Award Data

The importance of improving postharvest handling can be understood in terms of the primary impact of poor postharvest care--food loss. Technologies for improving postharvest handling focus on extending the shelf life of the fruit or vegetable while maintaining or improving upon the quality of the produce. A major achievement in prolonging produce storage life has been the implementation of cold st ...

INRS and MDP will collaborate to build an analytical model that demonstrates the probability of success - and opportunities for enhancement - for the redevelopment of idled industrial assets. This model will be developed and refined using the former pulp and paper mill in Old Town, ME., and data supplied by multiple redevelopment efforts elsewhere in the State of Maine. Based upon learnings and ex ...

The goal of the SBIR is to "Operationalize multiscale Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) forest structure and disturbance metrics". The objectives are to develop 1.) operational forest structure and disturbance metrics derived from Synthetic Aperture Radar and 2.) mapping information services for rapid forest disturbance assessment. A set of practical questions to be answered at three demonstration ca ...

This proposal describes a novel method for the refrigeration and storage of food products that does not use electricity and is cleaner for the environment than any method currently in use. Our concept addresses many important economic and social development issues facing rural America such as access to good quality and safe food, food-borne illnesses, pollution, lack of adequate infrastructure to ...

Industrial processes for production of ammonia (NH3) and urea nitrogen-based fertilizers aremainly based on the Haber-Bosch process, which involves the heterogeneous reaction ofnitrogen (N2) and hydrogen (H2) on an iron-based catalyst at high pressure (150-300 atm) andhigh temperature (400 & deg;-500 & deg;C). The equilibrium conversion of H2 and N2 gas to NH3 in theHaber-Bosch process is generall ...

The United States, led by the USDA (as well as the Department of Energy) has taken major initiatives to develop renewable energy sources. Development of these renewable energy sources is desirable based on (1) reduced production of greenhouse gases and (2) reduced dependence on the volatile supply of oil from abroad. One of the cornerstones of renewable energy is biofuels and more specifically bio ...

Although conventional aqueous oil extraction which utilizes water as a solvent under atmospheric conditions has been around for a long time, it was not favored for large commercial operations because of its low oil extraction efficiency. Interest in aqueous extraction processes has been revived by increasing environmental concern about hexane which is the traditional solvent used by oilseed proces ...

Precision Combustion, Inc. is developing a compact steam generator as the core of a tractor-pulled agricultural soil steaming disinfestation system. Our prototype 550 pound steam generator is sized to disinfest ~1 acre of soil every 12 hours, at costs similar to applications of methyl bromide or other fumigant packages. Our technology offers an economic and practical alternative to fumigant soil d ...

Up until the early twentieth century, several commodity chemicals were produced by the pyrolysis of hardwoods (e.g., methanol, acetic acid, acetone) or the extraction of softwoods (turpentine, terpenes, rosins, pitches, and tars). The expected long term increase in petroleum and natural gas prices will cause a gradual but steady return to biomass feedstocks over the next several decades. Other dri ...

Farmers, crop consultants, and regulators are constantly faced with management/policy decisions that require the integration of current crop and soil conditions, and current and future weather conditions. Farmers and crop consultants must make these management decisions within a regulatory environment that is becoming more restrictive and complex. Regulators are forced to make policy recommendatio ...