A collaboration between Chevron and Texas A&M AgriLife will develop the “Diesel Nut,” a line of peanuts to be used as a renewable feedstock for lower-carbon diesel fuel.
AgriLife noted peanut oil has a lower carbon intensity, which is a central consideration when developing sustainable agricultural practices. Carbon intensity is the energy used to produce a product and how much net carbon that process adds to the atmosphere.
Texas A&M AgriLife researcher Dr. John Carson will lead the five-year multi-million-dollar project.
Developing the “diesel nut” includes estimating economic feasibility, advancing existing high-oil peanut germplasm and developing low-input peanut lines for the renewable diesel industry.
Director of AgriLife Research Dr. Cliff Lamb said the collaboration with Chevron gives their scientists a chance to develop peanuts with a higher oil content, which is better adapted to drier climates.
Chevron is building the capacity to produce 100,000 barrels a day of renewable fuels in its manufacturing system by 2030.
“We hope these new peanut varieties will offer producers a profitable dryland or limited irrigation crop option,” Lamb said. “What makes this project truly exciting is that it takes the entire agricultural value chain into account, using cutting-edge research to create an abundant, affordable and high-quality product that works to protect natural resources, improve health and support economies in Texas and beyond. We appreciate the support of this work by Chevron.”
Michelle Young, renewables program manager for Chevron Downstream Technology and Services, said they are thrilled to partner with Texas A&M AgriLife.
“This collaboration has the potential to deliver high-quality oil to produce renewable fuels while providing peanut farmers in the U.S. with another way to maximize the value of their operations,” Young said.
The Texas Peanut Producers support the collaboration.
“Peanut farmers have long realized the value of using peanuts not only as a cash crop, but also as a crop that adds nutrients to the soil, creating a sustainable production system,” said Shelly Nutt, Texas Peanut Producers Board executive director. “With the success of this project, farmers could add a low-input, high-yielding ‘diesel nut’ with the ability to grow on marginal land or with limited water availability, into their rotation program and would not be competing with the high-quality, edible peanut market the board has worked so hard to achieve.”
The research team sees the potential to bring peanut production back to non-irrigated, rain-fed areas.
“With our edible breeding lines, we’ve also been looking at drought tolerance, but not on any of the lines producing higher oil,” Cason said. “Now, we’ve pulled everything out and started planting in Vernon and Stephenville and will grow some under dryland and irrigation. We are treating this year as kind of a pilot year.”
Peanut-planting season in West Texas begins late April and early May, while peanuts are planted in South Texas as late as June 25. Harvest starts in October and is usually finished by Thanksgiving. A peanut crop typically needs 27 inches of moisture and produces 5,000 pounds per acre, whereas the drought-tolerant research in Lubbock is studying peanuts with 7-12 inches of moisture with production around 2,800 pounds an acre in 2020.
They plan to adapt “diesel nut” lines to new growing regions across Texas and the U.S. where the crop can perform under limited irrigation and dryland production. Researchers will explore the development of best management practices for crop production systems and the logistics of harvest, transport and storage, which is necessary to rapidly advance the production of renewable diesel feedstocks.
Over the course of the five-year project, researchers plan to develop cropping systems that optimize growth, harvest and yield for “diesel nuts.” They also will evaluate rotational systems, cover crops, tillage and fertilizer practices under dryland and limited irrigation.
“The end goal of this project is the commercialization of elite high-oil varieties that producers can plant and oil that Chevron can use,” Carl Muntean, director of Texas A&M AgriLife Corporate Engagement and Research Support, said.
For more information, visit agriliferesearch.tamu.edu.