Contact: Brian Sansoni, The Soap and Detergent Association,
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Kansas Researcher Honored with SDA Glycerine Innovation Award

Use of Glycerine in Renewable Resources Research Lauded

Washington , D.C. , May 2, 2005 – A synthetic chemist at Kansas’ Pittsburg State University is the recipient of The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) 2005 Glycerine Innovation Award.

The honor was presented to Dr. Andrew Guo at the Annual Meeting & Expo of the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The award consists of a plaque and a $3,000 honorarium.

Dr. Guo was honored for his innovative research involving glycerine applications in the use of renewable materials as feedstocks for high-performance plastic materials. Dr. Guo was instrumental both to the invention and the commercialization of the soy polyol discovered at the Kansas Polymer Research Center at Pittsburg State University. Working with Cargill, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dr. Guo has seen the soy polyol pass the pilot-plant stage – and shows potential as a replacement of petroleum-based polyols.

It is in this research where glycerine is used in large quantity – as a crosslinker, a material to boast the rigidity of soy-based polyurethane materials . This further enhances the use of renewables. The production of the soy polyols could lead to the usage of one billion pounds of glycerine annually in the U.S. – and three billion pounds worldwide, according to Dr. Guo.

Trained as an organic chemist, Dr. Guo joined the Kansas Polymer Research Center in 1997. He has spent the last eight years in applied research, focusing on utilization of vegetable oils as building blocks for high performance plastics. Dr Guo serves as Senior Research Scientist and Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Pittsburg State.

The SDA Glycerine Innovation Award recognizes outstanding achievement for research into new applications for glycerine with particular emphasis on commercial viability. The third annual award was presented at a dinner meeting of the AOCS Industrial Oil Products (IOP) Division. The award review panel consists of members of the IOP Division and SDA’s Oleochemical Committee.

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The Soap and Detergent Association (www.cleaning101.com), the U.S. Home of the Cleaning Product and Oleochemical Industries SM, is the non-profit trade association representing manufacturers of household, industrial, and institutional cleaning products; their ingredients and finished packaging; and oleochemical producers. SDA members produce more than 90 percent of the cleaning products marketed in the U.S. The SDA is located at 1500 K Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005.