Award Data

The use of biodiesel offers significant advantages with regards to the reduction of total harmful engine emissions with the exception of NOx. Biodiesel is a renewable resource and soybean oil is known to be economically viable as a biodiesel fuel. Recent studies from the Environmental Protection Agency have shown that soybean oil alone or blended with #2 diesel fuel results in a significant decrea ...

Self-calibrating, low-cost, microprocessor based, combined soil volumetric water content, conductivity, and temperature sensor is proposed herein. The objective of this feasiblity study is to conduct tests to evaluate the device under a variety of conditions and to demonstrate the validity and viability of the sensor design. Existing low-cost, high volume commercial devices designed to determine ...

Community Enterprise Opportunities (CEO) Praxis, Inc. is proposing to investigate the feasibility of developing an expert system decision making tool for local economic development organizations. The tool will assist in evaluating the viability of business opportunities and their suitability to the community's resources and local competitive advantages. The expert system will enable evaluation o ...

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) biopesticides are an environmentally safe alternative to chemical pesticides but less efficacious than chemical alternatives. The purpose of this study is to determine the suitability of BtBooster in improving Bt biopesticides so that it as good as or better than the more efficacious chemical alternatives.

Removal and disposal of agricultural mulch films made from polyethylene requires large expenditures of time and money, and creates excessive demand for landfill space. The purpose of this project is to create agricultural mulch films from renewable resources that can be incorporated into the soil for disposal rather than being landfilled.

Ethylene is a growth hormone for fruits and vegetables that is generated by the plants themselves; that is, it acts as a self-ripening agent. Hence, the removal of ethylene gas can play a central role in maintaining the freshness of these products. Whereas the temperature and the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide gases are also important system variables that demand a significant economic invest ...

A. Water must be removed from biodegradable hydraulic fluids as they react with water and degrade insitu. B. Biodegradable hydraulic fluids for farm equipment provide a significant improvement over traditional petroleum based fluids due to decreased pollution. Increase the use and value of biodegradable hydraulic fluids by development of a membrane-based dewatering system.

Overabundance of fiber from young trees derived from first thinnings with little or no market is a serious problem for the timber industry as well as private landowners. Because of this, many private landowners fail to conduct appropriate timber management which in turn causes reductions in stand volume, increased risk of insect and/or disease from reduced stand vigor, reduced browse for wildlife ...

One problem that exists for manufacturers producing standardized medicinal plant products is variability of raw material. Most medicinal plant products are produced from material which has been collected from the wild resulting in a wide range of bioactive ingredient content. Increasing demand for these products has resulted in some of the more effective plants, including Hydrastis canadensis (gol ...

Due to environmental and regulatory concerns, research and development of non-chemical alternatives for pest suppression is necessary. Entomopathogenic nematodes are environmentally friendly biocontrol agents that can suppress a wide variety of economically important insect pests including the black vine weevil, the Japanese beetle, diaprepes root weevil, and fungus gnats. Commercialization of the ...