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Checkoff
Dollars Help NCGA Research Higher-Value Products (8-17-01)
What
do extra-terrestrial life, deep-sea creatures and corn have in common?
A George Lucas movie that takes place in the Midwest? An alien fish
with a taste for corn chips? All good answers (wrong as they may be),
but the correct answer is bacteria.
Each
of the three organisms above share bacteria that allow them to live
in very harsh environments and those bacteria are called extremophiles).
They survive near the thermal vents of the ocean floor and on the river
bottoms of a frozen planet when others would easily perish.
The
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), in partnership with the Corn
Refiners Association (CRA), researched the benefits of extremophiles
to corn growers and consumers using monies from 19 grower state checkoffs.
The research was conducted at the University of Iowa by Dr. Tonya Peeples.
According
to NCGACustomer and Business Development Action Team member and Sioux
Falls, Iowa corn grower Curt Jones, extremophiles can have many productive
uses in industry.
"Industry
has begun to utilize these bacteria to a greater degree in the development
of more cost-effective bio-based industrial production methods,"
Jones said.
"One
of the key cost improvement strategies for corn processing technology
includes developing organisms that will thrive in the harsh industrial
environment or high temperatures and high acid or solvent concentrations,"
Jones continued. "By developing new organisms we can further reduce
the cost of production making more process technologies cost competitive
with petroleum"
Benefits
to corn growers include:
* Expansion of current markets
* Devlopment of new uses for these products
* Significant avenue for commercialization opportunities within industry
* Reduced dependence on petro-chemicals due to greater efficiencies
in deriving chemicals from corn
* Enhances efforts to develop environmentally benign processing technology
"By
identifying bacteria that can withstand the extremes of industrial processing,"
concluded Jones, "there is the possibility of significant cost
reduction in the making of solvents and organic acids. The project was
recently completed, so we're looking forward to applying the knowledge
in a way that will best benefit the nation's corn growers."
For
more information on extremophiles, visit the NCGA website at http://www.ncga.com/research/main/extremophiles.htm.
Last
reviewed August 17, 2001
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