PartI:OverviewofBusinessKemin Industries

Kemin wasfoundedin1961byR.WandMaryNelson. KeminbeganinDesMoines,Iowaandisin90countriesaroundtheworld. Everyday,Kemin touchesmorethan3.8billionpeopleinmorethan120countriesworldwide. Kemin workstofindscientificsolutionsforeverydayproblemsinpreservationandqualityofmaterials.

PartII:JobSpecificsIhavebeenworkingasabotanist/plantscientistandIhavebeenextractingessentialoilsfromplantsthatcouldbeusedformanydifferentthings.OneofthemainproblemsIhavehelpedwithatKemin isdistillations. Whenplantsbegintoflower,theybegintolosetheamountofessentialoilstheycarry,becausetheyuseituptohelpthemflower. Indoingthedistillations,wewereabletoworktowardsfindingthebesttimetocollectplanttissuetoyieldthebestoil.TheroleofmypartofKemin andthegroupIworkwithisknownasSCI,orspecialtycropimprovement. SCImakesupthebaseofKemin’s mission. SCIworkstobreeddifferentplantswithdesirabletraitsthatcaneventuallybeusedinitemsweuseeveryday.

PartIII:IntroducetheProblemKemin isusingdistillationstoextractessentialoilsfromdifferentplantsandthenscreeningtheoilsfordesirables. OnethingI’venoticedandwe’vetalkedaboutisthefloweringvs.nofloweringplants. Plantsthathavealreadyfloweredtendtoproducelessessentialoilthanthosethathavenotflowered. Rightnowwearejustfocusedondoingdistillationswithmanydifferentplantstoseenotonlyhowmuchoiltheyproduce,butalsoiftherearedesirablesintheoilsaswell. Iwouldliketotryandtestdifferentplantsatdifferentpartsoftheirlifetoseewhentheyproducethemostoil. IndoingthisIwouldlikestudentstocomeupwiththeirownexperimentstotestwhenthebesttimetoextractoilfromtheplantsis,ifpossible.

PartIV:BackgroundMystudentswouldneedtoknowsomebasicplantanatomysuchasnodes,leaves,stems,androotsaswellasafewothers. Theywillalsoneedtoknowsomeofthelifestagesofplantssuchas;seeds,germination,growth,reproductionandpollination. Studentswouldalsoneedtoknowhowtorunadistillationandwhatishappeningduringeachstepofthedistillation.

PartV:BusinessSolutionKemin ismainlyfocusingonwhichplantsproducethemostoilsandwhichplantsproducethemostdesirablematerials. IthinkoncetheywantedtomassproduceaplanttheywouldthenlookattheplantanddotestlikeIplantodoinmyclassroom. Theremightbesomevariationofthatthatcanbedoneittheendgoalwouldbethebesttimetoharvestmaterialtoproducethebestresults.Mystudentswilllookatthedifferentamountsofoilsthattheplantsproduce,andtheywilldecideasaclasswhichproducttheywouldliketomakebetter,suchas;foodpreservation,lotions,rubs,etc. problemscouldbehowmuchoilneedstobeusedorwhattypesofoilneedstobeaddedtomaketheproductbetter.

PartVI:StudentSolutionsIthinkstudentswouldeachtakeadifferentapproachwiththis. Therearesomedifferentpossibilitiesforproblemstoleantowards; howmuchessentialoilwillyieldthebestproductortryingdifferenttypesofessentialoilseffectthequalityoftheproduct. Studentsmayalsocomeupwiththeirownsolutionstosolvethisproblem.Plantsproduceessentialoilsinglandstheyusuallyhaveintheirtissues,butessentialoilscanbefoundinalmosteveryartofaplant(differentplantsdon’talwaysyieldoilfromthesameplace). Therearemanybenefitsofessentialoilsaswellsuchas;preservingfood,cleaningreducesaromatherapy,medicines,etc. Certainmoleculesinessentialoilsareusedtopreservefoodandusedinmedicinesaswell.

Name:Breannah KripsTeachingcontentarea(s)HSBiology/EnvironmentalScienceSchool:Saydel HighSchoolExternhostsite:Kemin Industries

Whichplantsproducethemostoils?