Evaluation of Biofuel Driven Irrigation Pumps and/or Electric Generators for Use During Peak Electricity Demand

The goal of this research is to support the development of a biofuel power unit industry in Nebraska to increase the use of agricultural resources, crops and the resulting biofuels that are produced in the region. Two Nebraska companies developed commercially available technologies to utilize denatured ethanol and other biofuels in industrial power‐units. The successful validation and demonstration of these technologies will support adaptation in water pumping and electrical generation plant applications. It will also document exhaust emissions and compare operating cost with traditional engines and fuels. These technologies could reduce peak load electrical energy demand resulting from electrical powered irrigation pumping stations, improved emissions compared to petroleum power irrigation pumping stations or peak load electrical generating stations, and may reduce production costs for irrigated farming operations

BIODEGRADABLE POLYMERS

To prepare a biodegradable plastic, biodegradable materials such as starches and a non-biodegradable polymer such as a polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, or polycarbonate are treated: (1) under heat, pressure and reagents to break the polymers; and (2) by adding to them an oxidizing agent. This treatment forms and/or makes available reactive groups for bonding: (1) on the biodegradable material groups such as aldehyde or hydroxyl groups in the case of the carbohydrates and amine groups in the case of proteins and certain other compounds such as urea; and (2) on the non-biodegradable plastic groups such as aldehydes, methyl, propyl, ethyl, benzyl or hyroxyl groups. In one embodiment, plastic and starch are processed in an extruber by: (1) mixing a starch in a range of between 15 percent and 80 percent, an oxidizing agent and an agent to break up the starch and the plastics; and (2) subjecting the combination to sufficient heat and/or pressure to break the plastic into shorter chains and bond monsaccharides to monomers from the non-biodegradable polymer

METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF SUBSTITUTED POLYSACCHARIDES VIA REACTIVE EXTRUSION

A reactive extrusion process for the production of substituted polysaccharides, in particular, cellulose acetate, starch acetate, carboxymethyl cellulose, and carboxymethyl starch. The present application claims the benefit of PCT/ US20111059785 filed on Nov. 8, 2011, which claimed the benefit of U.S. provisional application 611411,521, filed on Nov. 9, 2010, U.S. provisional application 611411,992, filed on Nov. 10, 2010, and U.S. provisional application 611472, 748, filed on Apr. 7, 2011, each of which is which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The production of substituted polysaccharides such as starch and cellulose acetates and carboxymethylated starches and celluloses have typically been produced using batch reactors. During such production methods, the starch or cellulose is suspended in a mixture comprising the reactants and usually a catalyst. Undesirably, such processes require significant amounts of solvents and may require significantly more the stoichiometric amounts or reactants each of which results in waste and the higher associated costs (e.g., financial, environmental, and health) in both the production of the desired product and the treatment and disposal of waste

WATER-RESISTANT DEGRADABLE FOAM AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME

A foam that is the extrudate of a mixture of a biodegradable polymer, starch, talc, and a blowing agent is provided. This foam is made by extruding a mixture of the above-listed components. This foam is water-resistant and in some variations waterproof making it an effective packing material. Still further, this foam is biodegradable, and thus, it can be disposed without creating environmental waste. In addition, the foam may be extruded into sheets and then therm-formed to form various articles

Value-added uses for crude glycerol--a byproduct of biodiesel production

Biodiesel is a promising alternative, and renewable, fuel. As its production increases, so does production of the principle co-product, crude glycerol. The effective utilization of crude glycerol will contribute to the viability of biodiesel. In this review, composition and quality factors of crude glycerol are discussed. The value-added utilization opportunities of crude glycerol are reviewed. The majority of crude glycerol is used as feedstock for production of other value-added chemicals, followed by animal feeds

The Effects of Catalyst, Free Fatty Acids, and Water on Transecterification of Beef Tallow

Transesterification of beef tallow and methanol is affected by many factors. Catalyst, free fatty acids, and water in beef tallow, and reaction time were investigated. Sodium hydroxide (NUOH) was a more effective catalyst than sodium methoxide (NaMeOj. NaOH and NaMeO reached their maximum activities at 0.3% and 0.5%, w/w of beef tallow, respectively. The presence of water had more negative effect on transesterification than did the presence of free fatty acids (FFA). For best results, the water content of beef tallow should be kept not beyond 0.0696, w/w. FFA content of beef tallow should be kept below 0.596, w/w. The transesterification of beef tallow was very slow in the first minute. The production of beef tallow methyl esters (BTME) was complete after about 15 min. There were still some mono- and diglycerides in the BTME phase after the reaction was finished

Biodiesel Fuel from Animal Fat. Ancillary Studies on Transesterification of Beef Tallow

Transesterification of beef tallow was investigated. The solubility of ethanol in beef tallow was much higher than that of methanol. At 100 °C the solubility of methanol was 19% (w/w). The solubility of ethanol in beef tallow reached 100% (w/w) at about 68 °C. For the distribution of methanol between beef tallow methyl esters (BTME) and glycerol, the percentage of total methanol in the glycerol phase was higher than that in the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) phase in a simulated system at room temperature. At 65-80 °C, however, the percentage of total methanol in FAME (60% (w/w)) was higher than that in glycerol (40% (w/w)) in a 90:10 (w/w) blend of FAME and glycerol. This coincided with the methanol distribution in the transesterified product. The process for making beef tallow methyl esters should recover methanol using vacuum distillation, separate the ester and glycerol phases, and then wash the beef tallow methyl esters with warm water. At neutral pH, the separation of ester and glycerol and water washing was easier because it reduced emulsion formation

Preparation and characterization of tapioca starch–poly(lactic acid) nanocomposite foams by melt intercalation based on clay type

Abstract Tapioca starch (TS), poly(lactic acid) (PLA), and four different organoclays (Cloisite 10A, Cloisite 25A, Cloisite 93A and Cloisite 15A) were used to produce nanocomposite foams by melt-intercalation. Structural, thermal, physical and mechanical properties were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and an Instron universal testing machine, respectively. The first XRD peaks for all four nanocomposite foams, were observed to shift to lower angles, indicating that intercalation occurred. The extent of intercalation depended on the type of organoclay and was exhibited in the sequence of Cloisite 10A \u3e 25A \u3e 93A \u3e 15A. Glass transition temperatures (Tg), melting temperatures (Tm), and transition enthalpies (ΔH) of the foams were investigated by DSC. Radial expansion ratio (RER), unit density, bulk spring index (BSI), bulk compressibility, Young’s modulus (E), water absorption index (WAI), and water solubility index (WSI) were influenced (p \u3c 0.05) significantly with the addition of different organoclays into the TS/PLA matrix

METHOD FOR MULCHING AN AGRICULTURAL SOIL BED USING A BIODEGRADABLE PROTEIN MATERIAL AND A MULCHED AGRICULTURAL CROP GROWING PLOT PRODUCED THEREBY

A method is provided for mulching an agricultural Soil bed using a biodegradable protein mulch material. The method includes the preparation of a film forming Solution of a film forming protein material. The film forming protein Solution is then sprayed directly onto a Surface of an agricultural Soil bed. The solution dries to form a thin film of protein material on the Surface of the agricultural Soil bed. The protein material may comprise a plant protein, a milk protein, an animal protein, a whey protein, casein, an egg protein or gelatin. Following a harvest, the mulch material, which is biodegradable, may simply be plowed under

Gelatin Manufacturing Process and Product

The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing a process for manufacturing gelatin including cleaning a fowl-based source of collagen; subjecting the fowl-based source of collagen to at least one water extraction to extract gelatin from the collagen source; and separating the gelatin from any resulting by-products, wherein the process does not require an initial acid or lime pretreatment step. The present invention also includes a product made from this process