Hans Van Leeuwen, a professor of civil, construction, and environmental engineering and Iowa State University, and his research team have developed a process that turns a waste from the ethanol production process into animal feed.
The goal is to increase the viability of biofuels economically by taking one of their co-products, a food-grade fungi, and creating a biomass that can serve as a high protein animal feed. The ISU research team began developing the “MycoMeal” process in 2009 and has received national awards and attention for their innovation.
Researchers have developed a pilot plant at the Iowa Energy Center’s Biomass Energy Conversion (BECON) facility in Nevada to test and refine the process. In 2012 alone, they will produce a ton of fungi for animal feeding trials.
The project has been supported by at three-year, $412,669 grant from the Iowa Energy Center and a Smithfield grant from the Office of the Iowa Attorney General.
Source: Iowa Energy Center
For more information on: Iowa Energy Center