The Barking Anatolian Army
(Page 3 of 4)
— Kris Bryant
RELATED CONTENT
Report from Durango Colorado July/August 1974 Dear MOTHER: A very dear friend-a retired college pre...
More bad news for large SUVs, even the hybrid versions thereof....
LA PLATA COUNTY, COLORADO, comprises a dozen small towns, the three largest being Ignacio (pop. 667...
If you are afraid of snakes, we hope you will still read this article, which stresses that most Nor...
Something To Chew On
Corn is not only a favorite at summertime barbecues, but
also a major source of ethanol. Under a cooperative
research and development agreement with the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden Colorado, and
the New Energy Company of Indiana, some surprising advances
have been made in boosting the efficiency of the
traditional dry milling process of corn. They have
discovered a new process that makes ethanol extraction 13%
more efficient.
The traditional dry milling process breaks down the
starches in the corn kernel with enzymes and then ferments
the sugars with distiller's yeast to make ethanol. Because
the starch makes up only 72% of the corn kernel, the new
process uses the leftover stillage from the distillation
process, which contains starch, fats, fibrous material
(cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose), and protein. The
fiber is then taken from the stillage, broken into sugar,
fermented, and the ethanol is again extracted. The
remainder becomes feed.
The purpose of ethanol is not to replace gasoline, but to
make existing supplies of the fossil fuel last longer. It
could also make a significant contribution to the cause of
reducing pollution. When added to gasoline, ethanol boosts
octane and reduces carbon monoxide emissions. NREL is now
conducting experiments with a variety of resources, such as
switchgrass and trees that can be harvested at short
interval, in hopes of getting the same results. The main
problem with using the new process is that, for the time
being, the ethanol extract is more expensive than gasoline.
The cooperative's next task is to address that economic
issue. It is certainly a step in the right direction,
however.
Saving the American Chestnut
Those chestnuts roasting on the open fire at Christmas were
probably Italian. Thanks to a turn of the century blight-a
devastating fungus that all but wiped out the American
variety—foreign nuts have played an increasingly
large role in nationwide chestnut sales. But University of
Florida researchers say an experiment is under way that may
help pull American chestnuts out of the fire; or maybe put
them back in again. They have been successful recently in
growing a hybrid chestnut resistant to the blight. "There's
a huge potential for commercial production of chestnuts in
our country." said Gary Brinen, a UF extension agent.
