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** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES THAT DIVERT POMACES (THE PULPY MATERIALS REMAINING AFTER CRUSHING TO EXTRACT THE JUICES) TO BENEFICIAL APPLICATIONS ARE TOP PRIORITIES FOR BOTH THE OLIVE AND GRAPE INDUSTRIES. DEVELOPING COST-EFFECTIVE AND VALUE-ADDED SOLUTIONS TO UPCYCLE POMACE WASTES WILL BE PROFITABLE FOR BOTH UPSTREAM INDUSTRIES (FARMERS AND FOOD PRODUCERS) AND DOWNSTREAM INDUSTRIES, E.G. ROAD INDUSTRY IN THIS APPLICATION. THIS STRENGTHENING AND PARTNERSHIP PROJECT AIMS TO REPURPOSE OLIVE AND GRAPE POMACES FOR ROADWAY APPLICATIONS, THROUGH BIOPROCESSING AND BIOREFINING THEM INTO ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN ANTIOXIDANTS AND ANTI-ICING PRODUCTS. BY DERIVING GREEN CHEMICALS FROM THESE RENEWABLE WASTES, THIS WORK IS TIED CLOSELY WITH THE A1531 PROGRAM PRIORITY THAT POMACES WILL BE CONVERTED INTO BIO-BASED AND LOW-CARBON PRODUCTS FOR CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS. THE SERVICE LIFE OF ROADWAYS WILL BE EXTENDED AS ANTIOXIDANT ADDITIVES COULD RETARD OXIDATION-INDUCED DETERIORATIONS, AND THE SUSTAINABILITY OF ROADWAYS WILL BE IMPROVED AS LESS CORROSIVE AND MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN ANTI-ICING PRODUCTS ARE USED FOR WINTER OPERATIONS. THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM, LED BY CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, CHICO (HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTION (HSI) AND HISPANIC-SERVING AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HSACU)), IN COLLABORATION WITH WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-DAVIS, AND LAMAR UNIVERSITY, HAS PRELIMINARILY DEMONSTRATED THE FEASIBILITY OF THESE TWO NOVEL POMACE-UPCYCLING STRATEGIES. THIS WORK WILL FURTHER ADVANCE THE CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE ON THE BIOPROCESSING-COMPOSITION-PROPERTIES RELATIONSHIPS TO OPTIMIZE THE BIOPROCESSING AND BIOREFINERY TECHNOLOGIES AND MAXIMIZE THE VALUE OF VARIOUS RENEWABLE FEEDSTOCK. TECHNO-ECONOMIC-ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT ANALYSIS WILL BE CONDUCTED TO QUANTIFY THE LIFE-CYCLE BENEFITS. WE WILL WORK EXTENSIVELY WITH OLIVE AND GRAPE INDUSTRIES, AND PAVEMENT AND ANTI-ICING INDUSTRIES TO ADDRESS WASTE STREAM CONSIDERATIONS AND USER REQUIREMENTS, FACILITATE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING, BUILD COMMUNITY RAPPORT, AND PROMOTE EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

$785,045FY2023National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA

Chico State Enterprises, Chico CA

Investigators

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