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 being done elsewhere complements AURI's work. (Please note that ARS is the research arm of the USDA).

Iowa fleet gets biodiesel feet

The Iowa Department of Transportation's diesel-powered vehicle fleet, including snow plows, dump trucks, endloaders and mower tractors, is being fueled during 1997 with biodiesel. Even five percent biodiesel in the blend increases the lubricity factor of diesel fuel. Higher lubricity results in less engine wear and tear, potentially lowering overall maintenance and repair costs.

Source: Illinois Soybean Checkoff Board, Claudine Wargel, (309) 663-7692.

"Phytic acid resin is a natural for cleaning wastewater," says Lehrfeld. "It binds nearly three times more heavy metal than a similar volume of the petroleum-based resin now widely used in wastewater cleanup. It can also remove atrazine from watery solutions."

Phytic acid can be extracted from corn steep liquor, a byproduct of starch production. Currently, the liquor is mixed with corn bran and dried into livestock feed. Extracting phytic acid could result in a more nutritious feed. That's because phytic acid binds calcium, zinc and other minerals in the feed, making them unusable for animals with a single stomach, such as hogs, chickens and fish.

Lehrfeld has applied for a patent on the production of resins with phytic acid and is seeking industrial cooperators to help transfer the technology to the marketplace.

Source: Jacob Lehrfeld, USDA-ARS, Peoria, Ill., (309) 681-6320.

Milking the Oatrim

Want fat-free milk but miss the texture of whole milk? Try "Replace," a milk drink by Golden Jersey Products which replaces the cream in milk with a thickening agent called Oatrim. Developed by USDA, Oatrim is made primarily of hydrolyzed oat flour. Replace may also help reduce blood cholesterol, according to Golden Jersey.

Monsanto pushes plastic plants

Plastic plants grow everywhere, since vegetation contains minute quantities of a natural plastic. But Monsanto's labs are genetically engineering cotton and mustard plants to produce up to 400 times as much plastic as normal.

Plastic from green plants won't replace plastic from chemical plants anytime soon. Today, the raw plastic that Monsanto's experimental plants produce isn't very useful and is expensive to produce.

The key to extracting plastic from plants is a bug called Alcaligenes uetrophus. When fed a cocktail of sugar and proprionic acid, this bacteria makes a polyester plastic. A team of biologists and biochemists is identifying the genes that turn on the enzymes that make the bacteria metabolize that cocktail into plastic. Those genes are being injected into plant cells in hopes of making plants behave like the bug. Researchers don't know what will happen to a plant's other functions when it is genetically tricked to grow plastic.

Source: The Wall Street Journal.

Soy smokes 'em

The U.S. Department of Defense is working with University of Missouri researchers to develop soybean oil smoke. Someday the smoke may help U.S. troops carry out strategic maneuvers.

Currently, the U.S. military uses a petroleum oil fog to mask military maneuvers and obscure the positions of vehicles, ships and troops. Soy oil is a renewable fuel that is domestically grown and friendly to the environment.

Source: Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council.

Ethanol facts

Currently, ethanol production uses 500 million bushels of corn a year. More than 40 ethanol plants are operating in 20 states, creating more than 40,000 jobs in rural communities.

Source: Focus on Agriculture, American Farm Bureau Federation.

Give cancer a razzberry

Researcher Gary Stoner of Ohio State University has found a compound in raspberries that can help stop cancer. Ellagic acid prevents esophagus cancer in 60 percent of rats given a high dosage of carcinogen.

Further research is needed, and how this compound works against other cancers may also be studied. Meanwhile, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center scientists are working to increase Ohio's raspberry acreage in order to capture this potential market. They're also studying when the most ellagic acid is present and where it's produced in the plant.

Source: Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, (330) 263-3700.

Don't light up
the seed

Researchers with the Philippines National Tobacco Administration have been looking into new uses for tobacco plants. They say that tobacco's nicotine-free seeds can provide edible and industrial oils, while tobacco seedcake makes a protein-rich feed for livestock. Tobacco-seed flour could be used in baked goods such as cookies and pancakes. The particleboard and paper industry might use tobacco-plant fiber.

Source: The Furrow.