The Mission

Our project's mission is to transform a major waste stream into a valuable and sustainable resource. We aim to treat the corn stover waste stream produced from corn farming. This corn stover, which is the residual biomass from farming, will be repurposed by extracting high purity cellulose. This cellulose can be used as an eco-friendly raw material for various products including biodegradable packaging, paper products, sustainable textiles, and medical supplies such as wound dressings and filtration materials. Additionally, we aim to maximise resource efficiency by reusing the extraction chemicals multiple times until they reach saturation, after which they are responsibly treated.

The Challenge

The problem our project aims to solve is how biological waste from farms is treated. Currently most corn stover is either burned or composted, processes that are energy-intensive and produce significant GHG emissions.

The solution

Our proposed solution involves partnering with farmers to collect corn stover, providing them with an efficient means of disposing their agricultural waste. From this corn stover, we extract high-purity cellulose using a carefully developed process: a strong NaOH solution followed by two washing steps. This method has already demonstrated impressive results, achieving 99.4% cellulose purity and a yield of 66.6%. This process has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and repurpose this agricultural byproduct into a quality resource. The pure cellulose can then be sold to companies for use in biodegradable packaging, paper products, sustainable textiles, and medical supplies such as wound dressings and filtration materials. Finally, our extraction process is designed to reuse chemicals multiple times, reducing both waste and resource consumption.