Products From Waste May Help Make Biofuels Stick Around

While research proceeds at a lively pace on how to convert plants into fuel, particularly within the arena of cellulosic ethanol that will help us shift away from reliance on food crops, one Kansas State University researcher is taking a different tack to move things forward.

Susan Sun is focusing on what to do with the byproducts of biofuel manufacturing, hoping that a new generation of consumer goods made from the wastes will aid the establishment of a viable biofuels sector.

The fuels side of the equation is especially concerned with the sugars contained in the plants from which the fuels are derived. Sun, however, is hard at work on the lignins from the plants, cast aside as waste once the sugars are isolated.

As explained in a Kansas State University press release, the lignin portion of biomass feedstock which does not contribute to biofuel manufacturing are terrific natural polymers that may be directed towards the making of adhesives, glue and tape alike, that dually make use of the waste stream while substituting natural materials for harmful synthetic ones.

Sun points out that synthetic adhesives commonly incorporate chemicals such as formaldehyde and isocyanide, which are toxic.

The creation of a new, safer generation of adhesives for a range of applications ranging from lamination of building materials to transparent tape would serve to support the nascent biofuels market by creating a parallel value-added supply chain crafted out of what is currently mostly a waste stream.

Photo courtesy of BarberJP, via Wikimedia Commons