Development of Affordable, Biodegradable, Durable, Disposable Containers for Food Service Utilizing Biomass and Biorefinery By-products
2021 USDA-NIFA Integrated Award
Principal Investigators and affiliations:
PI: Dr. Xiuzhi (Susan) Sun, Kansas State University
Co-PI: Dr. Donghai Wang, Kansas State University
Dr. Pavel Somavat
Funded: $342,230
Start Date: 2/01/2021
End Date: 1/31/2024
Project Goal
To develop high-performance human safe affordable, biodegradable, durable and disposable (HSABDD) containers for food services.
Objectives
To develop and optimize HSABDD composite formulation using soy flour based adhesives and switchgrass fibers.
To fabricate and optimize HSABDD plate.
To conduct techno-economic analysis for economic viability of the newly developed HSABDD process
Expected Project Outcomes
The final product of this research will be the high-performance human safe affordable biodegradable durable and disposable (HASBDD) containers. The new information and knowledge generated from this research will be a useful reference for further improvements and expand the use of natural fiber biodegradable composites for other types of food service container applications such as bowl and cups. The comprehensive techno-economic feasibility analysis will provide detailed and economically valuable insights about the HSABDD plate production process and facilitate its eventual acceptance by the industry.
