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Title: Co-products from Guayule Resin

Authors: Justice Armijo, Mostafa Dehghanizadeh, Catherine Brewer

Division: Materials Engineering & Sciences

Guayule (Parthenium argentatum) is a desert shrub of the Asteraceae family that thrives in arid and semi-arid regions with low water demand. This crop is native to the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico and is being used to produce high-quality, hypoallergenic natural rubber. Industries utilizing natural rubber include pharmaceuticals, tire production, and food industries. Due to the economic feasibility of guayule-derived rubber production, sale of co-products are required for sustainable and commercial viability of guayule as an industrial crop. During rubber extraction, two byproducts are produced: a woody bagasse and a complex resin. Both byproducts were characterized using various methods including Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and high-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectroscopy (FT-ICR MS). Whole guayule resin, along with vacuum-distillation fractions, were identified to have significant value in monoterpene chemical, insect repellant, and adhesive applications. Specific insect repellency was tested against Turkestan cockroaches and found a significant number of compounds present in the resin distillation fractions as in commercially used active ingredients for repellents, and a repellency action time to at least seven days for some fractions. An economic review of the co-product applications was conducted and found to support the development of guayule natural rubber production.