Elsewhere in ag utilization

By Joan Olson

Editor’s note: As a service to our readers, we provide news about the work of others in the ag utilization arena. Often, research done elsewhere complements AURI’s work. Please note that ARS is the research arm of the USDA.

Waste not, want fuel not

At least four commercial ventures in North America are gearing up to make ethanol from waste materials, reports the Wall Street Journal. Future environmental restrictions and the need to reduce the nation’s mountains of garbage are stimulating these biomass efforts.

Iogen Corp. of Ottawa, Canada is building a refinery to turn corn stalks into ethanol, which will be blended with gasoline and sold by the Calgary oil refiner Petro-Canada.

BC International Corp. is modifying a Louisiana ethanol refinery to transform sugar-cane wastes into ethanol, utilizing genetically altered bacteria and enzymes. Sugar-cane waste fibers, called bagasse, are a no-cost feedstock.

Arkenol Inc. is building a biorefinery near Sacramento, Calif. to process rice straw into ethanol, which will be blended with gasoline. Masada Resource Group of Birmingham, Ala. has a contract with Middletown, N.Y. to produce ethanol out of sewage sludge and organic wastes gleaned from municipal garbage.

According to the Wall Street Journal, only about three percent of the nation’s energy is currently derived from biomass, nearly all of it from corn ethanol or wood-burning.

Source: “The New Alchemy: Turning Garbage into Fuel,” Wall Street Journal, November 2, 1999.

Biodiesel comes to the Midwest

Sixty farmer-owned co-ops now carry Country Energy’s soy-enhanced diesel fuel in Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The potential exists for thousands of outlets in the Midwest to carry the fuel.

Source: Illinois Soybean Association, Theresa Miller, (309) 663-7692, miller@ilsoy.org.

Healthy heart beans

The FDA agrees that soy protein in the daily diet helps fight coronary heart disease -- the number one cause of death in the United States. It has authorized the use of a soy health claim on packaging of foods with at least 6.25 grams of soy protein per serving. Products claiming health effects must also have less than 1 gram of saturated fat and less than 20 mg. cholesterol. Food incorporating whole soybeans may also qualify for the claim if they contain no added fat.

Qualifying soy products may read: “25 grams of soy protein a day, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. A serving of (name of food) provides (number of grams) of soy protein.”

Source: Illinois Soybean Checkoff Board, Theresa Miller, (309) 663-7692.

Visit www.talksoy.com or www.soyfoods.com or call 1-800-TALK SOY for soy recipes and additional nutrition information.

I-FARRM at work

The Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research has established a five-year, $5 million venture known as I-FARRM, or Illinois Farming Alternatives and Rural Revitalization Methods.

Similar to AURI in some respects, I-FARRM is targeted to alternative agricultural enterprise research and development. It brings University researchers together with farmers to help them process and market commodities and specialty crops, develop new farm-related money makers, identify rural development opportunities, and create Internet links that will help rural residents find the information and technical help they need.

I-FARRM’s Internet home is located at www.siu.edu/~i-farrm.

Catalysts from corn

The National Corn Growers Association is spending an $889,632 Department of Energy grant on three years of process development and commercialization for polyols. Polyols are catalysts derived from corn for use in antifreeze, aircraft de-icing fluid, personal care products and prepared foods. The project could utilize up to 250 million bushels of corn to supply the total domestic demand.

Source: www.ncga.org.

$13 million for biomass research

In August, the federal Department of Energy (DOE) awarded more than $13 million to promote the growth of the biomass industry, following President Clinton’s executive order on bioenergy.

The DOE awarded grants to 17 groups conducting research. Cargill Dow Polymers, Inc. received $1.3 million for research on polylactic acid polymers, an environmentally benign plastic made from corn. The University of California-Davis received $1.5 million for research on a commercial bioprocess utilizing waste ag feedstocks (mixed wood waste, rice straw, waste sugar and waste lactose) for the production of a lactate ester.

Soy guards your liver

Researchers from southern Illinois University have found a diet high in soybean protein keeps obese rats from developing a fatty liver condition. The condition is common in overweight humans as well as rats.

Source: http://news.siu.edu.

Stick to me like glue, sugar

ARS scientists are exploring liquid epoxies made from cane sugar. They hope to open an industrial outlet for sugar in the form of non-toxic adhesives, primers, base coats and composite materials.

Source: Navzer Sachinvala, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA, (504) 286-4324, nozar@commserver.srrrc.usda.gov

Breakfast on soy flakes

Kellogg, the world’s largest cereal business, is developing a soy-based cereal. It’s expected to launch in the near future.

Source: Doane’s Agricultural Report, October 29, 1999, www.doane.com

If Piglet’s mom had only known …

Feeding studies have shown soybean estrogen can increase ovulation and litter size in pigs. So researchers at Southern Illinois University are locating the genes that control soybeans’ production of estrogen-like compounds. Developing bean varieties that would consistently deliver high levels of the beneficial compounds would give farmers access to new niche markets for livestock feed.

Source: David A. Lightfoot, (618) 453- 1797, e-mail: ga4082@siu.edu, or Todd Winters, (618) 453-1760, e-mail tw3@siu.edu. See related Web site at http://news.siu.edu.