Polyurethanes are used to create foams, adhesives, and coatings

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the University of Wyoming $299,997 through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) on February 1, 2026, to develop microbial bio-oils for use in polyurethane production.

The University of Wyoming will cultivate and engineer a microbe that naturally accumulates bio-oils on low-cost agricultural byproducts, then enhance the microbe's bio-oil yield and tailor the composition of bio-oils it produces to customize polyurethane properties. The work includes metabolic analysis of the microbe using advanced techniques to identify traits supporting robust bio-oil accumulation and identify bottlenecks to higher yields. Findings will enable engineering of enhanced bio-oil accumulation into other microbial strains to advance bioeconomy development. The long-term objective is simplified, more economical microbial bio-oil production for domestic chemical and fuel production, with potential to increase the value of agricultural byproducts common in Wyoming and surrounding states.

Performance occurs in Laramie, Wyoming, with a period of performance from February 1, 2026, through January 31, 2028. The award is structured as a Project Grant, a competitive research funding mechanism under AFRI's Foundational and Applied Science Program track.

Most polyurethanes are currently made from petrochemicals, although some BIO-based polyurethanes have been commercialized. The goal of the proposed work is to produce microbial BIO-oils for use in polyurethanes. This work aims to create an additional source of material for polyurethane production and will further efforts in creating a bioeconomy. To accomplish this, we will grow a microbe that naturally accumulate BIO-oils on a low-cost agricultural byproduct and then engineer that microbe for an increased yield of BIO-oil. Additionally, the microbe will be engineered to tailor which BIO-oils IT makes, which will customize properties of subsequent polyurethanes. Finally, we will use advanced techniques to study the metabolic state of the microbe to identify unique traits of this particular cell type that allows for robust BIO-oil accumulation during growth on the low-cost agricultural byproduct, as well as identify any potential bottlenecks to an even higher BIO-oil yield. This data can be used to engineer enhanced BIO-oil accumulation into other microbial strains, furthering the bioeconomy. The long-term goal of this project is a simplified, more economical microbial BIO-oil production for domestic chemical and fuel production. If successful, this research will also enhance the value of an agricultural byproduct common in wyoming and surrounding states.