Location: Functional Foods Research
2024 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Method for predicting biochar surface areas from tree pore diameters. Biochars can be very effective for adsorbing organic and deleterious compounds from contaminated water. The surface area of biochar is critical for the adsorbing capacity of biochar. Predicting the surface area of biochars from new woody materials is not straightforward. The diameters of pores within the wood of several tree species were compared to their subsequent biochar surface areas. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois found that biochar surface area was found to be inversely proportional to pore diameter of the wood of tree species. This information will provide an efficient method to predict what tree species would be good candidates for producing effective biochars.
2. Biochar from Eastern red cedar identified to capture toxin that is linked to fish kills. A breakdown product of an antioxidant used in tires finds its way into waterways and is highly toxic to salmon and causes large fish kills in the northwestern United States. A means to adsorb this toxin before it enters streams could prevent salmon losses. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, found that biochar made from Eastern red cedar was found to adsorb this toxin from contaminated water. Eastern red cedar biochar could be used to remediate contaminated runoff water and prevent economic losses from salmon death.
3. Cedarwood oil, a new repellent against invasive red imported fire ants (RIFA) that girdle young trees and injure animals and people. RIFA are serious economically injurious pests around the world, which have caused $6.7 billion in annual losses in the United States. Cedarwood oil is a safe natural material derived from abundant Eastern red cedars in the United States. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, found that cedarwood oil effectively repelled RIFA . Spraying of cedarwood oil is an effective means to deter foraging RIFA and prevent economic damage from them.
4. Starch/cedarwood oil dispersion to prevent termite and fungal decay of wood. Untreated wood can be degraded by organisms such as termites and wood decay fungi. Extracts from naturally resistant wood can be extracted and subsequently used to treat otherwise susceptible wood. Cedarwood has been previously demonstrated to impart resistance against termites and decay fungi. A starch/cedarwood oil dispersion was prepared and used to treat wood that was subsequently placed in three field locations to determine the resistance of the treated wood in a five-year study. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, found that preliminary results pointed to a positive outcome of using natural starch/cedar oil dispersion in deterring termites and wood decaying fungi from attacking wood.
5. Marijuana or hemp? A new method developed to differentiate. Both hemp and marijuana plants are the same species. The main difference lies in how much of tetrahydrohydrocannabinoid (THC) each contains. The total tetrahydrohydrocannabinoid (THC) concentration in hemp by laws cannot exceed 0.3% to be classified as hemp rather than marijuana. Meeting this standard is a challenge to U.S. hemp producers and requires clear and reproducible analytical methodologies. ARS researchers in Peoria, Illinois, analyzed the cannabinoid composition of 20 different cannabinoids including total THC content for 600 hemp accessions. This data was used to develop and validate a more efficient and reproducible extraction procedure for measuring total THC concentration. This procedure will ensure the ability for quality control staff in hemp businesses to ascertain the total THC is below 0.3% in harvested cannabis materials and the materials thus can be classified as hemp.
Review Publications
Deshavath, N.N., Woodruff, W., Eller, F.J., Susanto, V., Yang, C., Rao, C.V., Singh, V. 2024. Scale-up of microbial lipid and bioethanol production from oilcane. Bioresource Technology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130594.
Kirker, G.T., Hassan, B., Mankowski, M.E., Eller, F.J. 2024. Critical review on the use of extractives of naturally durable woods as natural wood protectants. Insects. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15010069.
Appell, M., Wegener, E.C., Sharma, B.K., Eller, F.J., Evans, K.O., Compton, D.L. 2023. In vitro evaluation of the adsorption efficacy of biochar materials on aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A, and zearalenone. Animals. 13(21). Article 3311. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13213311.
Eller, F.J., Kirker, G., Mankowski, M., Selling, G. 2024. Butylated hydroxytoluene and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid combined with cedarwood oil as wood treatments for protection from subterranean termites and wood-decaying fungi. BioResources. https://doi.org10.15376/biores.19.3.5847-5861.