{"id":23800,"date":"2025-05-06T17:17:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T17:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=23800"},"modified":"2025-05-06T17:17:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T17:17:46","slug":"converting-corn-waste-to-affordable-sugar-for-sustainable-biofuels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/converting-corn-waste-to-affordable-sugar-for-sustainable-biofuels\/","title":{"rendered":"Converting Corn Waste to Affordable Sugar for Sustainable Biofuels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">Researchers at Washington State University have pioneered a method to convert corn stover into affordable sugar for biofuel production, potentially revolutionizing the renewable energy sector.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In a significant breakthrough, scientists led by Washington State University have developed a new method to transform corn stalks and other crop waste into low-cost sugar, a vital component for biofuel production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This research, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0960852425003682\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">published<\/a> in the journal Bioresource Technology, offers an economically feasible pathway to sustainable biofuels, potentially transforming the renewable energy landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The research team utilized ammonium sulfite-based alkali salts to process corn stover \u2014 comprising the leftover stalks, husks and other residues from corn \u2014 to yield an inexpensive sugar that can be used in biofuel and bioproduct manufacturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Inexpensive sugar is the key to commercial success for new technologies that make fuels and useful products from renewable biomass,&#8221; lead investigator Bin Yang, a professor of biological systems engineering at WSU, said in a new release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the abundant availability of biomass, its complex structures \u2014 dominated by cellulose and lignin \u2014 make it cost-intensive to process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yang, along with collaborators from the University of Connecticut, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), USDA Forest Products Lab and Washington University in St. Louis, aimed to devise a method that could efficiently and cost-competitively convert this biomass into fermentable sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their innovative technique involves pretreating corn stover with potassium hydroxide and ammonium sulfite under mild temperatures. This treatment facilitates the breakdown of cellulosic polymers by enzymes into sugars, which can be fermented into biofuels without incurring additional chemical recovery costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sugar produced through this method has the potential to be sold for as low as 28 cents per pound, challenging the competitiveness of low-cost imported sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This patent-pending process produces high-quality fermentable sugar for the biorefinery \u2014 the industrial process turning plant matter into fuel \u2014 as well as fertilizer that can replenish soil nutrients for farmers,\u201d Yang added. &#8220;There&#8217;s no waste stream.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This research marks a significant step forward in the effort to make biofuels more economically viable. The project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s Bioenergy Technologies Office, underscores a commitment to advancing sustainable technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn the next phase, we will be advancing our pretreatment technology at a pilot scale,\u201d added principal investigator Xiaowen Chen, a scientist at NREL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:14px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/news.wsu.edu\/press-release\/2025\/05\/06\/scientists-discover-a-new-way-to-convert-corn-waste-into-low-cost-sugar-for-biofuel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Washington State University<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a significant breakthrough, scientists led by Washington State University have developed a new method to transform corn stalks and other crop waste into low-cost sugar, a vital component for biofuel production. This research, published in the journal Bioresource Technology, offers an economically feasible pathway to sustainable biofuels, potentially transforming the renewable energy landscape. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[315,132,300],"class_list":["post-23800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sustainability","tag-university-of-connecticut","tag-washington-state-university","tag-washington-university-in-st-louis"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"In a significant breakthrough, scientists led by Washington State University have developed a new method to transform corn stalks and other crop waste into low-cost sugar, a vital component for biofuel production. This research, published in the journal Bioresource Technology, offers an economically feasible pathway to sustainable biofuels, potentially transforming the renewable energy landscape. The&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23800"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23809,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23800\/revisions\/23809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}