Chemurgy is a branch of applied
chemistryChemistry is the science concerned with the composition, behavior, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions...
that is concerned with preparing industrial products from agricultural raw materials. The word "chemurgy" was coined by chemist William J. Hale and first publicized in his 1934 book
The Farm Chemurgic, the concept was mildly well-developed by the early years of the 20th century. For example, a number of products, including brushes and motion picture film, were made from
celluloseCellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β linked D-glucose units....
. Beginning in the 1920s, some prominent Americans began to advocate a more widespread link between farmers and industry. Among them were William J. Hale and agricultural journalist Wheeler McMillen. Automaker
Henry FordHenry Ford was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. He was a prolific inventor and was awarded 161 U.S. patents...
began to test farm crops for their industrial potential around 1930, and soon settled on the
soybeanThe soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia. The plant is classed as an oilseed rather than a pulse. It is an annual plant that has been used in China for 5,000 years to primarily add nitrogen into the soil as part of crop rotation...
as particularly promising. The Ford Motor Company used soybeans in such parts as gearshift knobs and horn buttons.
In 1935, the Farm Chemurgic Council (later renamed the National Farm Chemurgic Council) was formed to encourage greater use of renewable raw materials in industry. In its early years, the Council received substantial publicity. It was perceived by the Roosevelt Administration as a political threat, since Council leaders questioned U.S. Department of Agriculture policies. First placing much of its emphasis on demonstrating the benefits of Agrol (a line of blended motor fuels that included
ethanolEthanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug, best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages and in modern thermometers. Ethanol is one of the oldest recreational drugs...
), the Council drew strong opposition from the petroleum industry. The Agrol pilot plant, which also experienced management and financial difficulties, shut down in 1938. Wheeler McMillen, who had become president of the Council the previous year, decided to distance the chemurgy movement from ethanol, mend fences with the petroleum industry, and place the Council on a more cautious course.
The Council’s cause received an unexpected boost when
Theodore G. BilboTheodore Gilmore Bilbo was an American politician. Bilbo, a Democrat, twice served as governor of Mississippi and later became a U.S. Senator . A master of scathing filibuster and a "rough and tumble" fighter in debate, Bilbo became a synonym for white supremacy...
, a U.S. senator from Mississippi, sought a means to promote new uses for his region’s surplus cotton. To make his goal more politically attractive, he supported a broader research program. In the end, four regional U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratories, dedicated to finding new uses for farm crops, were authorized under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. The labs were established in
Wyndmoor, PennsylvaniaWyndmoor is a census-designated place in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 5,601 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
,
New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major U.S. port and the largest city in the state of Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, the largest metro area in the state....
,
Peoria, IllinoisPeoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city was the fifth-largest in Illinois, with a population of 112,936; by 2007 it was the sixth-largest city and had population of 113,546...
, and
Albany, CaliforniaAlbany is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 16,447 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. Over time, their research agendas expanded, and they became less focused on chemurgy. Nevertheless, their involvement in that field was symbolic of the chemurgy movement’s transformation from a cause associated with Roosevelt Administration critics to one with clear support from that administration.
Chemurgy demonstrated its worth during World War II, particularly in alleviating the rubber shortage caused when Japan cut off most of America's supply. Corn was used as raw material in much of the synthetic rubber produced during the war. Various other plants, including
guayuleParthenium argentatum, commonly known as the Guayule , is a shrub in the family Asteraceae, native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, in the US states of New Mexico and Texas; and the Mexican states of Zacatecas, Coahuila, Chihuahua, San Luis Potosí, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas...
and kok-saghyz (Russian dandelion), were investigated as rubber sources. In the American Midwest, school children were encouraged to gather
milkweedAsclepias L. , the milkweeds, is a genus of herbaceous perennial, dicotyledonous plants that contains over 140 known species...
floss, previously considered a nuisance but now valued for a new role as a filler in military life jackets. A priest in Iowa even made news by urging congregants to grow
hempHemp is the name of the soft, durable fiber that is cultivated from plants of the Cannabis genus, cultivated only for industrial use....
, whose previous reputation as a drug hazard yielded to military requirements for rope and cordage.
Prospects for chemurgy appeared promising into the 1950s. An article in the December 3, 1951 issue of
NewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly newsmagazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, for example, said "“the flood of chemurgy seems to be swelling.”" But as uses of agricultural raw materials advanced, so did uses for petrochemicals, and non-renewable materials eventually won out in a number of markets. For example, petrochemical detergents were widely used in place of agriculturally derived soaps, and petrochemical plastic wrapping material largely replaced cellophane. The Chemurgic Council went through a period of decline and finally closed its doors in 1977.
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in chemurgy, although the word itself has largely fallen out of usage. In 1990, Wheeler McMillen, then 97 years old, addressed a national conference of latter-day chemurgic enthusiasts in Washington, DC. The conference served to launch the New Uses Council, which seeks to further the cause formerly promoted by the Chemurgic Council.
George Washington CarverGeorge Washington Carver , was an American scientist, botanist, educator and inventor whose studies and teaching revolutionized agriculture in the Southern United States...
was one of the most famous scientists of this field.
Substitutions
- Kenaf
Kenaf [Etymology: Persian], Hibiscus cannabinus, is a plant in the Malvaceae family. Hibiscus cannabinus is in the genus Hibiscus and is probably native to southern Asia, though its exact natural origin is unknown. The name also applies to the fibre obtained from this plant. Kenaf is one of the...
for juteJute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, family Tiliaceae....
(rope)
- castor oil
Castor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean . Castor oil is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odor or taste. Its boiling point is and its density is 961 kg·m−3...
for petroleum-based oil (lubrication)