubricants, coatings and ink toners that are made from soybeans, as well as plastics and molded fiberglass made from corn and plant fibers.
Ohio’s research laboratories, both public and private, are developing new bioproducts such as high performance rubber made from Russian dandelion – a crop that could be grown in Ohio.

“ODA is making a big deal about the report of the Bioproducts Task Force, because it is a big deal,” said Boggs. “The governor and the lieutenant governor believe that bioproducts are going to be major way we surge back into our manufacturing capabilities here in this state.”

Ohio has more than 2,500 polymer plants making everything from molded fiberglass and plastic, to paint and adhesives, Boggs said. Those plants employ about 150,000 Ohioans. The task force recommendations could infuse additional opportunities for growth in one of the state’s leading economic sectors.

The recommendations are about adding value to Ohio commodities, said O’Brien. A necessary complement to the biomass market that may be coming in three to 10 years will be looking for products other than fuel which can be made from the biomass materials.

Boggs emphasized while food prices have risen more than 45 percent, only 3 percent of that can be attributed to the cost of food. The biggest factor is the rising cost of energy, he said.

“If we don’t invest in bioproducts and biofuels, and petroleum prices continue to soar, food prices are going to go up as well,” he said. “It is very important that we break our addiction to petroleum both in manufacturing and in fuels, and I think the task force recommendations will go a long way toward doing that.

Some of the task force’s recommendations maybe funded by a stimulus package Strickland recently signed, which includes $50 million to promote the development of the bioproducts industry in Ohio, Boggs said.

“Over 150 years ago, it was agriculture that met our food, energy, and material needs,” he said “Now, as the surging demands upon limited petroleum supplies push oil prices to skyrocketing levels, I am convinced that our agricultural industry will again be a key driver to lead us into a new era of independence from petroleum.”