Engineered Corn Husk Compositions via Acid Wash Pulping
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Solution Overview
Problem
The agricultural industry faces challenges due to increasing costs of corn husks caused by labor shortages, weather conditions, alternative crop planting, and short supply, especially in hand-picked corn scenarios where intact husks have commercial value.
Innovation Solution
The development and production of engineered corn husks through various processing methods, including grinding, drying, chemi-mechanical pulping, and layering, to create consistent and cost-effective products that maintain the quality and characteristics of agriculturally farmed corn husks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hand-picking labor is used to collect intact corn husks, then commercial value is maintained, but labor costs increase and supply becomes unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates engineered corn husks that replicate the appearance, texture, and functional properties of natural corn husks through controlled processing of corn stover. This copying approach allows machine-harvested material to replace labor-collected husks, resolving the contradiction between supply reliability and production cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies chemical and mechanical processing parameters to transform corn stover into engineered husks with desired properties. By controlling parameters such as chemical composition, fiber structure, and physical dimensions, the patent achieves reliable supply of husk-like products at lower cost than manual collection.
2Manufacturing precision
If corn husks are processed through grinding and pulping, then consistent product quality is achieved, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the corn stover processing into distinct stages: initial grinding to create particles, chemical pulping to separate fibers, and subsequent forming operations. This segmentation allows each process step to be optimized independently, achieving consistent product quality while managing overall processing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates composite engineered husks by combining processed corn stover fibers with binding agents and additives during the forming stage. This composite approach enables precise control over final product properties while utilizing standardized processing equipment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach ensures the production of consistent, high-quality engineered corn husks that can meet the commercial demand while reducing costs, thereby addressing the industry's challenges related to labor and supply issues.
Implementation Method 1
washing with an alkali acid wash to degrade and/or solubilize lignan
Implementation Method 2
mechanically extruding the non-cellulosic material and chemically impregnating the slurry
Implementation Method 3
forming the slurry into a sheet
Data Source
AI summary
A method is disclosed that includes washing corn husks with an acid wash to degrade at least a portion of a non-cellulosic material present in the corn husks and from pulped corn husks, wherein the non-cellulosic material comprises lignan. The method further comprises forming a slurry, wherein the slurry comprises pulped corn husks; forming the slurry into a sheet; removing a volume of liquid from the sheet; and calendaring the sheet. The method further comprises coating the sheet and cutting the sheet into a plurality of sheets.