Researchers from the University of Kentucky departments of Chemistry, Food Science, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering (BAE), as well as the Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) were recently awarded funding from the UK Sustainability Challenge Grant program in order to demonstrate an integrated approach to replace coal and petroleum-generated products with sustainable, biomass-based products. Ideally, the research will lead to jobs for rural Kentuckians suffering from the slowing coal industry as well as help the United States reduce its dependence on foreign oil.