The Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions (SBAR) Center of Excellence at the University of Arizona was established in September 2017, with the intended purpose of developing a systems approach for feedstock development, production, and delivery in the Southwest United States.
It is further enhanced by the development and implementation of education, extension and outreach to teachers, 4-H youth groups, and farmers across the region. SBAR is providing stakeholders, interested in expanding crop options that support the rubber and biofuel industries, with regional solutions that are economically viable, socially acceptable, and meet the water conservation needs of the arid Southwest.
SBAR works to optimize and integrate the production of guayule and guar to enable the Southwest United States to significantly impact the biofuels and other high-value product markets. Scientists are collaborating on research, development, and deployment (RDD) activities to:
- Improve feedstocks and produce them in a sustainable manner;
- Identify new value-added co-products that increase marketability;
- Understand how conversion to fuel is affected by variable feedstock quality; and
- Augment transportation, techno-economic, and sustainability models to provide a clear path to commercialization.
For more information visit the SBAR website.