National Program 213 BIOREFINING United States & Department of Agriculture National Program 306 Research, QUALITY AND UTILIZATION Education, and Economics OF AGRICULTURAL Agricultural PRODUCTS Research Service CCOMPLISHMENT EPORTS Office of A R National Programs 2013-2017 September 2018 Captions for cover photos: 1. The first automated egg grading system developed by ARS at the request of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service uses LED light and computerized software. 2. ARS researchers demonstrated that Napier grass grown in Georgia for ethanol conversion is twice as productive per acre as corn harvested from the Midwest. 3. ARS worked with the Cooper Tire Company on research that led to the development of a guayule rubber passenger car tire, providing the first U.S. source of domestic rubber. 4. ARS led extensive work on sampling dust emissions from cotton gins; regulators used their findings to establish data-based limits on particulate emissions, which benefited cotton ginners in multiple states. 5. ARS developed an infrared-blanching and hot-air drying system for fruit and vegetables that reduced energy use 75 percent; a patent for the system was exclusively licensed to Treasure8. (Left to right): Dave Spivack (Treasure8), Kaylin Punotai (ARS intern), Hamed El-Mashad (UC-Davis), ARS Research Leader Tara McHugh, Yi Shen (UC-Davis), ARS Research Engineer Zhongli Pan; Asher Wenig (Treasure8), Ruihong Zhang (UC-Davis), and Chandrasekar Venkitasamy (UC-Davis). National Program 213 BIOREFINING & National Program 306 QUALITY AND UTILIZATION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORTS 2013-2017 CONTENTS ARS Accomplishment Reports 2013-2017 ................................................................................................ 1 NP 213: Components and Problem Statements ....................................................................................... 2 COMPONENT 1 – Biochemical Conversion ........................................................................................ 2 COMPONENT 2 – Biodiesel .................................................................................................................. 2 COMPONENT 3 – Pyrolysis (Thermolysis) ......................................................................................... 2 NP 306: Components and Problem Statements ....................................................................................... 3 COMPONENT 1 – Food ........................................................................................................................ 3 COMPONENT 2 – Nonfood .................................................................................................................. 3 NP 213 Accomplishment Report 2013-2017 ............................................................................................. 5 BACKGROUND AND GENERAL INFORMATION ........................................................................ 5 PLANNING AND COORDINATION FOR THE NP 213 5-YEAR CYCLE .................................... 6 STRUCTURE OF NATIONAL PROGRAM 213 ................................................................................ 7 RELATIONSHIP OF NP 213 TO OTHER NATIONAL PROGRAMS ........................................... 8 HOW THIS REPORT WAS CONSTRUCTED AND WHAT IT REFLECTS ................................ 9 COMPONENT 1: Biochemical Conversion ........................................................................................... 11 Problem Statement 1 ......................................................................................................................... 12 Problem Statement 2: ....................................................................................................................... 14 Problem Statement 3 ......................................................................................................................... 17 COMPONENT 2: Biodiesel ..................................................................................................................... 19 Problem Statement 1 ......................................................................................................................... 19 Problem Statement 2 ......................................................................................................................... 20 Problem Statement 3 ......................................................................................................................... 22 COMPONENT 3: Pyrolysis (Thermolysis) ............................................................................................. 24 Problem Statement 1 ......................................................................................................................... 24 Problem Statement 2 ......................................................................................................................... 27 NP 306 Accomplishment Report 2013-2017 ........................................................................................... 30 BACKGROUND AND GENERAL INFORMATION ...................................................................... 30 PLANNING AND COORDINATION FOR THE NP 306 5-YEAR CYCLE .................................. 31 STRUCTURE OF NATIONAL PROGRAM 306 .............................................................................. 32 COMPONENT 1: Food .................................................................................................................... 32 COMPONENT 2: Nonfood .............................................................................................................. 32 RELATIONSHIP OF NP 306 TO OTHER NATIONAL PROGRAMS ......................................... 33 HOW THIS REPORT WAS CONSTRUCTED AND WHAT IT REFLECTS .............................. 34 COMPONENT 1: Food ............................................................................................................................ 36 Problem Statement 1.A ..................................................................................................................... 36 Problem Statement 1.B ..................................................................................................................... 38 Problem Statement 1.C ..................................................................................................................... 40 COMPONENT 2: Nonfood (including hides) ......................................................................................... 43 Problem Statement 2.A ..................................................................................................................... 43 Problem Statement 2.B ..................................................................................................................... 46 Problem Statement 2.C ..................................................................................................................... 49 APPENDIX 1 ............................................................................................................................................. 51 APPENDIX 2 ............................................................................................................................................. 58 APPENDIX 3 ............................................................................................................................................. 92 APPENDIX 4 ........................................................................................................................................... 263 APPENDIX 5 ........................................................................................................................................... 265 United States Department of Agriculture Research, Education, and Economics AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE National Program 213 Biorefining National Program 306 Quality and Utilization of Agricultural Products ARS Accomplishment Reports 2013-2017 The mission of the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is to conduct research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority and provide information access and dissemination to ensure high-quality, safe food, and other agricultural products; assess the nutritional needs of Americans; sustain a competitive agricultural economy; enhance the natural resource base and the environment; provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society as a whole; and provide the infrastructure necessary to create and maintain a diversified workplace. All ARS research projects are assigned to at least one of sixteen ARS National Programs managed by National Program Leaders and other ARS senior staff. This oversight ensures all work conducted by ARS scientists is relevant, significant, and has high scientific merit. The research under two of these National Programs, Biorefining (NP 213) and Quality and Utilization of Agricultural Products (NP 306), focuses on the needs and issues of agricultural producers and processers who produce food, fibers, bioenergy, and other biobased products from harvested agricultural products. Goals for these two National Programs include enhancing product quality, improving product processing, developing new value-added products, and reducing the environmental impacts of postharvest agricultural production. Meeting these goals supports agricultural producers and others in rural communities by increasing market demand for their goods and increasing the value of their production. NP 213 and NP 306 research projects are