2009 R&D 100 Winner
Biodiesel production from traditional oil-rich crops is limited by land availability, climate, and environmental and social issues regarding the use of feed and food crops for fuel. But biodiesel that is green and sustainable and does not compete with food crops can now be produced using a fungal product. A new process pioneered at Iowa State Univ., Ames, Iowa, and being commercialized by MycoInnovations, Ames, Iowa, is based on the leftovers from crop processing or on ammonia delignified lignocellulosic material coupled with two fungi fermentations and catalytic ultrasonication.
Research results have shown that a naturally occurring fungus Mucor circinelloides can turn a wide variety of leftover organic waste products into oil. In its simplest application, the Mycofuel process involves cultivation of Mucor circinelloides in high-strength organic co-products streams from biofuel production or food production and using the lipids produced as a raw material to produce biodiesel, or more specifically, Mycofuel. Both thin stillage, a left-over product from the dry-grind corn-to-ethanol process, and soy whey from soy protein isolate (tofu) production are good substrates.
Technology
Biodiesel production process
Developers
Iowa State Univ.
MycoInnovations
