Award Data

The past decade has seen remarkable progress in the development of biobased fuel and chemical production. Biobased fuels and chemicals could create substantial economic benefits for farmers and rural communities, since biomass feedstock production and conversion to biobased products are predominantly rural activities. However, substantial challenges exist and achieving economic viability of large- ...

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Thin saws, although more difficult to manufacture and use, conserve valuable wood fiber resources and make the users of these thin saws more competitive globally. As such, thinner sawblades are growing in popularity in spite of the "challenges" associated with their manufacture and use. Three of those challengers revolve around brazing tips into thinner sawblades1) Because the steel is thinner, le ...

In controlled environment agricultural (CEA) systems (greenhouses and indoor plant production facilities) light is the most energy consuming, and yet the least controlled, input factor for plant growth. Plants can dissipate up to 80% of the absorbed light energy as heat through physiological protective mechanisms (non photochemical quenching) and this light cannot be used for plant growth. Light e ...

The emerging challenges associated with human exposure to food allergens have fueled an urgent need for development of novel detection and sensing systems. Food industries, regulatory agencies, and allergy suffers require the ability to quickly test and continuously monitor in-situ for specific allergens and/or food contaminants in food and food processes.Film that adhere specifically to nut aller ...

Food safety is a global problem, which costs the world billions of dollars and over a million lives annually. Access Sensor Technologies proposes to develop a rapid, low-cost, easy to use system for the measurement of food borne pathogens. The proposed kit builds off of patent-pending technology that will deliver exceptional ease-of-use as well as performance metrics (time, cost, labor) exceeding ...

Crude Sulfated Turpentine (CST) is a by-product of the Kraft wood pulping process, and its derivatives (e.g., terpenes such as alpha pinene) are used as fragrances in commercial products ranging from cosmetics to detergents. They can also be, and are, catalytically transformed into valuable chemicals by hydrogenation, oxidation and isomerization reactions. However, turpentine and its derivatives c ...

This project develops markets for value-added and large-volume use of the non-wood biomass combustion ash generated in power plants and biorefineries. The targeted applications are concrete construction materials where the chemistry of non-wood biomass ash can be used beneficially to realize improved performance characteristics. The new concrete materials offer significant economic and sustainabil ...

Commercial carrot processors in the Midwest must rely on produce from the South and West during spring and early summer. The quality of these carrots is much poorer than the processors desire, and they must pay a premium price for the out-of-season produce. Their goal is to store locally grown, lower-cost carrots through winter and then use this produce in place of the more expensive carrots fro ...

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